1. Prayer Initiative for the UAE, February 18-20

It was a blessing and joy to serve with 23 others on a large international ministry team for a national prayer initiative for the United Arab Emirates held in Dubai, February 18-20. Some were colleagues from the leadership of the IPC and others were prayer leaders and intercessors that wanted to take part. About 250 local participants representing many of the 64 churches in the Emirates took part and the local organizers were so gracious and sensitive to the work of the Spirit in our midst.

The overall theme was “Uniting in Prayer, Transforming our Nation and Region”. A larger theme that under-laid and motivated the initiative was prayer for the fulfillment of Isaiah 19 and the prophesied highway that will one day link Assyria (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and the other nations that were once part of the Assyrian Empire), Egypt and Israel to be a “blessing on the earth” (Isaiah 19:24). The highway must first be formed as a spiritual relationship, uniting the Body of Christ across the Middle East in prayer as we heard expounded by one of our team during the initiative. Certainly the UAE is a very strategic place for His people to be and to pray together in order to contribute to the fulfillment of Isaiah 19! There are more than 8 million guest workers from up to 200 nationalities and only 1.4 million Emiratis (local Arabs). If God’s people there can unite in prayer and service, a great synergy for His Kingdom will be released that will impact the whole Middle East and beyond.

I felt from the beginning that through this prayer initiative we were sowing seeds that would spring into life, both there in the UAE while the Christian guest-workers are living and working there as well as for later on when they return to their many different countries. Other images I saw as we prayed were of God stirring a large pot that was full of different people groups being melded together, then poured out in His unique purposes. On the final day, I saw a glistening crystal fountain from which living water poured forth in all directions and felt that the Spirit was saying that the UAE could become a new Antioch for blessing the nations.

Various ministry team leaders and I led the following sessions interspersed with strong times of intercession:

Isaiah 19

Prayer and Social Transformation

Reconciliation and Identificational Repentance

Prayer and Prophetic Ministry

Children and Youth in Prayer

Prayer for the Middle East Region (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Israel and Turkey)

Conflict with Spiritual Powers

God’s Promise to the Arab World

Compassion and Humanitarian Ministry (focus on Syrian refugees)

Prayer for Revival and Renewal for the Nations

Commissioning as Intercessors

Needs that were highlighted within the UAE were the serious problems of 90% of the expats being in debt, sexual immorality and drugs. There is also an ongoing economic downturn that is causing many to lose their jobs right now.

The Lord blessed and anointed our time together. Local pastors and elders were encouraged strongly to maintain the unity of the Spirit and to work and pray together as one for the future, which they committed themselves to do. Please do pray for them to be strong and united in ongoing prayer and to carry out the unique mission He has for them with great power, love and faith. May they indeed become another Antioch that the Lord will use far beyond all we can imagine to bless the UAE, the Middle East region and the nations of the world!

2. Conferring with ministry leaders Israel, February 21-25

After the initiative in Dubai, Brian Mills, our IPC senior advisor, and I journeyed to Israel to confer with ministry leaders about a possible united prayer initiative to be held there in the future. On the one hand, it is encouraging to see all that the Lord is doing through His diverse Body of Messianic Jews, Israeli Arab Christians and Palestinian believers in the West Bank. There are many vital ministries with good numbers coming to the Lord. However, we heard from a number of ministry leaders about the lack of unity within Christ’s movement due to differences of perspective on politics and prophetic interpretations. The land continues to be a very sensitive issue and seems to be a stumbling block to real unity as believers have tended to line up with their governments rather than with one another.

We can rejoice that there are some significant efforts being made to bring Christ-followers together such as a recent consultation in Cyprus that included both Messianic Jewish and Palestinian Christian leaders to deliberate together how to move towards reconciliation. A group of pastors, both Jewish and Arab, called “Sitting at Yeshua’s feet” is going on as well as wonderful gatherings for youth that include participants from both ethnic groups. Please pray for these ministries to further develop and involve many more in the country.

If Isaiah 19 is to be fulfilled, the essential thing is to see real heart unity develop between the various niches and factions in the Body of Christ in the region. Israel occupies a central role in the creation of this spiritual highway that will bring great unity and blessing to the region and our world. Please pray with us for the effective building of a united prayer movement within Israel and the Middle East and that God will use such heart-connected prayer and action to bring about His agenda of revival and transformation to these nations.

 John Robb

IPC Chairman