God is doing incredible things in the Middle East. Christians rejoiced on Jan. 7 when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi built the largest Christian church in the country. The Muslim president funded this huge project as a way of showing his appreciation and support for the nation’s Coptic Christians. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his enthusiasm for Egypt’s act of kindness with a tweet: “Excited to see our friends in Egypt opening the biggest Cathedral in the Middle East. President El-Sisi is moving his country to a more inclusive future!”
Excited to see our friends in Egypt opening the biggest Cathedral in the Middle East. President El-Sisi is moving his country to a more inclusive future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2019
My friend Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center and the Jerusalem Prayer Team, recently met with el-Sisi three times and says the president has a generous heart toward Christian believers.
“Every single time I meet with [el-Sisi], I pray with him,” Mike says. “He has a strong faith. … But he, above any Muslim leader in the entire Middle East, has gone in support of the Christian church. Yes, he built the biggest Christian church in the Muslim world … and it’s symbolic of what they’re doing for Christians.”
This is huge news for a country where Coptic Christians have endured persecution for centuries. It’s not uncommon to see reports of Islamic extremists murdering, kidnapping or attacking Copts. But it seems that God is turning things around for the good of those who love Him, just as He promises in Romans 8:28. Mike told me in a “Strang Report” podcast interview recently that el-Sisi is working hard to protect Christians from ISIS. And thankfully, it’s not just the president who’s doing this.
“Shockingly, Muslims right now in Egypt are laying down their lives to protect Christians,” Mike says.
Mike is right—that is shocking! In fact, I would say that’s almost unheard of. Equally surprising, Mike says, el-Sisi has not received much pushback from other Muslims in Egypt. On the contrary, Mike says, something is stirring in the Muslim world. For instance, he tells me he flew to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, and met with the crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
When Mike asked the crown prince what he thought about Christians, Mohammed bin Zayed told him a Christian missionary helped his mother, who was having trouble giving birth to twins when there was no health care. Sadly, one child died, but the missionary managed to save the other child’s life. In response, the crown prince’s parents honored the missionary by giving her their six-bedroom house so she could build a Christian hospital. Since then, the crown prince’s Muslim parents have donated $100 million to this Christian missionary nurse.
“Who would’ve thought that we would see a day when Muslims are building a hospital for Christian missionaries?” Mike says. “And I briefed the White House that I know of six Muslim countries that actually want to make peace with Israel. They want to do more than that. I told [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu, ‘Your legacy very well may be making peace with five to six Muslim countries.'”
I can’t help but wonder how much of this is a result of years upon years of Christians praying for revival and for the Jews. Mike says the Jerusalem Prayer Team—which grew out of a restoration of Corrie ten Boom’s regular prayer meetings—has grown to 54 million members. To add perspective to their size, Mike says their Facebook page is the largest religious Facebook site on the planet.
“We’re living in a brand-new day,” he says. “This is a brand-new day. It’s revival.”
To sign up for this prayer team, visit their Facebook page and click “Like” and “Follow.” As this prayer movement grows, surely we can expect to see more miracles in the Middle East and around the world.
Click on the podcast below to hear the rest of my fascinating conversation with Mike. And if you desire to see peace in Jerusalem and revival in the Middle East, share this article on your social media and encourage others to join you in prayer!
