God Called Us to Africa

Africa is different.  It’s a bit like looking at the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke are the synoptic Gospels…and then there’s John.  As one of God’s Intercessors, I’ve been blessed to travel to three of our Global regions to pray several times.  I’ve prayed in Asia and the Pacific region.  I’ve prayed in Latin America and the Caribbean region.  I’ve prayed many times in Europe and in the Middle East.  But, until recently I had not been to Africa to pray.  I had not led a prayer team to Africa.  Now, I have.

I’m still trying to sort it all out.  Normally, when I return from a prayer trip, God has given me a clear message about the experiences he has led us in.  He brings to my mind in a wonderful way what he wants me to share with others after we return from praying.  I have no eloquent thoughts about our recent trip.  My thoughts are a jumble that I’m attempting to make sense of today.

In talking with the Lord, I began with bits and pieces from the many prayer experiences he provided.  One African leader we prayed with said, “Pray that Jesus will help the Islamic extremists who are torturing others in my area to come to know him as their Savior.”  Yes, you heard that right.  He doesn’t want them gone.  He wants them Saved.  He then said, “Pray that the Lord, will send me wherever he wants me to go, so I may serve him.”  I was humbled, right then and there.  Then, we prayed.  We interceded for this man and for the desires of his heart.

Another man shared how he and his family have been evicted from their home several times when they didn’t have enough money for the rent.  He told us that his friends said to him, ‘You have three degrees – use one to support your family.  You have only to give up your ministry.’  He and his family have continued to minister to others.  He shares the Gospel and disciples those who are seeking Jesus.  We prayed that God will bless him and his family with a home of their own before Christmas when they would once again be evicted unless God changes his situation.  I wait in faith with him believing God for the answer to this prayer.

We met and prayed with an African man whose greatest joy beyond knowing Jesus himself is that his six children all know Jesus!  We praised God with him!  Then, we visited an area where people, living in poverty unlike any we see here in the US, are working in dangerous conditions everyday with the hope that they will make enough money to eat that day.  My heart broke for them.

We slept in beds with mosquito netting and stayed in hotels where guards and police constantly patrolled.  Then we saw families who were well off enjoying a swimming pool together and eating well and I couldn’t help remembering the others we had seen earlier – the ones who were hoping to eat that night.  Please pray for them. 

We visited a National Park and went on a Safari.  It was exciting.  But, we later rode in a bus on a road in the middle of nowhere and saw a lone person wandering in the desert and a road blocked by a group of cows walking about.  May God bless that lone man.  May he bring him hope.

We prayed with missionaries who live in tents three out of four weeks each month so they can minister to an unreached people group.  They asked us to pray for those they have helped bring to Christ as they stand up for their beliefs when the village brings in the witch doctor later this weekend to determine who the witches are in the camp that must be cast out of the tribe to die.  We prayed with our missionaries and we prayed for the new Christians and all those in the village.

We Praised God and celebrated with the African Village Church Planting Supervisors as they shared the numbers of baptisms, decisions for Christ, and new churches that have happened just between January and June of this year.  These numbers were incredible!  God is working through these men and others like them to bring the Gospel to those living in Africa.  Lives are being changed and transformed as many become believers in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

In an area where Spiritual Warfare is thick and heavy and witch doctors are the norm, the hope of Jesus Christ is alive and well!  I was invited to teach about the power in prayer twice during our fifteen days of prayer in Africa.  I was humbled and truly intimidated to stand before them.  But, then God reminded me, one of his intercessors, that the message I had to teach was his, not mine.  So, I taught and the Lord blessed me with an incredible interpreter.  Together, we brought God’s message about his power in prayer to those he wanted to hear.

Our team experienced many moments of God’s presence during our stay.  Four experienced intercessors who had never experienced Africa.  The Gospels would not be complete without the book of John.  Nor, would the world and the work of the Lord be complete without the continent of Africa.  Thank you, God, for teaching me more than I anticipated, for giving me strength to say, “yes”, to all you called us to do, for keeping me ever humble before you, and for blessing our team with the amazing experience of praying and interceding for those in need in Africa.

Father God, I am forever your intercessor, Jacqui.