Our first stop these past two weeks where we spent some hours to see, smell, taste and pray was in Cartagena. A port city and naval base in the Murcia region of southeast Spain. Founded by the Carthaginians around 228 BC, named after Carthage it was designed as the entry point for the conquest of Spain. The Romans captured it some years later and the city boomed during the Roman period. Among its many Roman ruins a theatre from 1st-century BC.
It was a prominent city during the Islamic period and was also one of the ports that Muslims were expelled through. In visiting these places, not as a tourist, but with a focus on prayer it is always surprising what kicks in. Slavery through the port was one aspect we prayed into, but the bigger situation was regarding the Pauline gospel. I do not believe Paul made it to Spain – of course there is no proof either way. Part of my convictions goes back to 2001 when in response to a question in Hanover about what wells to re-dig in Spain, I heard myself say that ‘You do not need wells of revival in Spain to re-dig. What other nation on the planet can we say with biblical authority that has unanswered first century apostolic prayer in the soil?’
Gayle believed very strongly that though Paul probably did not get there, she could ‘feel’ the weight of the presence of Gospel there from an associate of Paul. We called again for what had been released of that original message to permeate once more through the city, and for those who are believers there to again be confident in their proclamation.
Our focus on the expulsions was less strong here than we expected, but later in our journey we sense that we have picked up fresh understanding about the Pauline Gospel. As I indicated yesterday the impact personally when seeking to pray into historical issues is normally very deep.