There
is a new trail of tears beginning in the earth today. But unlike the first one,
this trail is being blazed with tears of repentance and intercession. It is
coming through the heart cries of people with native heritage in their blood.
They are the ones that hear the blood of their ancestors crying from the land.
These are people who are willing to humble themselves and pray for their people—to
pray to see Native Christian leaders rise up, gather their sheep, and then go
after the ones that are caught in the thorn bush. They will remove the
generational thorns that have left deep wounds and see the broken restored back
to their true heritage and inheritance that God has for them.
“Hear the blood crying out from your land. Don’t
turn a deaf ear to your Brothers and Sisters like so many others have done.”
“Hear the cries and gather their tears and offer
them up to me as intercession and I will heal your land.”
God
is calling us to lay down our “patriotic pride” in how this nation was built
and stop looking at history books written with one-sided views. Our nation was
built on land that was stolen from the original people, through broken treaties,
massacres, and through genocide. We assumed that they were a godless people
because they didn’t look, act or talk like us. When they did not accept our
“ways” we decided to exterminate them—not any different then what Hitler
did to the Jews, But then again we turned a deaf ear to them also. The only
exception is we made laws and religious excuses to cover up what we did.
So
you ask, “How does this apply to me today?” We are responsible for the sins
of our forefathers. It says in Lamentations:
“Our
fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities.” Lamentations
5:7
Because
of “religious pride” our forefathers stripped a people of their identity,
and that scar still remains in many today. How can we let the soles of our feet
touch the land and not hear the cries of the past, as well as the cries that are
going out today? I am not saying the First nations people need our pity…we owe
them our respect and honor. It’s time to recognize that God made them stewards
of this land. They are the gatekeepers in this land, and right now, the gates
are hanging open. When the Europeans came to this land, they broke through those
gates through the many atrocities that took place. There were some who genuinely
cared about the First nations people and believed in the need to live in harmony
with them, but greed and pride ultimately won out. So the gates remain open…
Through the years we have had abortion, children murdering children, etc… all
coming through those gates. God gave the First nations people authority in this
land; He made them the gatekeepers and yet I saw a vision of a Native warrior
standing at the gate with his head down hung in shame. And I heard God say,
“Lift up
your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory
may come in!” Psalms 24:7
First,
we must pray that the veil of shame is lifted from their heads— we can only do
that through repentance of what our white forefathers did. Then we need to give
them back what was stolen from them—their rightful place in this land and in
God’s kingdom, while recognizing the authority God has given them in this
land.
God
is calling us to wake up! We cry out for revival in our churches and in our
land, but we have been unwilling to stand shoulder to shoulder with our native
brothers or sisters. Until we do that, we will never see the full reflection of
God. God is coming back for a pure and spotless bride, not one that has the
First Nations blood on her hands. My prayer is that a cry will awaken in your
spirit for the Gatekeepers of the land. The past is often hard to look at, but
we cannot change the future if we don’t look at the past.
A
prayer for the First Nations People – Isaiah 61:7-9
“Instead of their shame
My people will
receive a double portion,
And instead of disgrace
They will rejoice
in their inheritance;
And so they will inherit a double portion in their
land,
And everlasting
joy will be theirs.
For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and
iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
And make an
everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants will be know among the nations
And their
offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
That they are a
people the Lord has blessed.”