Javier Milei, Argentina's new president, encountered a setback on 3 January when a court suspended labour rule changes he introduced in December. The decision came in response to a legal challenge from the largest labour union, which argued that the changes infringed workers' rights. Milei's decree included extending job probation from three to eight months, reducing severance compensation, and allowing the possibility of dismissal for workers participating in blockades. The court ruled that the administration had overstepped its authority in implementing these changes by emergency decree, bypassing the legislature. Since taking office in December, Milei has devalued the country’s currency by 50%, cut transport and energy subsidies, and promised to downsize the state workforce - all measures aimed at addressing poverty and high inflation.
An agreement on 1 January by breakaway Somaliland to allow Ethiopia to use the Red Sea port of Berbera has been condemned by Somalia as dangerous for regional stability. Since 1991, when Eritrea gained independence, Ethiopia has been landlocked and reliant on neighbouring Djibouti for maritime trade access. The new agreement, signed by the Ethiopian prime minister and Somaliland’s president, includes acknowledging Somaliland as an independent nation and giving it a share of the ownership of Ethiopian Airlines in due course. Somaliland, which declared autonomy in 1991, lacks widespread international recognition; Somalia insists that it remains part of its territory. Following mediation by Djibouti, the two countries have agreed to restart talks to resolve their dispute.
I wanted to bring you two timely items of news, some words of encouragement and a free gift as we all plan to celebrate Christmas and to enjoy time with our families!
Please find details below of the Sunrise Prayer Relay, taking place on New Year's Day. Many of us will be getting up at the crack of dawn to proclaim the Supremacy of Christ over our nations together. Do join us!
We invite you to join with many millions around the world for a Global Day of Prayer on Saturday 10th February, 2024 (Chinese New Year) as we pray for key cities and nations across the Buddhist world. By way of preparation, we encourage you to use the accompanying 21 Day adult and children’s prayer guides.
Mountain Moving Prayer...
As we approach 2024, I believe God wants us to grow in faith. As we soak in God's written word and speak it out in faith through prayers, we will see mountains moved!
Do watch this talk that I recorded a few weeks ago, in which I share how Mary became the mother of Jesus - God Incarnate - as she responded to God's word in faith 'behold I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word according to your word.' (Luke 1:38) We can learn a lot from Mary’s example.
My prayer for you this Christmas and New Year is that you, like Mary, will experience how an ordinary life can lead to an extraordinary walk of faith and transformation, through the simple yet incredibly effective key of faith-filled, Bible-based prayers and the exaltation and worship of Jesus!
A Gift for You!
Here is a free gift this Christmas called Pray the Word, in which I share some simple tools to help you pray effectively! Use it as a resource in your personal or group devotions to connect with God in a personal way. My prayer is that it will help you Encounter God - bringing life-changing, mountain-moving impacts!
Your Gifts…
Thank you for your prayers, participation, encouragements and support through 2023! If you are sensing that you can contribute with a donation as we approach the end of the year, see here.
On behalf of the whole IPC team across our 14 world regions, I wish you a peaceful and blessed Christmas.
All Glory to the Lamb!
Dr Jason Hubbard – Director
International Prayer Connect
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)
Over the past few years on New Year's Day, thousands of Christians across 70 nations participated in the Sunrise Prayer Relay and we are excited that there is an invitation to awaken the dawn with prayer together again in 2024!
We are encouraged to gather just before Sunrise at a public location like a hill, lookout, bridge, or public landmark, at a church in our cities or towns, (or we can also take part privately in our homes) - to worship, pray and exalt Jesus!
Let's declare together that "Jesus is Lord" of our lives, our families, our regions, our nations, and all of the nations!
Together, these prayer gatherings at sunrise around the world will generate a synchronized 24-hour global prayer relay!
Let's not miss the opportunity to share the message of Hope in Jesus with others who are out to see the sunrise!
More info and register participation + receive the prayer resources and updates at: www.sunriseprayerrelay.com
With thanks to our dear brothers - Warwick Marsh & Pat Steele in Australia who are coordinating this initiative.
We invite you and your families, contacts and networks to join us for the Global Day of Prayer for the Buddhist World on February 10th, 2024!
Each year, IPC devotes 4 seasons of focused prayer for the Buddhist, Hindu Jewish and Hindu peoples. We pray concertedly using specially prepared adult and children’s prayer guides.
Each prayer guide concludes with a Global Day of Prayer involving 100 million+ people. During the global days of prayer, we also open an online prayer room for continuous worship and prayers, led by people of all ages from around the world!
From January 21st through to February 10th, 2024, we will be praying for unreached people in key cities and nations across the Buddhist World. See the adult and children’s prayer guides.
Do make a note in your diary for the 2024 Global Day of Prayer for the Buddhist World, which takes place on Saturday 10th February 2024.
More info and prayer guides are HERE
Years ago, I was taught how to pray the Word of God - and it has revolutionized my prayer life. It is the ultimate prayer manual written by God Himself. Scripture is the language of God’s heart! The Bible always makes His will clear to us through the written Word. Anything the Holy Spirit makes known to us will always agree with God’s revealed Word.
As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 writes, God has always been looking for those to whom he can speak, those who will hear and live. The Word of God isn’t casual, and it isn’t an option; our very lives depend on it! As Jesus declared in the wilderness, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of his mouth” (Matthew 4:4). One of the ways that we learn to listen and talk to God is through Praying His Word!
It is about the rediscovery of hearing, delighting in, trembling before, and obeying the Word of God. The Word is meant to abide in us and transform us from the inside out! God’s Word feeds us (Matt. 4:4), washes us (Eph. 5:26-27), sanctifies us (John 17:17), disciplines us (Heb.4:12-13), imparts faith to us (Rom. 10:17), and equips us (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
May we get into the Word until the Word gets into us, both the written Word and the Living Word, the Lord Jesus!
This booklet, put simply, is a tool to help you spend time with God in his Word! I encourage you to pray the Scriptures out loud, turning truth into personal dialogue with the Lord. My hope is that you will experience more and more of his life, his love, and his mountain-moving power!
For the Supremacy of Christ in all things,
Dr. Jason Hubbard – Director
International Prayer Connect
Prague: shock after gunman kills 14
21 Dec 2023
A gunman has killed at least 14 people and injured another 25 at a university in the historic city centre of Prague. It was the deadliest attack in modern Czech history. Staff and students barricaded themselves in rooms during the attack; videos showed some people jumping to safety from the top of the building, and many fleeing the area in panic. Police say the 24-year-old gunman was ‘eliminated’ following the shootings. Prime minister Petr Fiala said he had cancelled upcoming engagements in light of the tragic events. The gunman, a student at the university, was from a village 13 miles outside Prague. His father had been found dead earlier in the day. The gunman's motives were not immediately known. He legally owned multiple firearms: the Czech Republic has the most permissive gun laws in the EU.
The Half Way House pub in Blackpool has initiated a 'giftmas' tree project to provide Christmas presents for nearly 200 underprivileged children. Traditional decorations on the tree were replaced with tags indicating an anonymous child's age and gender. Patrons were encouraged to pick a tag and donate a suitable gift. This initiative led to over 185 children receiving gifts for Christmas. The landlords highlighted the importance of the project, acknowledging that many children might not receive gifts otherwise. The presents will be distributed through Blackpool's Children's Services. This initiative is significant in the UK, where around 4.2 million children live in poverty, and research suggests one in five might not receive a Christmas present. Following the success of this scheme, other pubs in the same chain are following suit. The chain’s marketing manager praised the initiative for demonstrating the pivotal role pubs play in their communities, ensuring that many children will have gifts to open this Christmas.