Nothing is Impossible: Ayman al-Zawahiri

I've had terrorists on my mind. That's partly because I'm editing my first novel and it's filled with terrorists. It might also be because I've been jumping to conclusions and seeing terrorists where there were none.

All that terrorist thinking has reminded me of the time when I selected a terrorist of the week and asked you to pray for them.  It was July 6, 2014 and our terrorist of the week was Nasir al-Wuhayshi. He was the general manager of Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula and one of the most dangerous men in the world.  

His stated goal was to "destroy the cross. The bearer of the cross is America."

I use the past tense because he was killed in a drone attack in Yemen on June 12, 2015. He was 38 years old.  He left behind a legacy of death and destruction. 

I wept when he died, but not because I was sorry his reign of terror had come to an end. I wept because I had prayed for him to come to a saving knowledge of the Great I AM, but he never did. He died as he lived. A bitter and murderous man.

He had a choice and he made it, but I still grieve the lost potential of a man redeemed and transformed by the blood of Jesus. 

Stranger things have happened. Consider the Apostle Paul. 

My first terrorist for whom I prayed was Ayman al-Zawahiri.  He is Egyptian and was trained as a surgeon. He practiced medicine for a while, but now, he is a full-time terrorist. One of his wives and two of his children were killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan. Their loss fueled his anger, but he was a terrorist before they died and eventually became the head of Al-Qaeda. He was instrumental in helping the ISIS expand and merge with other terrorist organizations to become ISIL. 

As a physician, one who is trained to preserve life, it is unthinkable that one of my colleagues would dedicate himself to the murderous atrocities of ISIL, but al-Zawahiri knows no bounds. 

Assassination. Kidnapping and torture. Bombings. He is responsible for the death of untold numbers of people.

Law enforcement officials around the world have tried and failed to stop him. 

Only God can bring this man to his knees. 

Only God can stop him.

Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44 nasb) 

Ayman al-Zawahiri is one of those enemies for whom we are to pray and to love. With the command of Jesus in mind, I'm choosing to pray for him. I'm choosing to ask God to bring him to repentance and salvation. Whether it is through a dream or a vision or the testimony of a believer, I pray this evil man will be transformed. 

He's not the only terrorist for whom we need to pray, but he is the leader of a large group of terrorists. Imagine the impact his salvation could make. 

Praying for our enemies. As disciples, it's not optional. We have it to do. 

There's no better place to start than praying for Ayman al-Zawahiri. 

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, 

but with God all things are possible." 

(Matthew 19:26 niv)

____________
photo from Wikipedia

Kathy McKinsey wrote a beautiful article for Friday Night with Friends, New Beginning. If you haven't read it yet, you can click here. You can read more by Kathy at her blog. Our next Friday Night with Friends guest blog will post at 6 pm this Friday night. You don't want to miss it!

In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Starting Over: It's Not as Easy as It Seems, Behavior That Demonstrates Belief, Answered Prayer: The Bulletproof Vest, Bringing Good from Tragedy: Wives of Warriors Make a Difference, Friday Night with Friends: New Beginning, The Temperament Test and Married Oneness, Leaving a Legacy: Choices That Last for Generations, and Jumping to Conclusions: The Terrorists That Were Not.

#prayingforterrorists #AymanalZawahiri #loveyourenemies #disciple #JesusChrist

Persevering for Paris

In April of 2014, 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram. More than eighteen months later, those girls are still missing. A few have escaped, but many families still grieve as they fearfully wait for news of their girls. 

At the time, there was a surge of worldwide compassion. There were more than a million #bringbackourgirls tweets. I wrote blogs and calls to pray for the girls. Now, we seldom hear about those missing girls. 

There is so much evil in this world that our compassion for one need quickly cools as a "hotter" need draws us away. 

So it was with the schoolgirls. So it was with the videos of the beheadings of more than a dozen young Egyptian Coptic Christians. 

I fear our compassion for Paris will soon cool, as well, drawn away by yet another outrage. I fear my own compassion will soon cool.

This morning, I looked back through my "terrorist" blogs and found a plethora of posts. Prayers for the kidnapped girls, prayers for a variety of terrorists, prayers for terrorist organizations. (Not that they prosper, of course, but that they be brought to a halt.) 

I long to move past outrage to action. I long to make a greater difference in this war. 

Is no one attacking at the source of terrorist recruitment? Is no one targeting their funding? It turns out that they are. In April, CBS news reported a joint effort by the US and UAE (United Arab Emirates). The Sawab Center has been formed to counter the terror organizations' intense presence in social media. It's worth looking at their website for more information.

I long to help, but I am just one woman in a tiny town in a small state in a great big world. 

What can I do? Perhaps you feel that way, too. 

Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are not without hope. We are not without "connections". We serve a great and mighty God who leans forward to hear when His people pray. There is a point, a purpose to our efforts in prayer. They do make a difference. 

If our prayers can make a difference, why, then, do we not pray as if our very lives depended upon it? As if our world depended upon it?

After the people of Israel asked for a flesh-and-blood king, rather than the Most High God, they begged Samuel to pray for them. His response was one we, too, should have concerning the issue of terrorists and their victims.

"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you..." 1 Samuel 12: 23 nasb

This time, let us persevere for Paris. Let us continue to pray. 

As we pray, let's not lose sight of all who suffer, all who have suffered at the hand of these brutal terrorists. Let's not forget that Saul was once a brutal terrorist before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became the Apostle Paul. 

He who changed a Saul into a Paul can still transform terrorists today. Let's pray He does.

Here are links to previous blog posts about this issue: (They are designed to open in new tabs) If you have time, read through them as a reminder of the needs for which we battle and as guides as you pray. 

Fight well, fellow warriors. 

Bringing Nigerian Schoolgirls Home
The Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls
The Missing Nigerian Schoolgirls
Praying for Nineveh (Assyrians)
Persecuted Church in Nigeria
The Terrorist Prayer List
Radical obedience: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi\
Radical obedience: Hamas and Khaled Meshaal
Radical obedience: Boko Haram and Abubakar Shekau  
Radical obedience: Ibrahim al Asiri
Radical obedience: Nasir al Wuhayshi     
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Photo courtesy of freeimages.com In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: The Blessings That Were Not,  Loss of Power, Grateful Heart: Veterans, Grateful Heart: Laughter and Grateful Heart: Worldwide Kindness, and Remembering Paris.

The most viewed post of the last week was Remembering Paris

#Prayers4Paris #ISIS  #Paris #PowerofPrayer #JesusChrist #disciple #BringBackourSchoolgirls

Remembering Paris

I have wept for Paris again. 

In 1999, we went to Paris for our honeymoon. It is a beautiful city, a romantic city, and I loved it. Four square miles of culture, cafes, and art. And, of course, people. I wept for the people back then. Despite the beauty, there were many sad faces, and I wanted to tell them about the One who could put joy in their hearts. But I did not.

The people were kind to me, patient with the residual of my high school French. They must have heard left-over French before, because we managed to communicate. We roamed all over the city. I was in love, and I fell in love with Paris and her people, as well. 

I still love Paris.

I wept last night when I heard of the violent, vicious acts of terror committed there. Pointless murders of innocents who had not harmed the perpetrators. I grieve for those who died, for those who were wounded, for all those who have been affected by the attacks. 

I grieve for us all. 

When such violence erupts in a city, it affects every one of us. This is not war. This is not even a religious crusade. 

This is wickedness. 

What kind of evil promotes this depraved wickedness? Ultimate evil. ISIS/IS, or whatever they call themselves this week, has claimed responsibility for these murders, these attacks. They celebrate these deaths of unarmed civilians as if it proves their power, their "right". It does not. It only proves the wickedness of their souls.

How can we combat such evil? 

The world will not want to hear the solution, but only Ultimate Good can deal with this kind of evil. 

When faced with an impending Aramean attack, Jehosophat prayed, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." (2 Chron 20:12) 

When faced with the threat of the Assyrians, Hezekiah prayed, "And now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, O Lord, art God." (2 Kings 19:19) 

They were in desperate need of intervention from the Most High God and they knew it.

When those great kings prayed for deliverance from evil, deliverance was given. 

So must we bend our knees and humble our hearts in prayer for deliverance from this great evil that threatens us.

I prayed for the people of Paris last night, and for all those who love Paris. I will continue to pray that their suffering will not be wasted. I pray that the One who created them will heal their broken hearts and that, somehow, great good will come from this.

I did not want to pray for those attackers, but yesterday I spent hours writing of one who had prayed for his attackers and loved his enemies, even though it was hard. 

I did not want to, but I prayed for the terrorists last night.  I had no choice, for Jesus said, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt 5:44)

I prayed that this will be the event that breaks ISIS, that God would so convict those who participated in the attacks, whether by planning or doing, that repentance will result. I prayed that such confusion and trouble will compound their efforts that the precise orchestrations of all the evil they attempt will be thwarted from within.

I pray that their sin will be ever before them and their only relief will be in repentance.

This is a battle that will not be won with guns and bombs and strategy. 

It is a battle to be won on our knees. 

We can do more than we know for the people of Paris. We can do more than we realize to fight the terrorists of ISIS. We can do more, but our weapons must be those of humbled hearts, bent knees, and impassioned prayers for the intervention of God. 

We can do more than we know, if we will.

There is much to distract us today, but those who are grieving in Paris will not be distracted. Let us take time to help them. Let us take time to pray.

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photo courtesy of freeimages.com
In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Grateful Heart: Superheroes and Missions Conference , The Blessings That Were Not,  Loss of Power, Grateful Heart: Veterans, Grateful Heart: Laughter and Grateful Heart: Worldwide Kindness.

The most read posts of the past week: The Grateful Heart: Orchestration of God

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#ParisAttacks #Prayers4Paris #TheIslamicState #PowerofPrayer

Radical Obedience: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and ISIS

I've had terrorists on my mind. That's partly because I'm editing my first novel and it's filled with terrorists. It might also be because I've been jumping to conclusions and seeing terrorists where there were none.

All that terrorist thinking has reminded me of the time when I selected a terrorist of the week and asked you to pray for them.  It was July 6, 2014 and our terrorist of the week was Nasir al-Wuhayshi. He was the general manager of Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula and one of the most dangerous men in the world.  

His stated goal was to "destroy the cross. The bearer of the cross is America."

I use the past tense because he was killed in a drone attack in Yemen on June 12, 2015. He was 38 years old.  He left behind a legacy of death and destruction. 

I wept when he died, but not because I was sorry his reign of terror had come to an end. I wept because I had prayed for him to come to a saving knowledge of the Great I AM, but he never did. He died as he lived. A bitter and murderous man.

He had a choice and he made it, but I still grieve the lost potential of a man redeemed and transformed by the blood of Jesus. 

Stranger things have happened. Consider the Apostle Paul. 

My first terrorist for whom I prayed was Ayman al-Zawahiri.  He is Egyptian and was trained as a surgeon. He practiced medicine for a while, but now, he is a full-time terrorist. One of his wives and two of his children were killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan. Their loss fueled his anger, but he was a terrorist before they died and eventually became the head of Al-Qaeda. He was instrumental in helping the ISIS expand and merge with other terrorist organizations to become ISIL. 

As a physician, one who is trained to preserve life, it is unthinkable that one of my colleagues would dedicate himself to the murderous atrocities of ISIL, but al-Zawahiri knows no bounds. 

Assassination. Kidnapping and torture. Bombings. He is responsible for the death of untold numbers of people.

Law enforcement officials around the world have tried and failed to stop him. 

Only God can bring this man to his knees. 

Only God can stop him.

Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44 nasb) 

Ayman al-Zawahiri is one of those enemies for whom we are to pray and to love. With the command of Jesus in mind, I'm choosing to pray for him. I'm choosing to ask God to bring him to repentance and salvation. Whether it is through a dream or a vision or the testimony of a believer, I pray this evil man will be transformed. 

He's not the only terrorist for whom we need to pray, but he is the leader of a large group of terrorists. Imagine the impact his salvation could make. 

Praying for our enemies. As disciples, it's not optional. We have it to do. 

There's no better place to start than praying for Ayman al-Zawahiri. 

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, 

but with God all things are possible." 

(Matthew 19:26 niv)

____________
photo from Wikipedia

Kathy McKinsey wrote a beautiful article for Friday Night with Friends, New Beginning. If you haven't read it yet, you can click here. You can read more by Kathy at her blog. Our next Friday Night with Friends guest blog will post at 6 pm this Friday night. You don't want to miss it!

In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Starting Over: It's Not as Easy as It Seems, Behavior That Demonstrates Belief, Answered Prayer: The Bulletproof Vest, Bringing Good from Tragedy: Wives of Warriors Make a Difference, Friday Night with Friends: New Beginning, The Temperament Test and Married Oneness, Leaving a Legacy: Choices That Last for Generations, and Jumping to Conclusions: The Terrorists That Were Not.

#prayingforterrorists #AymanalZawahiri #loveyourenemies #disciple #JesusChrist

Radical Obedience: Hamas and Khaled Meshaal

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. (Psalms 122:6 NASB)

Khaled Meshaal, a Suni Muslim, heads the Hamas organization, which was originally an off shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has the liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation as its goal. This is a Muslim organization with three main branches, or wings: Social Welfare, Political, and Military.  According to Wikipedia, "Israeli scholar Reuven Paz estimates that 90% of Hamas activities revolve around "social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities". Social services include running relief programs and funding schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues.^[57]" Needless to say, the social welfare activities have made Hamas very popular with the Palestinians. 

It is not the social welfare programs that are the problem. The military branch excels at covert operations and have targeted groups that they consider moral deviants, pro-Israelis, and random unarmed civilians.  They view suicide bombings and summary executions as acceptable options, and celebrate the idea of martyrdom.  Criticism of Hamas has not been tolerated, and has resulted in execution for those dissidents who are brave enough to speak out against them.  

Although the claim of only 10% of their activities as military sounds nice, those activities are acts of terrorism, which is by definition "using violence and threats to intimidate or coerce". Being 90% humanitarian does not excuse the 10% of this organization that is purely terrorist, nor Khaled Meshaal, who heads this organization.  

The current conflict between Hamas and Israel is a perfect example of the tactics of these terrorists.  They have shot rockets into Israel and dug tunnels from Gaza to Israel "with our fingernails", with the plan being to send terrorists in disguise through the tunnels to infiltrate into Israel.  The Jerusalem Post is reporting a statement by Mushir-al-Masri, a spokesman for Hamas, who says that Israel has not discovered even a fraction of the tunnels, that they will build many more, and that, despite their losses, they are recuperating and will liberate Palestine from Israel.  

Terrorism is inexcusable.  

No matter what your objective, terrorism is inexcusable.  

No matter how many soup kitchens and schools you support, terrorism is inexcusable.  

With that understanding, please pray this week for Kahled Meshaal, who heads Hamas, and those who lead with him.  Admittedly, praying for these terrorists is not easy.  The prayer that never fails, however, is the one that we would do well to pray here.  Thy will be done. Whatever God wants in their lives is what we should want. Because His Word says that He is not willing for any to perish, we should want that, too.  For that reason, repentance and transformation should be a part of our prayers for these men.  

There is one more thing we can pray in this situation.  There is clear instruction in the Scripture to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem."  In these days when there is such threat of violence and destruction toward Jerusalem, we can pray with confidence for the peace of Jerusalem, knowing that it is the will of God.  

Radical obedience: Abubakar Shekau

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45 NASB)

This is the fourth part of our praying for terrorist series, and to make this a little more understandable for those who are new to this series, I've repeated the opening of the third part from last week. Please bear with me.  

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In obedience to the command of Christ to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, we are taking one terrorist a week and praying for them. I recognize it seems a shocking and outrageous thing to do. Frankly, I would prefer to write a cute Maggie story. Regardless, these people have sworn to destroy us and they are our enemies. 

Loving them begins with prayer, just as Jesus said. Loving the terrorists does not mean we trust them nor that we invite them in with their bombs. Loving them, in my opinion (which may or may not count for much) involves praying for them to come to Christ. Once they come to Christ, more will be involved, but for now, praying is a good start.  Think of it as radical obedience. 

The fourth of the terrorists for whom we need to pray is Abubakar Shekau, and he is the leader of the Boku Haram organization. The name means "Western education is forbidden". (Sometimes reported as "Western education is sin") This group has been in the news recently as the band of evil-minded thugs who kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian school girls. When a #bringbackourgirls campaign began, the Boku Haram released a video mocking the effort. They have terrorized northeastern Nigeria, and there are reports of 22,000 deaths in Nigeria due to the fighting. 

They have captured several towns and are expanding their impact throughout the area in an attempt to gain control of the region. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that Boku Haram has captured the small town of Damboa, killing more than 100 people. Previously under civilian control, Boku Haram has made this town it's new headquarters. 

Dear ones, we need to pray that this man's reign of terror would come up an end, that the destruction would be limited, and that there would be no more loss of innocent life. Pray that all his terrorist activities would be thwarted and fail, that the schoolgirls would be released or escape, and (most importantly) that he would come to Christ with a Damascus road experience that leaves him more dedicated to Christ than he ever was to terror. 

Pray, too, for the people who live in this region to see God's hand of protection and to experience a miraculous intervention of The Almighty. 

Friends, the situation in Nigeria is dire and as an act of unity with our brothers and sisters there, we are compelled to pray. As an act of radical obedience we must pray. 

Praying for Terrorists: Nasir al Wuhayshi

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45 NASB)

This is not really my favorite verse, but I have come to appreciate it a little more over the years. One of the things it makes clear is that God provides blessings of sun and rain for the "good" and the "bad" alike. This is not because He can't tell the righteous from the unrighteous. No indeed. He knows we are all unrighteous, and loves us anyway. Did you get that? God knows who is righteous (none of us) and who is unrighteous (all of us), and He loves us anyway. (His love does not exclude the possibility of judgement, but that is a topic for another time.)

Scripture is clear about our responsibility to pray for our enemies and those who hurt us. In obedience to that command, we have begun a regular program of praying for the world's most-feared terrorists. The second of the terrorists for whom we need to pray is Nasir al Wuhayshi. 

Mr. Wuhayshi is from Yemen and was closely associated with Osama bin Laden, once serving as his secretary. Still a relatively young man (thought to be in his mid to late-thirties), he has also been closely associated with our terrorist from last week,  Ayman al-Zawahiri, who promoted him to "general manager" of Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Penninsula just last year. AQAP is considered one of the most dangerous branches of Al-Qaeda. 

Mr. Wuhayshi is a slight man with a very attractive smile. He has been described as "impish" but do not underestimate this man. Just this past April (2014), a videotape was posted to YouTube showing him speaking to a gathering of Al-Qaeda leaders. Of course, I do not speak Yemini, but here is a brief portion of the translation of his remarks. With a calm demeanor and pleasant smile, he said these words:

"We must eliminate the cross… The bearer of the cross is America."

Do not be frightened by these words. Let them serve as an impetus to pray. It is clear that he knows about the cross but not the One who sacrificed Himself upon it.  

Mr. Wuhayshi's remarks remind me of another young man who was also a leader committed to eliminating the cross and all it represented. Saul of Tarsus dealt devastating blows to the young church as he persecuted believers and watched as they were stoned to death. He, too, was bent on destruction for the cross until he was walking down the road to Damascas. He saw a light, and met a Man, and that Man was Jesus. Before he knew it, Jesus had transformed Saul to Paul and the persecutor became the preacher, impacting the world for Christ as few others have done. 

Mr. Wuhayshi will try to harm the cause of Christ. There is no doubt about it. What he doesn't yet understand is that Christ died for him, too. As you pray for him this week, please pray for a Damascas-road experience that opens his eyes and brings him to Jesus. Pray that this terrorist-persecutor will become a testimony-giving preacher who will impact the world for Jesus.

Is that likely? Only God knows, but we have not because we ask not. It's is certainly no more unlikely that the salvation of Saul of Tarsus. Let's not fail to asks for the redemption of this dangerous man. 

Praying for terrorists: Ayman al-Zawahiri

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44 NASB)

The topic of terrorists goes hand in hand with the topic of persecution of the church, simply on the basis of their close proximity. It's hard to have persecution without persecutors. 

Tonight, we are praying for one of the most prominent and most feared terrorists in the world. His name is Ayman al-Zawahiri, and he is an Egyptian surgeon who is now the head of Al-Qaeda. According to Wikipedia, he grew up in a prosperous and prominent family, and was a good student who loved poetry and hated violent sports. It wasn't long, however, before he began to get involved in the Muslim Brotherhood, and soon moved into increasingly radical organizations. 

One of his wives and two of his children died as a result of US bombs in Afghanistan. He may carry anger toward the US because of this, and almost certainly does, but he was a terrorist long before their deaths. 

al-Zawahiri is believed by the FBI to have been involved in terrorists operations on at least four continents, including North America, and is considered to have been involved in the 1988 US Embassy bombings as well as the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11 attack. He is on the FBI most-wanted terrorist list. 

In 1998, he merged his Egyptian jihadist organization with Al-Qaeda and steadily gained power in that combined organization.  After the death of Osama Ben Laden, he became the head of Al-Qaeda. 

In his early 60's, he continues to spread terror and destruction. Most recently, he has called for the kidnapping of Westerners in order to exchange them for imprisoned Al-Qaeda operatives. There are some who believe the recent prisoner exchange may serve as fuel for the fire and trigger increased kidnappings. 

In April of this year, during a taped interview, a call for an increase in kidnappings was issued. (The taped voice was believed to be al-Zawahiri, but was not confirmed). Regardless, he poses a tremendous threat to the safety of people around the world, not only to the US. 

As we pray for him tonight, let us begin by praying that his reign of terror would come to an end, that the destruction he causes would be limited, and that his followers would seek a more peaceful leader. Pray especially for his wives and children to be protected from the evil he propagates and that his sons would not follow him into greater terror. Do not fail to pray that al-Zawahiri would have an encounter with the Most High God and would be transformed by that same grace by which we have also been saved. 

As you go about this next week, pray for Ayman al-Zawahiri on a daily basis, as well as for those who have been victims of his tactics of terror. It is hard to believe that this violent terrorist who is responsible for untold numbers of deaths was once a quiet and studious boy who loved science and poetry. Pray that he would grow weary of fighting, rediscover the remnants of that young boy still in his heart, and be drawn to peace. 

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You are invited to share this post and encourage friends and family to join in the effort to fight the terrorists on our knees. They may be strong, but we serve One before whom every knee will one day bow, and He is able to conquer and deliver.