I’m horrified at the latest brutal beheadings by ISIS of the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian men. Every day I read reports of children being enslaved, beheaded or imprisoned by terrorists. While I’m appalled at the apathy of the church and Christians in general, I know that there is a long history of how God dealt with terrorists.
The definition of a terrorist is: 1) the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes; 2) the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization; 3) a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government. The ultimate purpose is submission caused by fear of the terrorist.
By that definition, the first terrorist is the enemy of God who deceived Adam and Eve and caused them to fall. That enemy has terrorized the people of God from the beginning by bringing division, famine, wars and every kind of perversion on the planet. We need to remember that even though the terrorists have a cause or a label, such as ISIS or ISIL, the same enemy who caused the fall of man is behind these terrorists. Here are some ways that God deals with terrorists:
The Angel of the Lord Kills an Army
In the Bible, God has a record of successfully dealing with terrorists. In 2 Kings 19:35-36, the angel of the Lord killed an entire army: “On that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When others woke up early in the morning, these were all dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and stayed in Nineveh.”
The Lord Sends Plagues to Bring Deliverance
The book of Exodus is the story of how God delivered His people from Egypt by bringing down their gods. God demonstrated His power and authority by attacking the gods of Egypt. By the time the Hebrew slaves had left, the land and people were bankrupt with their primary assets destroyed.
The Lord Appears in a Dream to the Terrorist
In Judges 7, Gideon’s army is reduced to 300 men. He sneaks up on the Midianite camp and overhears a conversation between 2 soldiers. The soldier is telling his friend about a dream that was a sign that Gideon’s army was going to succeed.
“I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands” (paraphrase of Judg. 7:13-14).
Gideon and his 300 men blow the trumpets and break jars with their hands at the edge of camp during the third watch or midnight. They stood up and yell, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” This caused the army to turn on itself and attack each other.
The Lord Appears to the Terrorist
Saul had terrorized the infant church and he was on his way to imprison men and women who followed Jesus. Jesus stops Saul in his tracks:
“As he went he drew near Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ He said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Trembling and astonished, he said, ‘Lord, what will You have me do?’ The Lord said to him, ‘Rise up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do'” (Acts 9:5-6).
From these Scriptures, we know how to pray for the terrorists:
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Pray for angelic legions to be released to deal with the armies of the terrorists.
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Pray for supernatural signs and wonders to be released that demonstrate God’s authority.
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Pray that the terrorists would have dreams from God; that they would be convicted of their actions and turn to the living God.
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Pray for visitations to the terrorists from God.
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Pray that the terrorists would turn on each other.
Pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in the territories infiltrated by ISIS and ISIL for strength in the faith. Pray that God would appear to them, for supernatural deliverance and that the authorities would take up their cause. And pray that America wakes up to the darkness at their door.
Leilani Haywood, award-winning writer, is the editor of Spirit Led Woman and a frequent contributor to Charisma. Tell her what you think of this article on Twitter @leilanihaywood.
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