X Marks the Spot
Mevaseret Zion in Jerusalem, Israel
Well, “X marks the spot” certainly is a very familiar statement probably known throughout the world. It has been spoken, declared, written, imagined, and pursued for more than a few centuries.
If you have browsed the website you have noticed that there are several pages that have pictures of an X or a cross. The statement “X marks the spot” is most famously used in the search for treasure or in pursuit of a pirate’s booty.
In the picture above it really is no different. God often uses natural things to bring forth or confirm something He has spoken in the spiritual realm.
The picture was also material evidence for me to share with other believers how God is faithful to confirm His Word and will always give confirmations for things He has spoken to His people.
I indeed had received a personal confirmation from Christ that I had found the exact place where the treasure of God’s will for me was at an exact time and was given a perfect understanding of what He wanted me to do.
Yes, it was by divine design that Christ arranged the setting for a prophetic calling of intercessory prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. He not only was calling me to intercede for the peace of Jerusalem, but He had a specific location where He desired me to do this intercession.
This was an exact spot in Jerusalem and it was an exact time that nobody on earth, but myself could fulfill. I would soon learn that the Lord would move me to many other places in Jerusalem to fulfill prayer mandates.
The year was 1994 and the Lord clearly told me that I was to go back to Jerusalem to pray. He had sent me to Jerusalem in 1993 to complete an intercessory prayer mandate which I was able to complete while staying at the Church of God on the Mount of Olives.
When the Lord told me to return to Jerusalem, to intercede for the peace of Jerusalem, it seemed like a light thing, but when I called the pastor of the Church of God on the Mount of Olives he told me that he had a large group that was visiting and there were no rooms available.
The search for the treasure begins now with finding where the Lord wants me to be to complete this prayer mandate. I really did not know anybody in Jerusalem, outside of the Church of God on the Mount of Olives.
At this time, I could easily have dismissed the trip, thinking to myself, “Had I been presumptuous?” No, I clearly knew what I had heard.
I made a call to the International Church of God World Missions Department and spoke to the lady that was in charge of missionary work in Israel.
I explained to her the situation of needing a place to stay to complete my prayer mandate. She told me that there was a tentmaker missionary family that might be able to put me up. She gave me their name, phone number, and address in Mevaseret Zion, Jerusalem, Israel.
I called and spoke with Lee and Mary Brooks who were so gracious to not only put me up for the needed time but were willing to also pick me up at the airport in Tel Aviv.
Now the time came for me to leave for Israel. As I was making my way from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit, with that still small voice, began telling me, “X marks the spot.”
It was not just a casual word, but almost like a rolling statement, I had not seen any pirate movies or anything that I could associate the statement with at the time, other than what the Lord had revealed to me in the early ’80s, that X was His signature.
When I arrived in Tel Aviv the Brooks family was there to meet me. We traveled back to their house. They had quite a nice home that they were renting from a successful businessman in Israel. Staying at the residence beside Lee and Mary Brooks were their two sons, Andrew and Mark.
There were also two Ethiopian believers that rented rooms and were able to help with chores around the house. We had a wonderful time of fellowship after dinner and shared a number of stories. They loved to sing, worship, pray, and testify of the greatness of Christ and what He had done for them as missionaries.
The young Ethiopian girl had prepared my room earlier in the day and after the fellowship, I retired to my room early as I would be starting the prayer mandate the next morning. The prayer mandate was 7 hours a day for 10 days as I recall.
On arising the next morning I refreshed myself, placed the pillow (that I had slept upon all night) on the Terrazzo floor, and began my supplication and intercession for the peace of Jerusalem.
After approximately 2-3 hours I decided to stand for a bit while continuing to pray, just to give my back a little rest. As I stood up, I turned and walked to the door, but when I turned around my eyes were opened to the reality of the picture above and it quickened to my mind what the Holy Spirit had been saying to me over the last couple of days, “X marks the spot”.
I could not believe my eyes. I had entered the room at least two times the day before and had never noticed the X on the pillow. I had even slept on the pillow all night and had placed it on the floor that morning and prayed to kneel on the pillow, but never notice the decorative X on the pillow.
I was so powerfully filled with the spirit of encouragement and thankfulness that God had hidden this revelation from me until His perfect time. I had some questions I wanted to ask the Brooks family about their selection of the pillowcase but had to wait until I had finished the day’s prayer.
That evening I inquired about the pillowcase and explained to Lee & Mary how significant the pillowcase had been and what a powerful confirmation it was to me.
I was indeed supposed to be in their home to complete the prayer mandate. The Ethiopian girl, that had prepared the room before I arrived, told me that she had just put on this odd pillowcase which had no matching sheet, not realizing she was being directed by the Holy Spirit!
Mary Brooks would later give me the pillowcase to keep for a testimony.