Most of us face news of the atrocities and inhumane things happening at the hands of ISIS on a daily basis due to our work/ministry; we are bombarded with prayer requests for the people suffering, who are being persecuted for their faith, taken as sex slaves and fleeing their countries. And because we are compelled to as Christians, by love for our brothers and sisters, we pray. We even heard how the family members of the 21 Egyptians who were slaughtered in Libya, ask us to pray for those who killed their loved ones. And as believers we are very aware of Jesus' command in Matthew 5:44 to pray for our enemies.
These words of Jesus became a real "challenge" to many of us when we heard about the attacks in Paris, France this week as we realize the threats are coming "closer to home". It is then when we ask: Should we pray for the defeat of ISIS, or their conversion? Our hearts and our minds tell us that we need justice, not mercy, condemnation not salvation!
Jesus says to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). BUT the Spirit of Jesus in the prophets and in the apostles also tells us that those who turn a blind eye to the killing of others are wrong. So how do we pray?
The main problem is that we sometimes forget that we are called to be a people of both justice and justification, and that these two are not contradictory.
It sounds awfully spiritual, to say that we should not pray for the defeat of our enemies on the field of battle. But that's only the case if these enemies are not actually doing anything. This terrorist group is raping, enslaving, beheading, crucifying our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as other innocent people. To not pray for swift action against them is to not care about what Jesus said we should seek, what we should hunger and thirst for, for justice. As Christians, we ought to be, above all, people concerned with such justice.
At the same time, praying for the salvation of our enemies, even those committing the most horrific of crimes, is not a call to stop praying for justice against them.
We ought to pray for the gospel to go forward, and that there might be a new Saul of Tarsus turned away from murdering to gospel witness. At the same time, we ought to pray, with the martyrs in heaven, for justice against those who do such wickedness.
Therefore praying for the military defeat of our enemies, and that they might turn to Christ, are not contradictory prayers because salvation doesn't mean turning an eye away from justice.
The thief on the cross—a Middle Eastern terrorist by Rome's standards—in his act of faith did not believe that his salvation exempted him from justice. He confessed that his sentence was justice, and that he was receiving "the due reward for our deeds" (Luke 23:41) even as he cried out to Jesus (and was given) for merciful entrance into the Kingdom of Christ (Luke 23:42).
Pray for 30 Days
May God give you HIS love for ISIS during these 30 days and that the body of Christ will pray through and into His heart. This Prayer Guide is a guide line for praying for ISIS.
Source: Jericho Walls International, Russell Moore