UPDATE: A couple hours after recording this, I came upon a brother who was reading his Bible in the hotel. I asked him, "what are you reading?" He says to me Ezra Chapter 1, so I ask him what it's about? He says to me, "its about how the Lord flipped the heart of the King to do His will like a switch." I get a big smile as I think to myself, yes, yes, that's the Lord I serve, who holds the hearts of Kings and Presidents and leaders and anyone in the palm of his hand. He took Cyrus the King and in a moment, with nobody having talked to him, he changed his whole life, his whole way of operating. Just like that. Not to say that will happen now or here, but its just a possibility, its a show of the power and awe of the King of Kings.
1 Now in the [a]first year of [b]Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The [c]Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is God who is in Jerusalem. 4 In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
In addition, if you want a thoughtful collection of thoughts and Scripture on the issue, read this post by Mike Griego.
Update: Saw this talk by Pastor James McDonald, and thought it was pretty spot on and worth adding.