"It's Ireland's Time!"
Dominique Francois, Paris, France
"Ireland! Put on the Garment of Praise!"
The first section of this article was originally posted on The Elijah List on February 15, 2000. Click to read the original post here.
Although I have been a born again Christian for over 30 years and have been in this prophetic renewal for many of those, I have never, ever received a vision and a word like the one God seized me with for Ireland this morning.
As I was listening to the song "O, Consuming Fire," I saw the map of Europe circled by a high and thick wall, like a fortified city. Coming from the west, I saw the stern of a big ship – an ice-breaker type thing, only much bigger – knocking this wall down and making a breakthrough in Europe through Ireland.
I said: "God, are you going to bring a revival or a renewal to Ireland?" He answered: "No. Revival or renewal are not adequate words for what I am about to do in this country.
It is going to be an outburst, an explosion, an invasion of My Spirit in the land of Ireland.
All they have known for decades is civil war, terrorism, bombs, bullets, explosions, and slaughters, which were the works of the enemy, because satan knows what an exceptional destiny I have for the Irish people; but now I come. I come with might and power, I come with glory and splendor, I come with a divine explosion." (Photo via Freeimages)
Then the Lord led me to listen to the first song of "Revival In Belfast" (Robin Mark; Hosanna Music), titled "Garments of Praise," and the sobs of the Father's heart for Ireland seized me with violence. The lyrics say:
"Put on the garments of praise
For the spirit of heaviness;Let the oil of gladness flow down
From Your throne!"
Ireland, REJOICE! The Lord of glory is coming to you in an unprecedented explosion of His manifest presence, and all of Europe will be impacted and in awe of what God has done for you.
When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Psalm 126
May this word stir up your hearts, renew your courage and hope, and enlarge your vision. We cannot fathom what God is about to do.
Now, Fifteen Years Later...
I have returned to Ireland several times since the above word was published in 2000 to attend intercessor's meetings and conferences.
Our very first contact when we arrived in Ireland almost fifteen years ago was Marie Lacey, who is now a close and cherished friend. She is the initiator and director of the amazing Belfast Community Gospel Choir. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
At the end of 2013, my partner in ministry, Sandra Haven, and I felt called to return to Ireland for an extended period of time. It was then that God began to multiply our contacts, connecting us rapidly with key people, leaders, and intercessors from the North and the South. We are now based here in Northern Ireland until mid-April 2015.
Divine Appointments and Preparing the Way of the Lord for Ireland!
Shortly after we arrived, we went to a store in Bangor (Northern Ireland), and as we ascended the escalator, we were greeted at the top by two women, and one of them was telling the other that she should meet us.
The one that should meet us was Deborah, and here is her side of the story: "Coming into 2014, I felt that things were changing, and that it was a new season for me spiritually. I had been involved for several years with a group of women. Nothing had happened between us to cause a break up, it was just as if our hearts were turning in different directions – mine back to Ireland. I had had a real heart for our land years before, but it was as if something was stirring again. My friends were supportive and excited. I was back in a place where I wasn't sure what direction to take or who to meet up with! In my heart one day I asked, 'Lord, connect me with the right people.'
"Later that same day, I was out shopping and was upstairs looking around, when I met an old friend. We chatted briefly, and I can hardly remember what I said to her, or if I'd even mentioned to her about my heart for Ireland...when she got excited and said, 'Oh! You have to meet Dominique and Sandy. The Lord has called them to Ireland!' The words weren't right out of her mouth when...up the escalator came the two ladies. They were standing right in front of us!
Wow, that was a quick answer to my prayer for the right connections! We met up that week, and it was as if we had known each other for years."
In March 2014, Deborah took us to Athlone to a meeting for intercessors and leaders. There, we met Norma, a woman I can only describe as a "Mother to the nation," an apostle, a key leader in the future of God's plan for Ireland.
This is what Norma said to us: "I was in a meeting, when I felt my arms turning constantly in motion like a locomotive, slowly at first, but then with great speed. Next, after a long period of this action, I saw this magnificent, glorious, green train with gold markings, engine and carriages. It was a brand new train that had never been out of the station.
All carriage doors were being slammed closed one after the other – guards all in – until we came to the front where the conductor was standing with one foot on the step of the train and the other on the platform, whistle in mouth ready to blow for takeoff. Waiting, waiting, always waiting...for three long years, but when I met Dominique and Sandy, I knew that they were the people that the conductor was waiting for, and when they got on the train, it left the station." (Photo via Pixabay)
After we returned from Athlone, we visited many churches of different denominations in order to feel the spiritual pulse of Northern Ireland. Everywhere we went, in every church, concerts and various meetings, we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, mightily at work among the people.
In one of these meetings, I had an encounter with a woman that I will never forget.
This was her experience: "For many years as an intercessor I have prayed for a revival and a move of God in my beloved Ireland. On Saturday, February 19th, 2000, after our prayer time, my pastor gave a copy of a prophetic word for Ireland from Dominique Francois in Paris, which had just been published by The Elijah List. When I read this word, it hit my Spirit. I not only felt emotional, as it captured my heart, but I have faithfully prayed and declared it since as the Spirit led me in both north and south of Ireland.
"I longed to meet this prophet who so loved and cried for our land, so I asked of the Lord, 'Could I meet Dominique?' In early 2014, I heard she was in Northern Ireland, so I tried to meet her. Three times I just missed her! Although I did not know her, I felt spiritually connected to her, and a grief-like feeling came over me that I missed her again!
"Then, I was invited to a meeting on the 26th of March in 2014. I sat at the very back of the room. The worship was amazing, but during this time, I sensed the Holy Spirit say, 'If you turn around you will see Dominique!' I knew what I had heard, but I was a bit 'shaken'! In obedience I turned, and there, in that vast empty space, was a lady standing alone, lost in worship.
I gently went to her and whispered, 'Are you Dominique?' She said, 'Yes,' and I shook and cried. We hugged and couldn't let go! Our hearts were divinely connected in the Spirit. I have no words to explain the impact that first meeting had, not just for Ireland, but for me on a personal level. Dominique has imparted something beautiful and spiritual for Ireland. After carrying this prophetic word for now 15 years, I sense the power and the authority of the words given are truly only a prayer away."
Aren't these people so attractive, so passionate, and so radical about what they expect the Lord to do for their beloved land?
He Is Coming Like a Tidal Wave!
We are in Northern Ireland to encourage Believers to prepare the way of the Lord and to strive for unity. God will not release the magnificence of His presence on a divided Church. We may have different ideas, ways of worship, music, versions of the Bible, and denominations, but He wants us to display the sign that we are Christians by the way we love and prefer one another. He commands His blessing when we walk in unity.
(Photo via Pixabay)
The manifest presence of the Lord is coming like a tidal wave to Ireland, and it will definitely be unprecedented. For sure, "Aslan is on the move." He is about to mightily restore the things that have been lost. His Spirit is raising an army of people who will have the awesome mission to take that fire to the ends of the world. These people of all ages, different backgrounds, social statuses, denominations and races, will walk as one man, shoulder to shoulder, in perfect unity to bring God's mighty, end-time purpose to fruition.
May His mighty name be exalted forever!
Dominique Francois has been a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ since her conversion in 1970. In the years that followed, she had a leadership role in women's ministry, prayer groups, and Bible studies. She has a powerful prophetic prayer ministry and loves to encourage, edify, and comfort the Body of Christ.
As a French/English translator for most of her adult life, she has translated hundreds of articles, five Christian books, and many manuals to train pastors. She has also translated simultaneously in conferences held in the United States and for prominent speakers who come to France. She is The Elijah List translator for the French list.
Her passionate desire is to come alongside the people of Ireland as they experience the unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will catapult them into their destiny as a nation.