Esther refused to deny her faith when she was abducted by Boko Haram as a teenager. She was forced to marry one of the militants and faced horrific abuse at his hands. Soon she became pregnant. When she finally escaped and returned to her village, her community mocked her for being a ‘Boko Haram woman’. Even her own relatives called her daughter ‘Boko’, not Rebecca. There are thousands of women like Esther, who are doubly at risk of persecution, both because of their gender and because of their faith in Jesus. We, the global church, cannot allow the persecution facing our sisters to go unseen and ignored. We can pray for an increase in resources to be available for those who are giving them support and hope for the future God has prepared for them.

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.

We thank God for our annual prayer conference at Swanwick in March and the wonderful people who stood with us waiting on God. It was (yet another!) important historical week for the nation when a substantive vote was held in parliament and the government suffered a second significant defeat on Brexit. We prayed through the debate and decision making. The key scripture was Isaiah 61 – this great announcement of the Kingdom of God and declaration that God does remarkable things through us.

Throughout Swanwick God was aligning us with His prayer agenda and we have captured some key points below.

• Put on the garment of praise – in a time when everything seems confused we believe God’s purpose is clear – He is our good shepherd, His desire is that we turn back to Him. So, we praise and adore Him, we bring our testimonies of God’s goodness.
• Dave Landrum from the Evangelical Alliance shared very serious concerns that secularism – life without God – is shaping more of the national agenda. He tells us we should 1. Fear not; 2. Speak up; and 3. Pray for boldness and authority.
• Dave told us that globally the number of evangelicals has risen from 500 million to 1.2 billion in 17 years – with 10 million new evangelicals in Europe in the last ten years. These are momentous times - Hallelujah!
• There is a danger that we stand as British Christians with our Christianity secondary. We are seeing prophetic words circulating that are actually political words. We need to be Christians who are British with humility, and a desire to be led first by God’s agenda.
• We need to be searching for God’s Word. He is a God of justice who repeatedly tells us to defend the widow, oppressed, the orphaned and the alien. That may sit uncomfortably for some but we need to be hungry to understand God’s perspective.
• Rebuilding is not “going back to the good old days”, it is looking forward to God’s new purposes.
• God looks at us and sees Christ. Sin has been dealt with and we are in a covenant relationship with Him. He takes the broken and gives us a double portion and makes us beautiful like brides and bridegrooms.
• We need peace in our homes, workplaces, communities and the nation. It seems far away. Jesus declares “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God”
• James tells us “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
• Peacemakers walk in humility, they live in God’s shalom, at peace with themselves and prepared to take risks for peace. They diffuse conflict, address broken relationships, listen generously, encourage honesty and truth. They believe they can disagree with respect.
• We live in a time of strident voices, very public criticism and undermining, and significant falling outs. Romans 12: 18 tells us “As far as it is possible live in peace.”

Steve Botham

Director