Lebanon (MNN) – Cry Out recently hosted their third annual Incense and Fire Prayer Gathering in Lebanon. The event brought local and international believers together in person and online to sing, pray, and participate in training workshops.
With the success of the event, Cry Out hopes it will springboard a movement of prayer for Lebanon and other Near East nations.
A Vision for the Near East Church
Cry Out’s Peter* says this year’s Incense and Fire event was the longest it has ever been. The event consisted of 75 hours of non-stop prayer and worship. One of the most encouraging results of the event was that many young people from local churches were in attendance.
This helps set the Near East Church up for future local leadership and it gives a sense of local empowerment, “rather than just having internationals come and pray,” Peter says.
“We really want to see local churches rise up, taking the whole prayer baton.”
Through the Incense and Fire event, Cry Out encourages locals to take up ministry in their area, starting first with prayer that can lead to transformation and guidance.
“We’re trying to, in a sense, encourage local churches not just once a year, but on a regular basis to engage in worship and in intercession.”
Peter says they believe prayer is the best way to see God bring a breakthrough in Lebanon and the Near East and to bring more people to Christ. The prayer of others is impacting the region and he says there’s never been more prayer over the region than right now.
There are even places of prayer being established in different areas. While Peter was in Beirut, he visited a ministry that had signed a contract on a shop. Their purpose was to turn it into a house of prayer.
“They’re going to have four stories of a shop that’s going to develop. It’s just an empty building, but their heart is to see prayer for the nation and also nations rise up.”
Peter says as more people are praying, there’s a greater anticipation that the Lord will bring a breakthrough in the region.
A Prayer Movement
However, he says, “It’s going to take a prayer movement to reach a prayer movement.”
(Photo courtesy of Michael Y via Unsplash)
While prayers from the local Church are vital to the transformation of the region, prayers from those outside the Near East are deeply needed as well.
“If we saw prayer rise up more and more from the local churches [and] also from people outside of Lebanon in intercession for these nations, we believe that would release more and more people to encounter Jesus,” Peter says.
When you hear discouraging news about the Near East, take a moment to pray that God will raise up prayer from within the churches and local believers there. Pray that He will bring a breakthrough and that more people will begin giving their lives over to Him.
Peter says following the Incense and Fire Prayer Gathering, a group of Cry Out workers traveled to different places in Lebanon to pray over the country and worship.
“We had just a kind of a traveling team that wanted to stand and worship on some of the high places and just declare God’s glory over this wonderful nation of Lebanon.”
Praise the Lord for His works and for using the Incense and Fire event to stir the Church in the Near East.
* Name changed for security purposes
