Around the country right now, Christians are boldly taking a stand and saying: “Enough is enough.” This was evident on April 13, 2024, when parents and intercessors gathered at state capitols to pray, worship, and declare Christ’s love at a rally titled “Don’t Mess With Our Kids.” Many of these gatherings saw opposition from loud and angry protesters. But even in the face of such distractions, God’s message of truth and grace has prevailed. 

Have you taken your place on the wall?

View Comments (21)

Sisters Lynne and Suzie MacAskill, IFA Massachusetts state prayer co-leaders, proclaimed God’s presence at the Boston gathering, despite the protests. The turnout was about 350 people. Lynne and Suzie arrived early and began praying on-site. Roughly 50 protesters were present too, some of them waving communist and “trans” flags. A sizable number of police officers were keeping an eye on the proceedings to prevent outbreaks of violence. Thanks be to God, nothing of the sort occurred. 

Still, things were hardly serene. The Massachusetts Capitol accommodates only about 100 people, so that meeting was moved over to the Boston Common. The guest speakers had to compete with loud, angry protesters who were using megaphones and noisemakers.

“It was so loud, and the people were shouting things like, ‘Don’t kill trans kids!’ ” said Lynne. “The protesting went on for hours. Even during worship, the chanting continued: “We’re here! We’re queer! Your god has no power here!’ ”

The Boston gathering was led by Christian leader and author Marlene J. Yeo, who had herself been “nonbinary” before that term ever became popular — and before the Lord brought her out of that misery and into His redemption. Ten years ago, the Lord told Marlene that He wanted to do for others what He had done for her: walk them through their brokenness and love them into life. This was Marlene’s first time sharing in a public setting about the confusion she’d suffered during her childhood. But clearly, it was fitting for her to lead this event.

When Marlene was young, she bore a lot of bitterness toward her mother and father, and she wanted no part of being either male or female. She rejected her gender, wanting to be referred to only as what many today call “nonbinary.” But God had plans of His own for Marlene’s life. Out of her darkness, confusion, and suffering, He brought forth a ministry — one of healing for souls, the Church, and the land. 

“If it had not been for the mercy of God, I would have been on the other side of the fence today,” said Marlene. 

Amid the turbulent shouting and chanting, Marlene told the protesters: “We are not here to protest against you. We are here to pray for you. We have compassion for you.” And that’s exactly what event organizers did: They prayed for the protesters. Marlene had made it known beforehand that the event’s organizers were to be there to pray for LGBTQ people and for those protesting the event, and not to “counterprotest.” That focus on love opened the door to a time of ministry to the people. “Some pastors were able to pray for the protesters, and some were able to engage in a civil conversation with them,” says Lynne.

The noisy protesting continued. Suzie asked the worship team, YWAM Boston, if they would sing “The Blessing” over the protesters. This song is based on the scriptural priestly blessing: The LORD bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace”(Numbers 6:24–26).

As the worship team sang, the intercessors and attendants turned toward the protesters, lifted their hands heavenward, and began singing “The Blessing” over the people.

And then, a miracle: The angry crowd went silent.

“There was a holy hush for a second where they realized we were singing over them,” Lynne says. “Some shouted: ‘You don’t care about us!’ — but for a moment, they knew that we did; they realized we were singing to them. After that, there was such a sweet presence of the Lord! There was also the blowing of shofars, and it was powerful.” 

Isn’t that a beautiful testimony? Much like what happened at the Wisconsin gathering, the Lord was here telling His intercessors to bless the people — and the blessing is always greater than the curse. 

Lynne and Suzie are quiet and soft-spoken. They say their assignment at the gathering was to pray for the government. They also prayed for boldness for every speaker that day, as well as for themselves. Equipped with only a microphone, they continued to pray boldly, and more loudly than normal. Lynne says she believes it to be a double miracle that they were heard when it was their turn to pray. “It was loud, and their noisemakers were so high-pitched and shrill, I didn’t think anyone could hear us,” she said. “People said they heard our prayers clearly, even above the noisemakers. God took over!”

This account convinces me that here was a notable miracle, one which many may not yet be able to realize. In the book of Acts, Peter stands and addresses the people during Pentecost, after the Spirit of God is poured out. We’re not told how many people were gathered in total, but after Peter is done preaching, some 3,000 souls get added to the church that day (see Acts 2:41). Peter preached to thousands without a microphone, and yet the gospel message prevailed. We also see this in the gospels, when Jesus would preach from floating boats as hundreds sat along the shore listening (see Mark 4:1). All of this convinces me that the Lord wanted the prayers, the worship, and His message declared to the LGBTQ people and the communists present at the event. God is so good! 

The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The LORD thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic (Psalm 29:3–4 NLT).

A Sign of Hope for the Future?

Lynne said that during the prayer, she saw an eagle fly over the Capitol. Others saw that eagle as well. That may not be any big deal to some, but it does appear to be a prophetic sign to others. A few months before, an intercessor had gone to pray at the Massachusetts State House, and an eagle landed upon a statue there until the prayer was done. Now here was an eagle flying over the Capitol at yet another prayer gathering in Boston. Could this be a sign of hope for America?

“There was a spiritual battle happening, and you could feel it on the front lines,” says Lynne. “The people were chanting and cursing. Although there was opposition, there was also an overwhelming sense of the presence of God.”

Suzie was slightly discouraged, because the day after, The Boston Globe ran a piece spinning things to suggest that the people praying were a hate group chanting hate slogans. In fact, that is the opposite of what happened. And Suzie’s husband reminded her of the words of Jesus: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).

As Christians, we should expect pushback in serving God. Jesus wouldn’t have taught His disciples so often about persecution if that weren’t to be expected. And we must not tolerate bad feelings toward those who stand against us. Jesus told us how we’re to handle those who oppose us:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? … (Matthew 5:43–46). 

Because of the blessing that took place, we should expect to see fruit from this prayer gathering. The greatest miracles in the Bible always came after the smallest acts of obedience. You, too, can be part of what God is doing right now. We say things like “for such a time as this” a lot. But your being alive on earth at this moment is not without a purpose. What if this is your own “for such a time as this” moment? Link arms with other intercessors, and be courageous! The Lord has promised to be with us always (see Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 27:14; 31:24; 1 Corinthians 16:13). 

If all of this has encouraged you, let’s give God thanks here and now, and let’s pray for continued blessings:

Father, thank You for Your presence at these state capitols. Thank You for Your lovingkindness and tender mercies extended to all, even to those who have yet to call upon Your name. Your love was made manifest to those protesters, and so we know that the hours of intercession, the faith and obedience, and the ministry that took place will not return void. We’re thanking You in advance for what You’ve already done in Boston, and also for what You will do in the future.

Thank you for Marlene’s ministry to the LGBTQ community. Please continue blessing that work. And raise up more men and women just like her, those who have been delivered out of confusion, brokenness, and a lack of personal identity. Please heal and restore the people to whom they minister, so that they might encounter Your love through Your people. Forgive us for those times we’ve lacked empathy toward them, being quick to respond with condemnation instead of compassion. It takes grace to love as You do, so we ask for more grace. Bring Your revival among LGBTQ people. May they know Your love — the love of the only perfect Father.

We press on in praying for America. Because Jesus Christ is the hope of glory, we have a reason for hope in the face of bad reports and continual conflict. Increase boldness in the Church, so that even in the face of threats and jeering, we’ll continue extending the hope of Jesus to the lost. In times of darkness, help us to be that city on a hill that You have called us to be. Let us shine our light before others so that they may see our works and glorify You. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we do know You! If we are headed into darker times, let this be the time for the Church to arise and shine, and let this be our greatest hour. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Learn more about Marlene Yeo and her ministry at www.hecaresforme.org.)

If you’re encouraged by what God did in Boston, share your thoughts and prayers here!

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: paulbrady via Canva Pro.