Israel: elections
28 Mar 2019
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.’
Chad: open doors to Christian mission
28 Mar 2019
Largely semi-desert, Chad is one of the poorest and least-developed countries in the world with 150 different ethnic groups. Most have not heard of Jesus. Drought, civil conflict, distance from the sea and poor infrastructure cause health and social problems. Life expectancy averages 47 years and infant mortality remains high. The nation is plagued by waterborne diseases such as malaria and meningitis. Pray for Mission Africa, the Evangelical Church of Chad, and Korean NGOs, who responded to these needs in the areas of evangelism and medical care. Pray also for Mission Chad who care for 83 orphans, teach 470 students, and help people to cultivate farm land for future harvests. Also, the Global Alliance of Church Missionaries works with young churches running Christian radio stations for the 120 languages spoken among communities who have never heard the gospel. See https://team.org/regions/africa/chad
Cyclone Idai: race against time
28 Mar 2019
According to the UN, Idai could be the southern hemisphere’s worst-ever disaster. Over 2.6 million people have been affected. Pray for all those coping with stress, grief and loss. Zimbabwe was already in a food crisis; now most crops are washed away. There will be no harvest. Pray for adequate food aid. There is a desperate need for clean drinking water, especially in the ‘difficult to reach’ areas. Cholera has been reported in Beira, still struggling to provide clean water and sanitation. WHO is dispatching 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine to affected areas later this week. Pray that these supplies would be enough to halt the spread. Pray also for effective distribution of rehydration salts and adequate intravenous drips. Other waterborne diseases like typhoid and malaria also pose a risk. Pray for adequate healthcare to prevent all types of disease spreading.
Syria: Christians face uncertain future
28 Mar 2019
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.
DRC: 1,000+ Ebola cases
28 Mar 2019
A quarter of people interviewed in eastern DR Congo believe Ebola is not real, underscoring the enormous challenges that healthcare workers are facing as the epidemic exceeds 1,000 cases. Public mistrust is not helping; people refuse vaccines, resist treatment and conceal symptoms. Even though health workers are better prepared than ever, with new technologies, trial treatments, and futuristic mobile treatment units, they are not curbing the spread of the virus. Five Ebola centres have been attacked since last month, sometimes by armed assailants. The violence led French medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend activities at the epicentre of the outbreak. Now Bunia city, with 1 million people, has confirmed a case. Pray for the health ministry and partners as they listen to the affected communities, address their concerns, and quell misinformation and mistrust; and for the military to strengthen defences against attacks on health centres. See https://qz.com/africa/1582080/ebola-in-dr-congo-tops-1000-cases-struggles-to-contain-spread/
Central African Republic: peace in trouble
28 Mar 2019
CAR descended into civil war in 2012, displacing a quarter of the country's 4.7 million population, with fighting often erupting over gold, diamonds and uranium. Democratic elections in 2016 were a step forward for this impoverished African state, but peace and development remain elusive especially outside the capital, Bangui. Both Muslim and Christian militias kill, rob and rape and keep the nation fragile and insecure. Six hundred thousand people have been chased from their homes. The large majority profess Christianity. A purified and strengthened Church could be a great force for good in the nation. Seven peace agreements were tried, but have failed to end one of Africa's bloodiest conflicts. The latest one was signed in February; by the first week in March it was at risk of collapsing as three of the 14 armed groups that signed the Khartoum agreement disagreed with the makeup of the new government. See http://www.operationworld.org/country/cent/owtext.html
India: religious freedom is failing
28 Mar 2019
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.
Former IS leader has a ‘God dream’
22 Mar 2019
Leading the Way ministry has reported that a ‘prince of IS’ has turned from terrorism to Jesus Christ. Mohammed asked ministry worker Peter to meet him, wanting to kill him. Despite the danger, Peter believed God wanted him to go, and boldly spoke the Word of Jesus to the IS leader. After the meeting Mohammed struggled to grasp what he’d heard about who God really is. He met him again, and told him he’d dreamt of a fragrant envelope dripping blood. Peter said God was telling him, ‘Blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is sending you a message and you need to give your life to Him.' At that moment Mohammed surrendered his life to Jesus.