May we ask for your prayer for the nations of Iraq and Syria that are suffering so much from the predations of ISIS? We have our attention on the recent terrorist incursions into France and the USA, but large parts of Iraq and Syria are the ISIS headquarters where everyday can be a terror for millions of people who are confined there under their brutal sway.  

One of our dear Iraqi friends has just sent the following urgent prayer concerns that are being forwarded on to you to ask for your help in prayer. As we pray, things will be different. It is crucial to keep covering both of these nations in daily prayer until the situation is stabilized and these ISIS terrorist thugs are completely overthrown and crushed. We pray that in the process many of them will also turn to Jesus Christ if possible. Such praying for this part of the world will also positively affect the security situation in our own nations. 

Here is our friend’s message from Baghdad. 

Dear in Christ Jesus,

Greetings. The latest news does not show relief in the situations, especially after advancing of the Turkish troops from the north all the way down to nearby Mosul city (60-80 km inside the border). There are much exchange of accusations and words and warnings. 

We need your prayers; supplications and intercessory:

1. Keep pressure of the governmental troops on Isis all the way to drive them out of the Anbar.

2. Prevent spark of clashes and exchange of fire with the Turkish troops and then have two wars within the country.

3. Help us to support the huge waves of Internally Displaced Families, especially with freezing winter hitting the nation suddenly.

4. The recent deteriorated situations has triggered a nation-wide move of migration of both Christians and non- Christians from all the country. We as a church works to keep them and through imparting words of hope.

We need your prayers to support us during this difficult time.

Should you receive a Word from the Lord, then feed us to be uplifted, thank you.

May the Lord Jesus Christ shine upon your life daily, Amen.

The Syrian Circle

Anniversary Edition

December 14, 2015 

This month we celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Syrian Circle launch, intended to bring awareness to Christ’s Church and spark a prayer initiative for the 31 days of December 2014.  As you know, God used the response of you and thousands of others to continue weekly until late 2015.  

We could not have guessed all that this year would hold for the Syrian & Iraqi refugees.  As things have gotten worse each week, with little hope for their immediate future – we continue to hear of the miraculous works of God in the midst of the ugliness.  Looking back one year later, we have confidence that many of our specific prayers are being answered. 

1. His Church and the world are paying far greater attention. 

• It is in the headlines. It’s both dividing nations and uniting others. It’s impacting politics in a number of nations, through pictures “going viral” of a little boy whose life was snuffed out too soon. We are grateful today it’s much harder to ignore.
• Multiple new Christian initiatives have stepped into vacuums to address issues and send workers -  and many organizations have shifted to focus their prayer, personnel, programs and resources towards the crisis.          

2. We asked God to bring supernatural comfort and to meet the physical needs for food, warmth and welcome.  Even though there is still much need, we’ve seen many groups step into the gap.  

3. Specifically responding to our prayers for God to use this crisis to open hearts to consider Jesus, we receive reports weekly that there is unprecedented response to the Prince of Peace.  God is revealing himself among all age-groups, in many locations, with new disciples that includes some of the radicals themselves.  

4. We petitioned together for a new generation of Syrians to be raised up who will know and follow the Lord Jesus.  Large numbers of young men are making their way to Germany, where it’s possible to hear the message.  A number of schools (formal and informal) have been started by believers in various locations.  Along with their education, refugee children are learning and singing about Jesus.  

It’s been an amazing year to see how God’s people have responded, both to giving and going – as well as praying.

We rejoice as we see God’s amazing handiwork in the midst of and in spite of the chaos. Churches, both western and national, have responded with great compassion, sacrifice and focus for aid and effective outreaches.

God’s people are generous people! 

All the giving through The Syrian Circle has been distributed to effective on-the-ground teams to help with the following needs: 

• Food & water
• Winterization items in the camps – hats, socks, gloves, scarves, coats, shoes  and blankets
• Schooling for children – supplies and equipment.
• Vocational training for single Moms
• Bibles and audio playing units with Christian videos & teaching materials 
• Evangelism & Discipleship materials  

Our team is so thankful to GOD for the privilege  and to YOU for being part of this season of intercession.

Because of your faithfulness, we know you are as convinced as we are that prayer is a revolution!  We remember Karl Barth’s reminder that “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”  

So what’s next?  

Let’s be part of the revolution.  We plan to continue to provide perspective and prayer points. However, we would like to hear from you through a short 5-question survey to determine the most helpful way to do that and serve you.    

Please click here HERE to take the brief survey or paste this url into your browser https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LCHVRYR

With gratefulness,

Carol Davis, for The Chase Team

We need to continue to engage in specific ways with the threat of global terrorism that has captured international news in Paris, San Bernardino and other places. During a monthly prayer call last month with some knowledgeable friends, the following prayer concerns were raised:

1. Pakistan

The military is doing a lot to take out the take out the terrorists along the border.  But if peace is really to come the terrorist groups in the middle of the country are going to have to be taken down.  They are the ones who supply suicide bombers, etc. to those along the border. Please pray for the overthrow of the following terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan and threatening neighboring nations like Afghanistan and the rest of our world from there: 

• LEJ They are daily killing lots of military forces and elite troops within Pakistan. 

• MQM used to be the biggest terror group in Karachi and Sindh.  They were put down but now they have made a comeback and just won the elections in the southern part of the country.  

• Jamat-Islam whose goal is to take over the Pakistan government and America.   They are growing rapidly and are creating trouble throughout the country and now throughout the world.  For example, the wife in the San Bernardino attack had met with them this year.  It is likely that the husband as well met with them. This group seems to be tied to the Lal Musjad (the Red Mosque).

There are some good things happening in the country we can rejoice in.  In Karachi, one woman is teaching a prayer course. There are some children's prayer groups meeting faithfully. In some other places, local believers have now started and are running prayer groups and children's prayer groups. We need someone in the country who will encourage people in prayer and bring this all together with strong, sensitive servant leadership.

Please pray for the Pakistan authorities and military to effectively go after the terrorist organizations operating within the country and destroy them completely. The military has been quite successful in going after them along the border with Afghanistan but now need to get those who are the real source for all the suicide bombers and funding. Pray that these organizations and their leaders will be thrown into confusion and will fight each other. Pray also that the funding from Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as from local heroin production will be cut off.

Give thanks for the raising up of additional prayer groups and efforts and pray for the raising up of strong, united leadership within the country.

2. Afghanistan

As we have prayed this year for this embattled nation, we have seen the Lord answer and raise up a strong prayer effort from within the nation by expats and locals, praise God. There is also a powerful move of the Spirit happening in the mountains with one people group. Pray that this will spread across the nation! 

The new Taliban leader was most likely killed and others of their leaders have been taken out as all of us have prayed over the last few months. We pray that they may repent and come to know and serve the Lord, but if they just want to continue destroying the nation and its people, they need to be removed from the earth. Please pray accordingly. 

Pray that the Taliban will continue to fight among themselves and against the ISIS movement that has entered Afghanistan as well. That the Afghan government and military will be effective in overcoming and destroying both of these terrorist movements. Also, that their support and funding from Pakistan and the Middle East will be cut off.

Pray too for the protection and strengthening of the believers and for a powerful prayer and worship movement within the country to cover the land and be used of God to change the spiritual atmosphere.

3. ISIS and the global terror threat

ISIS and its network is spreading rapidly in Europe after the Paris massacre and through the continuing refugee flow into that continent. One German colleague reported that there are an estimated 11,000 potential terrorists in Paris alone and about 2000 in the UK; however they are setting up operations in virtually all the nations of the region. Quite a few Syrians who are coming as refugees are among them.

The FBI here in the USA is actively investigating suspected ISIS operatives in all 50 states and feels overstretched. The couple in San Bernardino were not even one of those being watched.

Pray for the authorities in Europe and the USA to realize that they are engaged in a conflict with the ideology of radical Islam, to throw out political correctness and go after those who are controlled by this ideology, arresting them and foiling any planned terrorist attacks. Pray that the misguided idea that Islam is a peaceful religion will now be discarded and that government officials will understand that this is the kind of Islam that Mohammed himself practiced- violent jihad and widespread murder of those considered to be “infidels”.

Pray that the coalition of nations will soon put boots on the ground, even in many thousands, in a strong, effective collaboration to overcome ISIS in Iraq and Syria and to restore those nations and their territories to peace and good governance.