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Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer Movement Begins

Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 3/28/2008

What should the Biblical response be to people who blow themselves up along with innocent bystanders?

The new web-based ministry, Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer (ATFP), helps Christians follow Jesus' instructions to love and pray for their enemies.

While agreeing the military needs to fight terrorism, Dr. Thomas Bruce, the founder of ATFP, advocates prayer as a counter-offensive that is off limits to generals and politicians.

Bruce sees the war on terrorism as a spiritual struggle against fear. “The terrorists are just the highest profile intimidators in Satan's arsenal,” he said in a news release. “They think they are serving God.”

Bruce said he believes terrorists are vulnerable to an authentic word from God and to Jesus' forgiving love. He referred in the news release to what God says through the prophet Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.”

Just after starting the site, Bruce found out he would be mobilizing as a reservist to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He'll now be in the war zone, having started a prayer movement for the very people wanting to kill him.

Bruce said, “People can go to www.myatfp.org to learn about nearly a hundred prominent at-large and captured individuals identified by the FBI and State Department as either terrorists or terrorism sponsors.”

He added, “Visitors can then find a terrorist to pray for, as well as see how many others are praying for them. It's all about connecting these prayer warriors to each other to see how others are praying, to encourage each other, to spread the word, and fight this War on Terrorism in a powerful and spiritual way.”

History

The genesis of Bruce’s idea came from a retired Army general whose remarks on “The Long War” at a Fellowship of Christian Military Ministries conference underscored the necessity for spiritual resources in defence against terrorism's spiritual attack. That's when ATFP's founder began thinking of ways to take the spiritual initiative away from the terrorists.


During Spring and Summer 2007, Bruce prayed, networked and researched. His vision finally became a reality in April 2008 when the site became available on line.

Spreading the Word
Bruce said that terrorism achieves Satan's desired results when it destroys courage by creating fear.

He said, “Fear destroys hope by inspiring despair. Despair destroys faith and spreads doubt. Doubt undermines trust and then isolates us from one another. You and I can resist the debilitating effects of terrorism by identifying with this prayer movement, encouraging each other, and challenging others to join.”