PRAYING FOR PROTECTION AGAINST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
We pray that you might keep your children who called by your name, the righteous and the innocent ones from the power of the evil one.
John 17:11,15 “Holy Father. . . by the power of your name . . . protect them from the evil one.” (NIV)
Psalm 140:1-13 1 “Rescue [us], Lord, from evildoers; protect [us] from the violent, 2 who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. 3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips. 4 Keep [us] safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect [us] from the violent, who devise ways to trip [our] feet. 5 The arrogant have hidden a snare for [us]; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for [us] along [our] path.” 6 Let Israel “say to the Lord, ‘You are my God.’ Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy. 7 Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, shield my head in the day of battle. 8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord; do not let their plans succeed. 9 Those who surround [us] proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them. 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. 11 May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent. 12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence.” (NIV)
Father I pray for your blessing on our country. May you deliver us from evil and protect us from danger. Prevent evil from befalling your chosen, righteous and innocent ones. Rise up and defend the weak and powerless. Thwart the plans of every schemer of wickedness, mentally deranged, demon possessed, the drug, alcohol and chemical influenced, mass murderer, terrorist, arms fanatic & Islamic jihadist.
Psalm 55:1-3, 9, 11, 23 1 “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught 3 because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked. 9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city, threats and lies never leave its streets. 23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay, the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in You.” (NIV)
Psalm 74:10-11; 18-23 10 “How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them! 18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how foolish people have reviled your name. 19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. 20 Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. 21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. 22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. 23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually” (NIV).
Psalm 10:1-2, 12-18 1 “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. 13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, ‘You will not call to account’? 14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.” (ESV)
Break the arms of the wicked and cut off the source of their power!
Psalm 37:17 “For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.” (ESV)
Psalm 140:8 “Do not let evil people have their way.” (NLT)
Psalm 10:2 “Let the wicked be caught in the evil they plan for others.” (NLT)
Therefore Lord, cut off the source of their power and strength, their communication, their organizational connections, their financing, their intelligence, their resources and armaments. Bring their plans to naught in the mighty name of Jesus!
Isaiah 59:19b “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” (KJV)
As in days of old send a spirit of panic into the camp of every terrorist organization including the likes of Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS – route the enemy – let them turn on themselves and flee seven ways. (Deuteronomy 28:7, I Samuel 14:15 – Philistines, & 2 Kings 7:6 – Arameans)
PRAYING FOR GRACE IN THE FACE OF TERROR
Lord if your judgments are fixed as with Judah in Jeremiah’s day, and you choose not to change the situation in oppressive, war torn and terrorized countries, at least be merciful to the righteous like you were with Jeremiah and Baruch and let them escape with their lives. (Jeremiah 45:1)
Lord you addressed senseless tragedy in your day . . .
Luke 13:1-5 1 “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’”(NIV)
In the light of that perspective we choose to stand with and claim the promise of your salvation for those with repentant hearts. Save them from suffering and rescue them from perishing!
Grant protection to the righteous, to your children who call upon your name.
Habakkuk 3:2b “In wrath remember mercy.” (NIV)
And also in your mercy, touch the hearts of those who are unrepentant that they might turn to you as well, repent and receive their salvation and not perish! Send a spirit of humility and repentance into their midst!
Ezekiel 33:11 I claim this Sovereign Lord, because you have said “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die?” (NIV)
Lord Jesus we remember with honor and are inspired by those, who for reasons only you fully know, have had to lay down their lives for your namesake in the face of persecution and terror.
Romans 14:7-9 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (NIV)
And Lord, as we consider such seemingly senseless and brutal tragedies and deaths, move upon the hearts of all those who remain to turn to you and repent for you have said…
Ecclesiastes 7:2 “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” (ESV)
2 Corinthians 5:15 “That those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (NIV)