Displaying items by tag: Asia

On 10 April Benjamin Netanyahu emerged as the winner in Israel’s election, supported by right-wing and religious parties. However, one right-wing party, led by former education minister Naftali Bennett, seems not to have passed the electoral threshold; it demanded a recount, claiming ‘someone is cheating the right-wing out of votes’. The vote was split: Netanyahu's Likud and the Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz, received 35 seats each. The prime minister, however, secured his path to re-election by having a clear right-wing majority bloc in the Knesset. Many believe the political storm created by soft-spoken Mr Gantz has not blown over. Netanyahu recently said he would declare Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank if he won the election. This would be fiercely opposed by the three million Palestinians living there, and by much of the Arab world. See

International Prayer Connect write: ‘As worship and prayer have begun to rise across the Middle East, an unprecedented harvest is taking place among Muslim peoples. We hear the same testimony in multiple nations. “As soon as we started the House of Prayer, we saw more salvations, healings and deliverance than ever before.” “We have been doing 50- and 100-hour prayer and worship gatherings in Turkey and north Iraq.” In 2018 many Middle East nations joined our symphony of prayer and worship for 50 hours. From 11 to 13 April, Christians in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Egypt will be praying for five promises that the Lord has been speaking to us over recent years. We invite you to join our intercessions for children/youth revival across the region, for the rebuilding of devastated Syrian cities, for joy and strength for pastors, leaders, and indigenous church planting movements, and for a great harvest among unreached peoples.’

Journalist and church deacon of Early Rain Covenant Church, Zhang Guoqing, was missing for several days before it was discovered he was being held in police custody for ‘provoking trouble’. He had published a story of how the pastor’s mother, Chen Yaxue, had been beaten up by a policeman, and how one officer had grabbed her hair and kicked her. Also, eight Christian families from the same church were evicted from their homes and two fired from their jobs, after police pressured landlords and employers. Twelve Christians are currently being held in criminal detention, and one is missing. Pray for them all, asking the LORD to be a shield of protection around them (Psalm 3:3). Pray for the Lord’s provision for those who have lost their homes and jobs. Ask also for mental and physical healing for Chen Yaxue, after the cruel police assault.

Stoning to death and amputation as punishments - including for children - are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam sharia penal code that came into force on 3 April, according to a discreet notice on the attorney general’s website. ‘To legalise such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential “offences” should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender’,said a researcher at Amnesty International. These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when first discussed five years ago. Amnesty expressed grave concerns: ‘This penal code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights. As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.’

Over sixty people have died following floods across Iran. 78 intercity roads are blocked, 2,199 rural roads and 84 bridges have been washed away. 141 rivers burst their banks, and 400 landslides were reported. Floods have damaged nearly 7,500 miles of roads (36% of the country’s network). Government and aid agencies came under severe criticism for their efforts being too small in scale and unable to cope with the acute needs of tens of thousands of flood victims. Emergency services sent four helicopters to Pol-e Dokhtar because land routes to the city are cut off. Many people are in tents. A parliament member warned President Rouhani, ‘People facing a tragedy urgently need food, drinking water, medicine and warm clothes’.The lack of order and planning is widespread. Pray for the thousands sheltering in the open with little food, clean water or warm clothes in often rainy weather.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extended condolences to the victims of the floods in Iran, and said his country was prepared to help. But in a sign that the offer may have been less than serious, he did so in a statement blaming Iranian mismanagement for the flooding, and without explaining how assistance could be directed to Iran without violating US sanctions. Pompeo rejected a claim by Iran that the sanctions were preventing donations to its Red Crescent. He said the USA was ready to contribute to international charities which could then forward the money to the Red Crescent for relief.

The Iranian Church is growing with increased momentum, with daily encouraging reports. Despite persecution, Christians are courageously preaching Christ. Hundreds who have received training through mission agencies are teaching the Gospel. Over one million Scriptures have been distributed to Iranians since 2003. Christian TV is beamed into millions of homes, reaching families who otherwise may never have heard the Gospel. Thousands respond to programmes every month. An estimated 28 million have access to satellite TV as dishes (officially banned) are hidden in upper rooms and lofts. ‘Underground’ house churches serve people from all segments of society. Former hard-line Islamic mullahs and drug addicts worship Jesus together. Highly educated university professors, lawyers, taxi drivers, street vendors, and nomads follow Christ together.

Israelis will vote in national elections on 9 April. The campaign has been divisive, confusing and ugly, yet our prayers can declare the fundamental truth that our God reigns. The Friday prayer points sent by Intercessors for Israel can inspire our prayers for God’s chosen leader for His nation at this time. ‘Lord of all, rule over these elections so that the government of Your choice will be chosen. May Your will be done in Israel as it is already done in heaven. Raise up righteous men and women to lead this nation. Remove all confusion and bring clarity to Your people. Let there be light to guide Israelis as they decide who to vote for. Overrule any plans of the enemy that are trying to manipulation these elections for his demonic schemes. Protect all Israel from manipulation and witchcraft. Move the Arab-Israelis to vote against Arab politicians who are more concerned with the Palestinians that with their own constituents.’

Many Christians have fled Syria’s violence. Before 2011 Christians made up 8-10% of a 22 million population. By 2017 80% of them had left. Pastor Abdallah chose to stay and care for his congregation. He said that there are questions around the fate of kidnapped Christians, including three members of his church. The media focus on the disappearance of high-profile church leaders, but many ordinary Christians were abducted or disappeared during IS occupation. Hope is that more will become known about their situation soon. They could have been moved outside the area. As pastor Abdallah helps the Aleppo community rebuild, his main problem is securing long-term funding. NGOs are stopping aid throughout Syria, and many are suffering. He has now heard that banks have stopped transfers, and he said that the media don’t shed much light on the difficult situation citizens are enduring.

The Indian constitution provides for ‘the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health’, but the latter provisions substantially weaken religious freedom in practice. Many states enforce ‘anti-conversion’ laws, which in some areas require a person to seek permission from their local government 30 days before converting to a new faith. Religious identities are used on official records because some laws that apply differently to different religious groups (for example in tax deductions, bank loans, or marriages) can favour Hindu and Sikh families. Hindu fundamentalists are attacking all places of worship systematically, and extreme complicity is shown by police and authorities. Christians are being attacked, and police are not arresting the attackers. The law provides loopholes to discriminate against religious minorities, enabling newspaper reports to distort news in a way that makes it appear that Christians are not legally permitted to meet in homes and have fellowship. False facts are altering public sentiment.