I recently asked for my audience to intercede in prayer for the Christians who had been recently captured by Islamic extremists. Yesterday as I was cleaning my house I had CNN on in the background. They said that 29 of those Christians may have been released. They weren’t going to confirm anything but they did say it was a possibility.

They also had a segment about the ring leader of this group. His name is Jihadi John. He has had a difficulty with violent behavior from the time he was a child. Apparently this group encourages violence so now he has an outlet for this evil.

This morning I had an unusual urging from the Holy Spirit. I felt as if God wanted me to intercede for Jihadi John. God brought to mind the transformation of Saul into Paul. Saul was a Jihadi John in his day and became one of the most influential preachers of all time. This transformation occurred after an encounter with the Spirit of Jesus.

I thought more about this and realized that if those Christians get beheaded they are going to a better place. They will be in heaven. I continued to reflect on the stories about how Jesus is our shepherd and we are His sheep. The captured Christians are sheep which are already in the fold and protected by the blood of Jesus for all eternity. It is Jihadi John who is the lost sheep, stranded on a cliff, looking down into the abyss of death which he has created for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I prayed the tears started rolling down my cheeks. I hadn’t prayed so hard in many years and the last time I prayed that hard it was over my son’s eternal destination. Jihadi John is not my son, but it is my desire that he become my brother in Christ and receive forgiveness for the horrific violence he has visited upon my Christian brothers and sisters. If this war is a holy war the only way it can be won is through prayer.