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The Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey is inviting Christians worldwide to join in a day of prayer for the predominantly Muslim country. The International Day of Prayer for Turkey will take place each year on April 18, the anniversary of the horrific murders of three Christian workers in a Bible publishing house in Malatya in 2007 by a group of young Muslim Turks. The group is asking Christians to pray that Turkey’s small Christian community can be strengthened in the Holy Spirit to live for the glory of God and that the people of Turkey will open their hearts and eyes to the Kingdom of God.
Pray: for the Turkish nation that they will have their hearts and eyes opened. (Mt.5:1)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.group.announces.day.of.prayer.for.turkey/23052.htm
Weeks of anti-government protests in Tunisia with police using lethal force is rare in this Islamic country with tight controls to prevent dissent. However the Tunisian Government ordered all schools and universities to be indefinitely closed following continuing violent protests linked to frustrations with poverty, poor job prospects and the country's leaders. The Secretary-General called for restraint urging all parties to resolve differences through dialogue. The US has summoned Tunisia's ambassador to Washington, expressing concerns about the violent riots and encouraging the Tunisian government to ensure civil liberties were protected. They also raised the issue of what they described as the government's apparent interference with the internet and social media sites. See: A Tunisian exiled opposition politician said, ‘The government presents Tunisia as a democracy while everybody knows that it's a fake democracy, and is a corrupted state, a police state.’ Analysts say Wikileaks government corruption leaks may have exacerbated the situation. see also Pray: for freedom of expression and for protection of Tunisian Christians as they quietly work towards bringing the knowledge of freedom in Christ to Tunisia. (Ps.119:45)
A Muslim group of about 20 attempted to take over a Christian basilica in Tunisia – a sign of the growing threat to the country’s small Church in the wake of the revolution. On 16th Sept the group went to the Roman site with the aim of turning it into a mosque, arguing that it was a place of Muslim worship before it reverted to a basilica in 1966. A spokesman said the group went there to prepare the place for Friday prayers but police dispersed them. They were invited to make an official request to the faith ministry but as things stand the monument remains a basilica. The incident is a worrying sign of what may befall Tunisia’s small Christian community if the country’s future is shaped by an Islamic agenda, as seems likely. There is increasing public imposition of Islam in the country - forced veiling of women, forced prayer and condemnations for apostasy.
Pray: for God to prevail over Tunisia’s transition to democracy and the constitutional assembly that will be elected on 25th October. (Is.25:3,4a)
Some 1,500 devoted Tunisian Christians, most of them former Muslims, worship in church buildings or in house churches despite death threats and growing influence of Islamic extremists, a well-informed advocacy and aid group told BosNewsLife Monday, September 17. Open Doors, which supports persecuted Christians worldwide, mentioned a man identified only as Steve who was allegedly threatened by Islamists. ‘They said to me: 'Do you know that it is not forbidden to kill you?' But I didn't really feel afraid,’ Steve was quoted as saying. ‘I could answer them: 'Yes I know you can do that you can kill me'. They responded that I was crazy saying that. I said to them: 'Yes, I am crazy for Jesus'. Pressure was expected to increase on Christians like Steve amid mounting protests across the region against an anti-Islam film, posted in part on the YouTube website.
Pray: for the church in Tunisia that it will remain strong in the face of mounting pressures. (2Cor.11:28)
More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/23475-tunisian-christians-worship-amid-death-threats
As international efforts increase to relieve Philippine’s suffering there are reports of looting in warehouses, relief agencies being mobbed and water pipes punctured as people try to get at precious supplies. Pray for order to be restored as desperation, thirst, hunger and opportunism are provoking anarchy. Pray for wide-ranging co-ordination between government bodies, relief agencies and on site NGO’s. Pray that survivors are properly fed and the dead are promptly buried. Pray for the dozens of relief organisations to work in unity with no unnecessary duplication of efforts or communication breakdown. Pray for the government to deliver workable logistics as they attempt to restore airports that are broken down, roads that are still covered in debris, services that are cut off. Pray against disease taking hold in areas lacking sanitation. Pray for effective mobile hospitals and teams of medics to be released into the most deadly situations where entire areas have been completely and utterly decimated; may they keep those who survived alive.
Pray: for the millions of people affected by the super typhoon, four million are said to be children. (Ps. 46.1-3)
More: http://www.euronews.com/2013/11/12/philippines-supplies-looted-and-aid-convoys-mobbed/
Saudi Arabia is referred to as ‘The Land of The Two Holy Mosques, ‘Al-Masjid al-Nabawi’ Mosque where Muhammad is buried and ‘Masjid al-Haram’ the largest mosque in the world situated in Mecca. Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life if they are able.’ This pilgrimage is called Hajj. The dates for the Hajj change each year, this year it starts on November 4th lasting 4 days. Thousands of pilgrims will perform religious acts to be cleansed of their sins by praying at the Grand Mosque, spending a night in a tent at Mina, walking to where Muhammad delivered his final sermon, throwing stones at three pillars representing Satan, sacrificing an animal and walking round a sacred rock seven times. Please pray for those searching for cleansing and forgiveness, and also for the residents of Saudi Arabia where the constitution is based on the Qur’an.
Pray: for Saudis and pilgrims to have their spiritual thirsts truly quenched. (Jn.7:37-38)
More: http://www.pray4muslimpeoples.org/index.php/resources/100-hajj-2011
A Christian from Thailand writes: ‘At a conference 2 weeks ago the Lord said we will experience great shaking, natural disasters, political upheavals. Is the church ready to act? We are experiencing natural disasters now as I type this. Please pray now! Northern Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in decades. Last night’s Singapore News showed the reporter in water up to her hips. Churches in Bangkok are putting together survivor kits for the flood victims in northeast and central Thailand: torches, boots, dry food, medicine, powdered milk for children. The situation is getting worse in some areas and spreading to wider areas. Please pray, this is too big and we are doing whatever we can.’ Flooding is affecting over 3 million people. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said it was the worst flooding in 50 years due to larger than normal rainfall affecting dams and reservoirs, plus aggressive housing and business development affecting natural drainage channels. Pray: for God’s enabling for the Church in Thailand as they do whatever he calls them to do. (Ps.60:4-5) More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/27/AR2010102700580.html
The Thai government is blaming unnamed ‘terrorists’ for explosions which hit commuters in Bangkok on Thursday night, amid deadlock in the Thai capital. Early on Friday, hundreds of riot police crossed a major road to confront red-shirt anti-government protesters. But the police later stepped back from confrontation and the reds agreed to move further away from their barricade. Britain, the US and Australia have issued new warnings against travelling to Thailand in the attacks' aftermath. Six weeks of red-shirt protests have severely challenged the Thai government. The protesters are occupying swathes of Bangkok's shopping hub and have built barricades, the largest of which faces police in the Silom business district. Pressure is rising on the government to find a way out of the conflict but room for negotiation appears to be slim, correspondents say. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said through a spokesman that it was ‘a moment requiring restraint on all sides’.
Pray: against extreme measures on all sides and for restraint to allow for peaceful negotiation. For Christians working in Thailand to have freedom to share the Gospel. (Mt.24:12-14)
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8638942.stm
Thailand's government has vowed to go after shadowy ‘terrorists’ blamed for triggering bloody clashes between the army and red-shirted demonstrators, believing several hundred militants trained in combat joined protesters in their downtown Bangkok encampment. Government officials and the army believe the men in black are politically aligned with the red shirt movement and sought to cause bloodshed severe enough to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call a new election. Red shirt leaders said the ‘black clads’ are protecting them, but they don't know who they are. The government fears ‘terrorists’ could strike at any time and may have been behind dozens of unsolved grenade attacks and bombings across the city. Security and military analysts believe rangers trained in counter-insurgency may be among them.
Pray: for an unconditional end to bloodshed as God turns the situation into opportunities to end the divisions in Thailand’s society. (Ro.15:5)
More: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63Q1F220100427
Fears of worse flooding across Bangkok grow and parts of Bangkok could face serious flooding for up to a month. (See Prayer Alert 42-2011) Residents were told to get their belongings to high ground as central Bangkok could be swamped by up to 1.5 metres of water if barriers brake. Current flood water is expected to remain in Bangkok for two to four weeks before going into the sea. The Thai government has declared a holiday from October 27 to 31 to allow people to evacuate their homes at a time of expected high estuary tides. Authorities are pumping out water around the east and west of Bangkok. The Chao Phraya River winds through Bangkok and the city's fate rests on dykes along the river this weekend. Residents have cleared supermarkets of bottled water and are hoarding food such as rice and instant noodles. Tap water has deteriorated since floodwater broke through temporary dikes into a water canal used for producing tap water.
Pray: this will not turn into a humanitarian disaster.
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/10/2011102642316925880.html