On August 2nd, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion of Kuwait, which led to his soldiers breaking into Maurice Graham’s apartment, a missionary located in Kuwait City. Once the soldiers left, Maurice and his family managed a rather miraculous escape where they all crammed into a car and drove past soldiers who didn’t even seem to see them, eventually making their way to the embassy where they and about 150 others were held hostage.
Six weeks later, a hostage negotiation managed to get Maurice’s family taken to safety, though he was left behind. His quarantine days of fear and boredom continued until Maurice was handed a small paper on, December 7th, 1990. It said, “Last night, Saddam Hussein had a dream. God troubled his spirit and he is going to release all the hostages.”
This is not as unusual as you might think. God is no stranger to putting troubling dreams on political leaders all throughout the Bible. From Pharoah to Nebuchadnezzar to Pilate’s wife, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, Jesus, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” What might God put on the minds and hearts of leaders today?
*This devotional was created out of the themes of Matthew 27:11-23 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net. Below are the various AI-created pictures I typed into existence via Mid Journey to mock up artwork for today’s post. Learn more about Maurice’s story in his book, Prayers From the Desert.
Jamin Bradley 