The French intervention in Mali to stop radical Islamists from taking control of the country turned into a global conflict yesterday when Islamist terrorists at an Algerian gas pumping facility took 65 or more hostages from several countries – including the United States, Japan, and Europe. Thirty-five hostages and 15 of the hostage takers reportedly were killed this morning in an Algerian airstrike.

From: LIGNET This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please pray for the effective containment and vanquishing of the Al-Qaeda threat in Mali, Algeria, Somalia and other nations in the Middle East and North Africa so they will be unable to establish a stronghold like they did in Afghanistan. Pray that many of these fighters will, like other Muslims, have dreams and visions of Jesus Christ and come to faith in Him.

We need your help in this special prayer focus for 2013. Would you please join us in prayer and circulate this call to prayer to other intercessors you know? We will monitor how things go within these two countries as the year goes by and update you on how the Lord answers.

The Taliban are a group of radical Islamists that are threatening the survival of both Afghanistan and Pakistan and the security of the rest of our world. If they succeed along with allied terrorist groups in taking over these two nations, they will proclaim that militant Islam has triumphed and will be emboldened to launch attacks against the rest of the world from this base. As Pakistan has nuclear weapons, they could fall into the hands of these radical Islamists and be used against Israel, the West and other nations. It is of paramount importance that we as intercessors engage in united prayer for His protection and deliverance of these two nations.

Driven by their fanatical ideology and possessed by a spirit of violence and death, the Taliban have been wreaking havoc in both Afghanistan and Pakistan over the last decade. At 9/11, the rest of the world saw the destructive capacity of Al Qaeda, supported by the Taliban, to thrust their dagger even into the heart of the western world. The Taliban are primarily made up of the Pashtun ethnic group (called Pathans in the attached people group profile) that span the border of both nations and have been called “the most resistant unreached people in the world”. Captive to their warlike culture and code of honor that requires blood revenge, they are constantly fighting and killing one another and those from other ethnic groups. Since 2007, they also have murdered 16 Christian workers in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, they have wiped out possibly hundreds of Christian believers, also destroying their villages, churches, and homes.
 
Not all Pashtun are Taliban or serve as instruments of violence, but we suspect that this people group in general has become traumatized by centuries of fighting off invading armies. As a result, the Pashtun have become both the recipients and purveyors of terrible atrocities of war and human suffering. We believe this could be the way that Satan has gotten a grip upon their psyche and culture as a people and is now using them in the form of the Taliban and other allied terrorist groups to carry out his agenda to “kill, steal and destroy”. Jesus identified the devil as the “liar and murderer from the beginning”. It is he that we must come against in faith-filled prayer to see the Taliban dissolve and these two nations set free from their destructive influence.

After the fall of the Taliban Regime in 2001, they slowly regrouped and have since then continuously gained power. Many military leaders have now conceded that they cannot win this war militarily. Fighting with physical weapons as the Coalition forces have done in Afghanistan the last 11 years cannot be ultimately successful against spiritual forces of evil. We have seen that mobilization of prayer leaders and intercessors as well as praying children can be effective in putting the principalities and powers to flight in nations. Here are a few examples:

• In Cambodia, The Khmer Rouge, worshippers of a serpent demon, began to give up their maniacal, murderous struggle and surrendered to the government two months after a mass prayer mobilization was launched in 1994-1995.
• In Burma, thousands of children have been praying for their nation since last year, and there are now sweeping political changes going on.
• Many other cases from Bosnia, Sri Lanka and nations of Africa could be mentioned where God has used national prayer initiatives to end wars, create governments of national unity and bring about peaceful development. Some African nations now even have born-again presidents who are involved in nationwide prayer efforts!

Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, since the mid 1990s, prayer teams started to go into the country, and in the beginning of 2001 the Lord impressed on the hearts of local Christian workers to prophetically proclaim an end to Taliban control. As thousands around the world prayed, this came to pass by the end of that year. Hundreds of Christian workers came in to help the nation in humanitarian and development efforts. Things improved dramatically. However, the ground was not held through ongoing intercession and the Taliban have come back, threatening to take over again. Many organizations and their workers have left the country due to threats, attacks or being closed down. During the last two years, twelve more Christian workers have been killed by the Taliban.

Large areas of the country have come again under the control of the Taliban, and all four access roads into Kabul, the capital, are now threatened with insecurity. Many locals are nervous and want to leave the country because the Coalition forces have announced they plan to withdraw in 2014. In addition, President Karzai will be leaving power since new elections will be held during that same year. Afghans know their government will probably not hold together and is likely to be overthrown by the Taliban with terrible violence for the nation as the result.

Pakistan
In Pakistan, the Taliban are Islamic fundamentalists who are forcing their beliefs upon society at any cost. In recent years, as the government has sought to ban and stop the Taliban, they have risen up with new names and expanded across the country imposing their beliefs. Physically, they are now almost an unstoppable force in the hands of the devil.

Pakistan is being rocked by suicide bombings and assassinations and is ruled by a corrupt and inept government that is unable to maintain order or lead the nation out of the political, economic and religious quagmire into which it has descended. The national elections that may happen early in 2013 are not likely to help as they will most likely be accompanied by riots and other destabilizing acts of violence and conflict. If a certain political party comes to power, that will  strengthen the Taliban even more.

People live in a constant state of fear, wondering if they will return in safety to their homes or if their area will be the next place of attack. For their own safety, they try to travel a different road each time. Those who can afford it always travel with armed guards. Most public places are surrounded by guards; even churches have guards for safety. A significant exodus of educated and wealthy people is occurring. Those without the means to leave are being left with a feeling of despair as they feel that those who can help them are now leaving the country to the Taliban and the fundamentalists.

The pirs, Islamic spirit mediums, have a huge influence over political leaders and also have empowered the Taliban for their terrorist actions in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Government education has almost completely failed and left a vacuum. In its place, pirs and their fundamentalist schools or madrassahs are raising up a generation of fanatics who are willing to lay down their lives for the beliefs of the Taliban. For example, thousands of suicide bombers are being trained to carry out their demonic activities locally as well has throughout the world.

Since the first missionaries came to Pakistan to reach the Pashtuns, dozens of them have been killed by them. The latest victim was a Swedish missionary lady who had served for many years there. She was shot and died in December 2012. Numerous Pakistani Christians have also been killed for their faith over the years. The Taliban have also targeted and attacked more liberal people who are concerned for human and minority rights within the country.

A spirit of death and violence stalks Pakistan as well as Afghanistan and manifests itself most strongly through the Taliban. The best military powers in the world with all their sophisticated weapons have not been able to stop this demonic force. The battle must first be won in the heavens. If Afghanistan and Pakistan collapse, they will surely become launching pads for awful destruction to be carried to the rest of our world. We, therefore, propose the following strategy for mobilizing prayer for the deliverance of these two embattled, broken nations:

1. Declare a year of prayer for the Taliban (Pashtuns) in Afghanistan and Pakistan throughout 2013 and inviting prayer networks and intercessors across the world to partner with us for this project, including especially praying children.
2. Send out monthly one-page prayer alerts with in-depth, strategic information to guide united intercession and enable the prayer of agreement for specific desired changes.
3. Encourage teams of veteran prayer leaders to go into both countries during 2013 to pray on-site and encourage the local believers and prayer groups.
4. To initiate monthly or bi-monthly Skype calls for updating prayer network leaders and praying in agreement for the liberation of both nations and the dissolution of the Taliban.

Here are some first prayer concerns we want to share with you for the coming month:

1. Ask that the Lord would raise up many intercessors from around the world who will join us in serious and dedicated prayer till we see a change in Afghanistan and Pakistan, an army of intercessors that will join wholeheartedly in this spiritual battle.

2. That the Taliban movement in both countries would be completely thrown into confusion, disunity and crushed. They are trying to set up political headquarters in either Dubai or Saudi Arabia.  May this not happen. We continue to proclaim “Taliban Time/Rule is over”. Satan’s power over the Taliban will be broken.

3. That their leaders would either surrender, give up and stop fighting or that they would be taken out before they spread even more violence and bloodshed. Especially let this happen for their key people like Mullah Omar, Gulbadin Hekmatyar, the Haqqanis and other high-ranking leaders.

4. That the demonic unity between the Taliban and their allies be broken and that they would turn against each other.

5. That the fear of God to fall on them and as many as possible of their key leaders would be converted to Christ.

6. Pashtun tribal leaders throughout the areas where the Taliban operate would be so fed-up with the Taliban and their allies that they would not allow them to use their territory any more and start opposing them. It happened already in some areas, and it should spread out throughout the Pashtun areas.

7. Talks are going on in this coming week between the US president and the Afghan president about how many troops should remain. Pray that a strong force would be allowed to stay as long as necessary and that the Afghan army would be strengthened enough to protect the nation and overcome Taliban threats.

8. Elections are to be held in Pakistan in the Spring. A party very sympathetic to the Taliban and one that promises to bring in Sharia law is popular and predicted to win. Pray for a moderate party to win and one that will rule with justice.

For protection of the Christians that are a tiny proportion of the population in both countries. They are facing increasing persecution. May they be encouraged and strengthened and come together in unity to pray for their troubled nations.