150 - Ekklesia Prayer Coalition
Letter from the Editor:
This Friday, August 14th, has become a flashpoint of intercession concerning the war in Iran. Recently, Lou Engle, Dutch Sheets, and other apostolic leaders were discussing the burden of the Lord for the situation in Iran and the Middle East. As the Holy Spirit rested on their meeting, a shared conviction emerged for a national prayer gathering to unify the ekklesia in contending for breakthrough in the region. Since Dutch and his brother Tim had already scheduled a healing summit for August 14th at Tim’s church in Middletown, Ohio, the leaders felt it was important to seize the moment and call the Body of Christ into strategic prayer for this assignment. Therefore, we urge you to join us—in person or online—this Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET. Today’s Briefing shares recent excerpts from Lou and Dutch concerning the Lord’s agenda for this key gathering, now being called the Ekklesia Prayer Coalition.
– Cheryl Amabile
Ekklesia Prayer Coalition
"I believe that the issue with Iran and the Prince of Persia is the most important thing in the world to be praying for.” – Dutch Sheets
For decades, Lou Engle and Dutch Sheets have collaborated on significant prayer assignments for America. This week, they are joining forces with other apostolic leaders to mobilize prayer concerning the war in Iran and its implications for the globe. With Iran’s current regime still in power, the original concerns that led to America and Israel’s military intervention have not yet been resolved.
In his July 22nd and August 3rd Give Him 15 posts, Dutch addressed this critical situation, saying:
When physical wars are occurring on the earth, you can be certain that the invisible, spiritual realm is very involved. At times, more than others. The spiritual forces of darkness, spoken of throughout Scripture, are always attempting to control people and places. Stealing, killing, and destroying are their forte (John 10:10). The violence and insatiable craving for power held by previous and current dictators such as Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Putin, Xi Jinping, Islamic terrorist groups, and other evil people is motivated by satan and his forces. Guaranteed.
Today’s ruthless, bloodthirsty, Islamist terrorist regime in Iran that hates Israel and America, and wants to dominate the entire region, is controlled by demonic powers. The sanctity of human life means nothing to them, nor does seeing people suffer. Even the thought of their own deaths doesn’t bother them; in their minds, they just get to their eternal harem more quickly. Their agendas of killing Jews and Americans, taking over the region, and eventually ruling the world are all that matters. They WOULD use a nuclear weapon if they had one. They. Are. Evil. And so are their proxies: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
We believe that the goal of the demonic powers behind Iran’s regime is to hinder the spiritual harvest that God has ordained for the Middle East and the world. Dutch went on to say:
Principalities, powers, world rulers of darkness, and demonic forces are very much involved. We cannot expect our government and military to deal with the spiritual forces; this is the responsibility of the church. As we do so effectively, those in positions of governmental authority can accomplish what they must do. Jesus told us that we, His Ekklesia, would need to bind and loose (forbid and allow) the spiritual forces of darkness (Matthew 16:19), and we must do so…
The forces of darkness behind Iran are opposing America, the church, Israel, and God’s planned harvest in the Middle East. We, the church, must rise up and do our part. In the same way that millions of people prayed during World War II and helped turn the tide against Hitler, our prayers today can help turn the tide against radical Islamic evil.
In his August 6th Give Him 15 post, Dutch reviewed two prophetic dreams that were integral in the decision to devote the night of August 14 to prayer regarding Iran, the Middle East, and the coming great harvest. He said:
In both dreams, the Ekklesia, God’s ruling body on earth, was told we had been prepared for a higher level of representing Him (my wording). Both dreams used the same phrase in doing so. In the first dream, Rees Howells, whose prayer meetings helped save the world in WWII, wrapped a mantle around me (I represented the praying church) and said, “This is the coat I wore during World War II, and must be worn by the Ekklesia in order to see the Kingdom harvest at hand. The training is finished; it’s time to go to war...and you will see the turning of the war.”
In the second dream, a group of leaders and I fought 5 spiritual giants that were trying to destroy America. We faced them one at a time, on a battlefield shaped like the U.S., and defeated them. The first giant we fought represented the evil regime leading Iran (not the general population).
At the beginning of this second dream, before the battles occurred, we had been training in Philadelphia, PA, America’s birthplace. As we were approaching the gym to train again that day, the archangel Gabriel appeared and said to us, “You will not go to the gym today to train. The training for the fight ahead of you is over. Your request for the fight date to be moved up was granted, and you are going straight into a championship fight now.”
The training is finished.
Twice. In two dreams. By two people. To the Ekklesia. Both in the context of prayer against evil international forces and the powers controlling them. Remarkable.
Another interesting and confirming detail that Dutch discovered was that the first version of the modern Iranian tricolor flag was originally adopted on August 14, 1905. The convergence of that date with this prayer initiative has encouraged us that God has chosen this time to address His purposes for Iran.
This brings to mind a previous dream we received in which our team was holding a corporate prayer event for a foreign nation. In the dream, the graphic design on the backdrop of the stage became the country’s new flag. We believe the dream depicts the spiritual process that occurs through our corporate intercession: as we pray revelatory prayers in agreement with God’s specific design for the nation, its destiny can begin to manifest in the natural. This is where heaven meets earth and history is shaped through our faith-filled agreement with God’s purposes.
Our understanding of His will for Iran is that God wants to set the nation free from the stronghold of this radical Islamic regime. But to do so, the enemy’s hold must be broken in the spirit. Dutch explains: “Jesus defeated the ‘strong man’ (Matthew 12:29) over Iran - and every other nation - at the Cross, and the time has come for this to be enforced in the spiritual realm by the church. Doing so will release tremendous fruit in that nation, region, and throughout the world.”
Likewise, Lou has issued a clarion call for the Body of Christ to seize this moment in prayer:
“The God who gave Daniel victory over the prince of Persia has not changed. He is still the God who answers prayer, who breaks spiritual strongholds, and who brings freedom to nations. On August 14, we will gather with believers across America to cry out for Iran, for Israel, and for God's purposes to prevail in this critical hour.”
Dutch and Lou have exhorted us all to engage in daily prayer leading up to Friday. May we persevere in our intercession until the Lord sends His mighty angels to deal with the prince of Persia and release a great harvest in the Middle East and beyond.
