Many Christians respond to terrorist groups like Boko Haram or ISIS with anger, fear, and hatred. However, according to author Nik Ripken, none of these responses are Biblically appropriate.
As Christians, we should pray for those who persecute us.
Before Nik prays for persecutors, he first asks for forgiveness from God.
“Every suicide bomber in the West, including [those who perpetrated] 9/11, has been in the West for two to three generations.”
Nik sees that as Christians, we are partly to blame for what is going on in the Middle East because we haven’t brought the message of the gospel to the people there. When their parents and grandparents lived in this country, many of them went unnoticed by the believers around them.
“I didn’t break bread with their moms and dads. I didn’t bring a Christmas story. So I pray that God will forgive us.”
Nik then prays that Jesus Christ would invade the hearts of those affiliated with ISIS and other terror groups.
“I pray they will see the evil in which they’re participating and it will come back to haunt them. I pray they will have access to Jesus and have a choice to make right now.”
As Christians, we are blessed to live in the United States that has hundreds of years of Christian influence in the government, military, and culture. However, it’s different in the Middle East.
“We’re seeing the fruit that is born when people don’t have a choice between good and evil. You’re talking about a black hole.”
Nik believes that ISIS is what happens when Jesus is absent and ISIS exists because God has commanded us to go and share the Gospel with them and we have not.
“We see what happens to sons and daughters, moms and dads, when generational evil owns the territory.”
Take time for pray for those trapped in the perpetual cycle of evil that permeates parts of the Middle East. Pray for the breeding grounds of evil to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ask God to show you how you can become involved, at home or abroad.
Key Scriptures: Mark 14:35-36
Featured Songs: Emmanuel, Hallowed Manger Ground by Chris Tomlin; Good, Good Father by Chris Tomlin; Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy) by Chris Tomlin
