As IFA continues ministering to God’s people following Indigenous People’s Day, Contributing Writer Remco Brommet shares the following account of the recent experiences of one intercessor with a burden for the Native American nations. Remco’s  prayer guide, Awaken the Sleeping Giant: Praying for Revival in Native American Nations, can be downloaded by clicking here.

Along North Carolina state Route 441, at a fork leading into the Great Smoky Mountains, lies the small town of Cherokee, halfway between Franklin, North Carolina; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. IFA intercessor Alysha Townsend (a relative newcomer to our ministry) and her husband, Steve, had driven through it often on the way from their home in Ocala, Florida, to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee — one of their favorite vacation spots. They have never given Cherokee much of a look, except for its function in helping them not to miss that all-important fork in the road.

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Until a few weeks ago.

Alysha had been curious for a while about her husband’s Cherokee ancestry, but she had so far been unable to find out much. The connection did stir her heart for the Cherokee Nation, however. That stirring took possession of her with force when she came across the documentary titled Awakened: The Spiritual Destiny of the First Americans, on Amazon Prime. After hearing mention of it on an IFA webcast, Alysha watched, cried, and, being fairly new to the ministry of intercession, received her first clear-cut prayer assignment from the Holy Spirit. That assignment led her and Steve to stop in Cherokee the next time they went to Pigeon Forge, instead of just driving through.

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Alysha describes what happened next:

“My husband, Steve, asked me that morning where I wanted to stop to pray in Cherokee, and I told him I did not have a specific place. I had been asking God to show me where to go but hadn’t really heard back on that yet! As we were making the left-hand turn on 441 in front of Cherokee Baptist Church, Steve said, ‘I know where we’re going!’ He pulled into the parking lot that is immediately off to the right, by the river, because he saw a giant Cherokee statue. (It was not there when we came this way last in June of 2021.) We parked and got out and went over to the statue. It turned out to be a statue of a Cherokee family of three — father, mother, and child. It appeared that it was carved from wood, from a distance, but when you got close, you could see it was actually made of steel and was bolted down to the sidewalk. As we stood behind it by the river, we noticed that this spot was where two rivers meet and become one. The single river then flows behind the statue and under a bridge. If you look back in the direction the statue faces, the family is looking at Cherokee Baptist Church, which overlooks the highway and [the] parking lot we were in. We read and prayed through Remco’s prayer guide as our family of three right there by the Cherokee family of three, as we watched the river converge in front of us. 

“Upon leaving the parking lot I noticed a bear statue. It had a green back that I did not get a good look at, but after driving a while, I realized it might have been a map. I was disappointed that we did not stop to look at it, because I felt it was significant somehow. We had gone too far to turn around by then, so I decided I would try to find a photo through an online search. I get carsick, so I was not able to look for anything while we were driving, and by the time we got to Gatlinburg, it had slipped my mind.  

“Then, on Tuesday the 27th, we decided we had to come home for Hurricane Ian. We typically go home via Knoxville and do not go back through the Appalachian National Park and Cherokee. But this time Steve decided he wanted to go back through the parkway, which meant we would pass by the bear statue in Cherokee again! We stopped, and I got some photos. The information listed on the map says: ‘Valleytowns, Army Corp Map, 1838.’ I originally thought it was just a map of the Cherokee Nation in this area, and, after doing some research, it is. But based on a couple of maps I found online, I also believe that it ties in with the Cherokee Trail of Tears. 

“Needless to say, I think we prayed in the exact spot God intended for us. I believe there is incredible significance there in so many different ways, even though I do not fully understand all of them. I am believing that God, the River of Life, heard our prayers and is going to pour out healing and blessings upon the Cherokee Nation ‘down the river,’ where the two rivers run together as one.”

During a subsequent phone call, I asked Alysha if the Lord had given her any specific insights during her prayer time in Cherokee. She said she believes that the statue of steel being bolted to the ground and facing Cherokee Baptist Church has symbolic significance, but she is still praying about what that significance would be. As I prayed about that myself, it appeared to me to mean that God’s desire is for the Cherokee Nation to turn to Christ, but that they are “bolted” in place by the many strongholds that have held the Native American nations captive for so long. Alysha also thinks that the two rivers behind the statue flowing together into one has significance. She felt that God had received her prayers for healing in a bowl and emptied that into the river to flow toward the Cherokee Nation. That image is right in line with the sense we have had in numerous places prayer has gone up for an awakening to unfold, that the prophesied revival among Native American nations will bring deep healing of the wounds caused by injustices perpetrated against them.

Alysha’s story is an answer to my prayer that God would use the Prayer Guide He led me to write to multiply intercessors both inside and outside the Native American nations until one day soon, representatives from every one of the 574 tribes will come together in a sacred assembly to invite the Lord with one voice to pour out His Spirit upon America’s First Nations and touch off the Fifth Great Awakening.

I pray that Alysha’s story and the images of the Cherokee family and the bear will inspire you to ask the Lord if He would assign you to pray for revival among the Native American nations and any of the tribes, bands, or clans near you in particular. Then, please let us know if and how the Lord has moved you, so that the testimonies of answered prayer will continue to flow — to the praise of His glory and for the increase of our faith that He is moving in powerful ways through the prayers of His intercessors.

Father of Nations, thank You for raising up intercessors like Alysha to pray Your plans for America’s First Nations into reality, with the strong faith You have ordained to accomplish great things through our prayers. Raise up many more like her, both from within the tribes and from the community of intercessors at large. We believe that You are waiting for one cry from thirsty hearts to bring about a great revival. Ignite that thirst, Lord, and unite our hearts and voices, until Your purposes are accomplished. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How are you praying for revival in Native American nations? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years’ experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the US. Born and raised in the Netherlands and pastoring his first church in Amsterdam, he moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, Remco blogs and assists his wife as content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ.