Can Your Prayers of Intercession Help Save the Middle East?

By John Cerniglia

The Middle East is on fire — grappling with a series of complex, layered crises that seem unsolvable. As a New Yorker whose family lived through the tragedy and trauma of 9/11, I’m urging you not to reject the Middle East and its people as a “lost cause” in their moment of great fiery trial. I offer you three reasons why I believe that hope will rise from the ashes — if you and I will earnestly pray.

1. Suffering Breeds Authentic Faith

We’re talking about a region of some 600 million people, roughly equivalent to the population of North America. Despite being the birthplace of Jesus and the early church, only 4% of the Middle East’s population is Christian.

These believers are the light of the Middle East, especially in the darkness of war, unspeakable suffering, and economies on the edge of collapse. Their “lived reality” is the terror and chaos that surrounds them every day. They have nowhere else to go, nothing else to turn to, and no one to look to — except God. Jesus is everything to them, and they cling to him fiercely.

This is real faith — faith that chooses to trust and love others, even as the world around them is on fire. Such a faith is attractive to many young Middle Easterners who are disillusioned and feel purposeless.

2. The Middle East Is Young People — And They’re Searching

Some 60% of the Middle East’s population is under the age of 25. That’s a huge majority of young people and children, not yet hardened by life’s cruel events. They’ve heard about Jesus as a prophet. But when they hear he’s actually the Son of God? That blows them away! They’re desperate to discover if he can give them the hope they crave.

At the Middle East-based media ministry SAT-7, we logged almost 800 million views of our news feeds last year, nearly a million downloads of our app, and 230 million views of our videos on demand — locally-produced programs in local languages that point the way to Jesus. Who’s clicking and watching?

Overwhelmingly, they’re under 25. This is the searching generation that will shape the future of the Middle East — and they’re encountering Jesus.

3. The Church in the Middle East Is Unseen and Growing

If my hope for the Middle East hinged on governments, military might, or manmade solutions, I’d give up now. But it doesn’t. My hope rests in Jesus and his Church. The irresistible attraction of Jesus, amplified by media technology, is making God’s love visible to millions, even those living in restrictive and hostile countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan, and Iran.

Furthermore, the church is growing, often unseen, gathering secretly on secure social media channels and meeting via live satellite television broadcasts that are virtually unstoppable. Every day, we hear from viewers in places where you’d least expect to find a Christian, even in the remote mountains and deserts.

Make no mistake about it — Jesus is building his church in the Middle East, and the gates of hell will not stand against it, as he affirmed (Matt. 16:18).

The Middle East stands on the edge of a precipice. Every week, another crisis in the region hits the headlines. That is precisely why we as Christians should not fret over the latest threats, rumors, or political statements.

What should be our focus, then?

As Matthew’s Gospel records, we must keep our spiritual eyes fixed on the invisible realm, where God is at work in the hearts of people responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ in their own culture and native tongue. Our prayers are absolutely vital to bring victories in the spiritual battle that’s raging over the Middle East right now.

There is hope for the Middle East — and eternity will show how your prayers of intercession today made the difference!

— John Cerniglia is the new president of SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), a Christian multimedia ministry that broadcasts in local languages across the Middle East and North Africa using satellite television and online platforms.