Afghanistan weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of people around the world.  As believers, we are called to pray for the protection, provision and perseverance of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.  IFA has provided an excellent free resource that we can use to intercede for the crisis in Afghanistan, but the ultimate guide for prayer is the Holy Spirit and his promptings, especially when we are on the go.

Such was my experience as I headed out to pick up my son from high school last week.  Because I rushed out of the house without my water bottle, I decided to run through a drive through for an iced tea to beat the brutal August heat.  After ordering and pulling up to the window, I reached for my wallet in the center console box. To my dismay, I couldn’t find it anywhere! Maybe it was at home keeping my water bottle company. Surely I had cash stashed somewhere though.  Panicked, I  thoroughly searched all compartments to no avail.  Unfortunately, I had recently cleaned out my van so I apologized and headed for the school (Little did I know that this seemingly insignificant incident would be part of a powerful lesson from the Holy Spirit’s leading.) Minor inconveniences such as these are frustrating and humbling.  However,  the current world news came to mind, keeping my perspective in check, and prompting me to lift up the situation in Afghanistan.

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As I waited in the long car line, I asked The Lord to protect all Christians in danger. The Holy Spirit gave me the word “stealthiness”, which can be defined as the ability to escape observation. Thoughts of God’s miraculous interventions recounted by Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place popped into my head.  Even with this encouragement, my faith was running low.  Just the day before, what seemed to be the answer to a prayer for a personal need did not turn out as expected.  Sometimes these let downs leave me wondering if I misunderstood The Lord or just need to slow down to listen more carefully. Can you relate to this in your own life? Maybe you have asked the same question this year in regards to our intercession for America and potentially promising answers for our country’s problems.

Since God did not seem to give me an apparent solution for a smaller challenge in my own life, then why should I believe for something as great as stealthiness from the Taliban for believers in Afghanistan?  In faith, I chose obedience over my fickle feelings and lifted up this request which ended with, “Lord I believe, please help my unbelief.”  Upon returning home, I pulled into my dimly lit garage. Glancing down as I put the van in park, my eye caught a flash of silver in the console box. In amazement, I stared straight at my wallet and it’s shiny zipper handle which was sitting there the whole time!  An hour earlier I had frantically combed the van in broad daylight, but completely missed it.  You can see in the picture below that there is no logical reason for me to overlook it, except that it is mostly black and so is the console.  Even still, I thoroughly searched more than once and it was right at the top.  Immediately the Holy Spirit quickened my spirit and The Lord informed me, ‘If I can blind you from seeing your wallet a foot from your face, know that I am more than able to hide and protect the believers in Afghanistan whom I choose to save’.  What a comforting rebuke, and help for my unbelief that we can hope in The Lord for solutions! But even without this gracious confirmation, scripture assures us about His care and  involvement in the problems of this world and in the lives of people.

However, not every Christian in Afghanistan or other hostile countries will come through persecution unscathed on this side of eternity.  The New Testament and ministries such as Voice of the Martyrs bear record to this, and yet, we are still called to pray for these believers as scripture and the Holy Spirit leads.  During the IFA webcast last Tuesday, Judy McDonough shared the perfect verses for interceding for all aspects of the crisis in Afghanistan.  They just happened to be in her morning reading from her favorite daily devotional book (a compilation of only scripture).  Watch the webcast archive to be encouraged and equipped with those scriptures as well as pray with others.

When the news broke, the passages I read that day fit perfectly as prayers of perseverance for believers in Afghanistan.  Romans 8:18 reminds us all, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Sometimes The Lord gives His people stealthiness during persecution, and other times we must hang on to His stealthy hope.  Both of these cases were powerfully demonstrated in the life of Corrie Ten Boom and afflicted Jews during WWII. Once again, stealthy describes something that is hard to detect or see. Since hope pertains to the future, it is not visible.  No wonder this intangible treasure often eludes our attention and focus. Romans 8:24 states, “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?”  Of course this requires faith, which is “the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT SEEN.” Hebrews 11:1.

Some people put their hope in things like the lottery, which is simply worldly hope and wishful thinking that likely won’t come to pass. If our focus is primarily on this life, we might Hold Onto POSSIBILITIES Expectantly that a politician, pastor, church, ministry, doctor, job, school, home, relationship, etc. might be the answer to our problems or satisfy our deepest desires. While all of these things can be provision from The Lord, they do not offer true security or complete fulfillment.  Hope that this world offers comes faster than eternal hope, but it can also vanish just as quickly.

The hope that God offers is guaranteed to last, even though it is not seen with our eyes in this lifetime. Why put our faith in possibilities when we can Hold Onto PROMISES Expectantly?  We often put false expectations on God, so let’s look at the stealthy hope that Jesus gave in these promises. 1. He will be with us ALWAYS, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) 2. God will forgive our sins as we forgive others. (Matthew 6:14-15) 3. We will be blessed, and rewarded in heaven if we are persecuted for His name. (Matthew 5:10-12) 4. He has gone to prepare a place for us and is returning for His bride (John 14:2-6.) 5. In the end he will make all things new and believers will live with him, completely free from sin and pain for eternity (Revelation 21:1-8!)  Nothing in all the world can even come close to this hope. Let us focus on what is now a glimmer (especially when we face trials, persecution and injustice), but one day will be our permanent reality!

Of course, waiting for Jesus’ return and timing to make things right requires patience, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:25. In the meantime, when we face hardship and disappointments and God doesn’t come through when we expect, or how we expect, we can trust that He causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to HIS purposes.   Even in our country today, we see evidence of this Romans 8:28 outcome in many areas. Sometimes we observe this good almost immediately, but other times it takes days, months, or even years.  And there are things we will not understand in this lifetime. Yes, the hope of Christians is often stealthy, not easily detected this side of eternity.  But just like the wallet that escaped my view in the console, our eternal treasure is there just the same, and in an instant- it will be revealed!

Father, please give us and people around the world spiritual eyes to see, and the wisdom to live for eternity.  Help us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, our coming King!  To you who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to your power that is at work within us, to you be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Karen Quiroz is an intercessor and writer of holy acrostics and acronyms.