Ireland: combat the tide of evil
26 Jan 2018
A leading Irish expert has called Church leaders to appoint a team of exorcists to cope with what he sees as a rising tide of evil in the country. While many believe exorcisms only happen in Hollywood blockbusters, exorcist Fr Pat Collins said he is besieged by desperate people seeking help to deal with what they believe to be demonic possession and evil activity. He is ‘baffled’ that Irish bishops are not taking more action to appoint priests to deal with everything from ghostly encounters, being pulled from their beds, and full-blown possession. ‘What I’m finding is people who in their own minds believe - rightly or wrongly - that they’re afflicted by evil spirits. In many cases it is wrongly, but when they turn to the Church we don’t know what to do, and often they are not helped.' He also said there was growing apostasy within the Church. 'As this has happened, there is increasing evidence of the malicious activity of the evil one.’
Switzerland: Davos economic forum
26 Jan 2018
Theresa May’s speech at Davos spoke of the UK as a centre of Artificial Intelligence, stating that in the past few years a new AI startup has been created in the UK every week, and technologies like the internet were developed with a philosophy that connecting us together would improve people’s lives. She said that the UK is developing a digital charter, at the heart of which is a set of principles that the same rights people have offline should be protected online; the internet should remain free, open and accessible; people should understand the rules that apply to them when they are online; personal data should be respected and used appropriately; and protections should be in place to help keep people safe online, especially children.
Syria: the forgotten people
26 Jan 2018
Last week we prayed for more international intervention to end the unspeakable conditions in Ghouta, near Damascus. Please continue to pray for the beleaguered 400,000 inhabitants still living in the area, who have been under siege for five years. Throughout January they have been pounded with 350+ airstrikes, killing approximately 200 civilians, including many women and children. Recently the Syrian American Medical Society announced that the regime had allowed only 29 out of the approved list of 500 critically ill patients to be evacuated for hospitalisation. Incessant mortar fire by rebel fighters is wounding and killing people in a predominantly Christian district of Damascus. The most recent report, on 22 January, stated that another 21 people had been wounded in the area. Armed opposition forbids food, medicine or aid into a zone established by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Click the ‘More’ button for a Voice of America report. See and
In 2017 Hamas said its smuggling and terror tunnel network was twice as large as the Viet Cong’s was at the height of the Vietnam War. In 2018 Israeli technology has proved successful in locating and blocking many Hamas tunnels. Many believe the terror group, fearful of losing a major strategic weapon, could take desperate measures. Pray that this will not happen, particularly after the destruction of a massive Hamas tunnel on 20 January. It ran under the Gaza border, near where Egypt, Israel and Gaza meet, not only entering Israel, but also entering Egyptian territory - violating both Israeli and Egyptian sovereignty. Ironically, Hamas was targeting Palestinians’ economic lifeline, a passage where thousands of trucks carrying Israel’s merchandise cross the border bringing supplies to the residents of Gaza, the economic oxygen of the Gaza Strip. According to security forces, Hamas planned to blow up the entire complex.
Thailand: slavery in the seafood industry
26 Jan 2018
Thailand is the third largest seafood exporter in the world. The industry relies heavily on trafficked and forced labour on unlicensed vessels. Many victims are from Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Beatings and starvation are commonplace. The Thai government claims it is regulating the fishing industry more tightly, yet slavery persists. The International Justice Mission (IJM) works with other bodies to rescue victims trafficked into Thailand’s fishing industry, and creates individualised care plans to meet survivors’ physical, psychological and emotional needs so that they can thrive in freedom. IJM requests prayer for favour and wisdom as the team builds relationships with police and prosecutors in both Thailand and Cambodia (where many of the traffickers target victims).
Central Asia: praying for the unreached
26 Jan 2018
There are 50 million Pashtuns in Central Asia; they are the largest group of unreached people in the region. There are only about 500 Pashtun believers scattered through Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The number is a best guess, as they live in remote locations under unbelievable challenges to their walk of faith. The worst thing a Pashtun could ever do is to turn from Islam and become a Christian. One believer taught his children a hymn, ‘Jesus shed his blood for us’, only to find one of them singing it in the street to strangers. Can you imagine your dilemma if your child sang a hymn in public that posed a threat to your life? Or can you imagine meeting with a new believer for discipleship for the first time, but being unsure whether that person was a true believer or a spy who would betray you to the government? Please take some time to pray for persecuted believers to persevere in their heavenward journey. See also the Praise article ‘The Bible for everyone’.
Islamist parties in Iraq are shedding their religious platforms to focus on reform in the campaign for upcoming elections in May, and are also allying with secular parties. Out of 200+ Islamist parties registered with the independent electoral commission, only ten have names explicitly invoking Islam. This development clearly shows the overall decline in Islamic movements, both Shiite and Sunni, compared with previous elections in which Islamist parties accounted for more than half of the registered groups. Many Iraqis blame political Islam for the tragedies and corruption plaguing their country, as Islamists have held the reins of power since 2005. At present Shiite political power influences state institutions and there is ongoing support from Iran, so we need to pray for God’s intervention in the elections.
USA: Trump’s attitude to dictators
26 Jan 2018
Donald Trump has enthusiastically expressed personal admiration for notorious authoritarian leaders. Recently he sent a message to Philippines president Duterte: ‘I want to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.’ Duterte’s crackdown on the drug trade has included extrajudicial killings of 7,000+ people. On President al-Sisi of Egypt, Trump said, ‘He has been very close to me from the first time I met him. He’s done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation’. Al-Sisi has a stranglehold on Egypt’s political system, and is actively crushing any civic groups or media outlets that criticise his rule. Trump also described the president of China as ‘a good person who wants to do right, representing his people’. China’s one-party state aggressively censors the internet, persecutes ethnic and religious minorities, bans all political opposition, and recently cracked down on human rights lawyers attempting to defend the victims of such abuses.