Spare Thy People
In August of 2006, the Spirit of God told Doyle to call the world to fast for Israel and the Body of Christ. Since that time, we've been fasting and praying according to Joel 2:15-17 which states as follows,
15Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
When God instructed Doyle to call us all to fast, Israel was at war with Lebanon. It was very encouraging within a short period of time, they called a ceasefire and have continued with it to this date. This scripture tells us what the priests and the ministers are to do and what to pray.
Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
I encourage you to read the rest of Joel 2.
Many of us have continued to pray this prayer on a regular basis, and we have seen the Lord move all over the world. A clear example of God sparing His people was in early October of 2006. I was ministering in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Joplin, Missouri on weekends. On a following Monday, God put in Kathy's, Candace's and my heart to include the people of Southwest Missouri in our fast according to the prayer in Joel 2. At the conclusion of that day, we heard on National News that a catastrophic incident had been avoided at Memorial Middle School in Joplin, Missouri. A student entered the school with the intent of shooting up the school with a semi-automatic assault weapon. When confronted, he shot as a warning in the ceiling hitting a water pipe. Then, he pointed it toward officials confronting him and pulled the trigger. The weapon jammed, he was subdued, and no one including the young student was hurt, thank God! It was reported that the young man had no previous problems, so it was certainly God's mercy on his life in particular, as well as all the others at the school. This is a clear example of the authority of the gospel working in our lives on a daily basis. You see, this prayer was not just for us or the people that we know in Southwest Missouri. God put it in our hearts to pray for all the people there that day, and He demonstrated His mercy upon those people involved as well as all of us! Praise God !!
The Lord has established this authority in our hearts through several incidents in our schools over the years, especially after the tragedy at Columbine in Colorado several years ago. One such incident occurred in the spring of 1999 in Allen, TX. We had moved to Allen from the Plano ISD in the Fall of 1998. During our stay in the Plano schools, we had experienced several trials in the system with overcoming results, and we were excited to move to what appeared to be a much less pressure stressed environment. All was progressing nicely until one day, school was dismissed early because of a bomb threat. As a result in one day, the school system went from peaceful tranquility to total pandemonium! Fear became the ruling force at the time, and we immediately began to take authority over that spirit! We also talked with teachers, parents, school board members, and administrators encouraging them not to overreact. After all, there was never any physical evidence of a bomb or anything harmful ever found! However, the Superintendent, who was highly recognized by her peers, was extremely manipulative and controlling and convinced the Board it was necessary to spend over one million dollars on security equipment such as metal detectors, security cameras, and increasing security personnel from six to nearly forty. It became a national news story over nothing! Over the following three weeks, there were at least a half-dozen bomb threats occur throughout the system, but they never occurred where our two daughters were attending at the time. God put it in our hearts to resist this spirit, and we were determined that it would not affect us until we would see total victory in the entire community. We clearly saw the spirit of the Superintendent was a Jezebel, and God led several of us to fast and pray against this spirit over the next several months. Paul stated in 1 Timothy 2:1-2,
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
During the following school year, we began to see the spirit of the community change as two prominent School Board members lost re-election, and two others resigned. The Superintendent also determined it was time to leave and took a larger job in New Mexico. We received notice that only two months into her new position, she was already at odds with the School Board. One of the first things implemented by the new Allen Superintendent was the removal of the metal detectors, and the security personnel was significantly reduced. Oh, I know, it took over a year to overcome this adversity, but perseverance paid dividends. It was worth the fight as it always is! The Gospel always brings salvation to everyone who continues to believe!