Prophetic Word from Dutch Sheets. Reprinted with permission.
While I was speaking at Chuck Pierce’s Head Of the Year conference October 2016, a trusted prophet and friend had a vision of John Knox standing behind me. Knox was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s. In his day, evangelicals in Scotland were routinely burned at the stake and their Bibles incinerated. Knox himself was imprisoned and enslaved for his involvement in the Reformation. Undeterred, he continued his stand, praying every day, “Lord, give me Scotland or I die!”
Knox’s prayers were answered. This great reformer was used by God to transform the church and revive the country. Queen Mary of Scotland, fiercely opposed to the Reformation, once said of him, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies in Europe.”
In my friend’s vision, while standing behind me Knox was holding up the number 313. Urged by Holy Spirit to look up the number in Strong’s concordance, he found it to be the Greek word for “new birth” or “new beginning.” He then was led to look up the date of the 313th day of the year. It was November 8, 2016, America’s election day! Our interpretation was: in answer to the prayers of the Church, a great awakening and reformation (a “new birth”) will begin for America on November 8. Amazing.
I certainly don’t see President-elect Trump as fathering this movement, but I do see him as an agent of change who, in some ways, will prepare the way…a forerunner of sorts. I also believe the mercies of God spared us from Mrs. Clinton and her incredibly liberal ideologies—a leadership which would have moved us farther away from the turnaround we so desperately need. I shudder when I think about the 30-40 year tenure of the liberal Supreme Court she had planned to appoint. America may never have recovered from such devastation.
When describing the elections, I use the word “mercy” very intentionally. For others and myself, three profound occurrences caused this word to become our primary appeal to heaven during that season. Firstly, in February while praying at the White House, two friends and I had an angelic visitation. In response to our prayers and decrees, the angel simply said, “Mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy.” Yes, six times.
Secondly, a few weeks later, an intercessor shared a dream she had received from the Lord regarding me. “In the dream,” she related, “You kept declaring, ‘I have tapped into a root of mercy.’”
Then, two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, a trusted pastor and friend had a vision while watching our Appeal to Heaven conference online. As we prayed crying out for mercy, he began to see coins raining down all around me. Eventually, I was ankle deep in silver coins. When he looked at them closely, they all had the word “MERCY” over their various pictures. One coin in particular had George Washington on the front, with the word “MERCY” over him; the other side had the American flag pictured with the words “New Glory” over it. As you know, a nickname for our flag is “Old Glory.” There is “new glory” coming to “old glory.” Then my friend heard the words, “Mercy is our new currency.”
Mercy is undeserved kindness. In scripture it is linked to covenant—God’s covenantal faithfulness and kindness. We are told that His mercies are new each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and they also triumph over judgment (James 2:13).
The question now becomes, “Will we waste this precious gift, or “spend” it wisely? The tendency of the Church is to pray (sometimes fervently) during an election, then return to our “prayer-less” ways afterwards. A Christian Senator once called me out on this, saying, “The Church prays us into office, then we’re on our own!” He actually went on to say, “I can tell when the Church is praying and when it isn’t.”
Ouch!
If we, the Body of Christ, don’t continue to pray fervently for awakening, reformation and the empowering of those we voted into office, the mercy we received will be squandered. Hebrews 4:16 tells us where we find mercy: “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain MERCY and find grace to help in time of need.” The word “time” in this verse is the Greek word kairos which means “strategic or opportune time,” not chronological time.
We must, at this strategic and opportune time in history, continue to cry out for mercy. We must also pray for our leaders, especially Mr. Trump, who is at best a baby Christian. We must ask for wisdom, revelation, humility, and boldness. Only an appropriate blend of these spiritual gifts and virtues will bring him success.
Let us become a John Knox-type company of reforming intercessors: “Give us America or we die!” Let’s steward America’s new birth like we would a newborn baby. And may we spend our new currency wisely, until new glory from Heaven permeates our land.
Continue praying for America, friends, and those God has set into office. May His mercy and new glory come to us.