Prayer News

Worldwide: opening doors of education for girls

25 Mar 2016

Educated girls help build a healthier family, stronger community and a brighter future. But 62 million girls are not in school. Half of them are adolescents. Countries with more girls in secondary school have lower maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rates, lower rates of HIV/AIDS, and better child nutrition. Pray for: the five-year education programmes funded by USAID in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Liberia’s initiative ‘Girls’ Opportunities to Access Learning’; Malawi’s ‘Girls’ Empowerment through health and education activity; Jordan, where USAID provides training and materials to supervisors and teachers who are coping with large numbers of Syrian refugee students; and Bangladesh and Ethiopia, where human rights groups work to stop girls being married before the age of fifteen. The list is long: El Salvador, Georgia, Rwanda, Afghanistan are a few more places where girls with potential to change their world for the better need opportunities to grow.

Peace or war in South Sudan?

25 Mar 2016

A report by 10/40 Window states that in South Sudan unbelievable atrocities are committed daily:gang rapes, dismemberments, babies and adults alike burned alive - heinous crimes carried out by South Sudanese forces and rebels. Warfare results in unplanted fields, no crops, famine, drought, starvation, disease, and death. No village is untouched, no family exempt. Mothers dash to get water, leaving children briefly untended. The vulnerable are attacked, raped, and murdered. Peace is elusive. Humanitarian access - food, soldiers, military aid - are all hindered from reaching their destinations by roadblocks and people in uniform. An urgent plea comes from a leader: ‘I think the next two weeks will determine the critical point in the peace process - either peace or war.’ April is the deadline for leaders to honour the peace agreement, stop the war, and begin implementing a transitional government. If they don't, donor countries will pull out, leaving the country with higher inflation and possible mayhem.

Cuba: pastor detained ahead of Obama's visit

25 Mar 2016

Rev Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso, a prominent pastor and religious freedom activist, was arrested on Sunday just hours before President Barack Obama’s official state visit to Cuba. Rev Mario’s wife and their two young daughters were put under house arrest, and their phone connection was cut. Before this his wife was able to speak to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). His family and church have not been allowed to speak to Barroso directly, but she was told that her husband had been taken to Santa Clara, and was being refused food or drink. She added that the pastor had already been ill over the weekend, after a stranger pricked him with a pin while he was on public transport last week. As well as Pastor Barroso, dozens of human rights activists linked to the Ladies in White were also arrested and detained on their way to attend morning Mass in Havana. ABC reported that 304 activists were arrested. See

Yemen: US and UK urged to stop arming Saudis

25 Mar 2016

Amnesty International has urged Washington and London to halt arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition against rebels in Yemen, for the sake of saving civilian lives. In a statement released one year into the Saudi-led intervention and entitled ‘Reckless arms flows decimate civilian lives,’ the rights watchdog said that the US and UK, the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, have continued to allow transfers of the type of weapons that have been used to commit serious abuses, generating a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented scale. The group has documented 32 airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition since the beginning of the conflict. These strikes have violated international humanitarian law and killed 361 civilians, including at least 127 children. The World Health Organisation says that since March 2015 fighting in Yemen has killed 6,300 people, half of them civilians; the UN has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

Campaign against veil sparks controversy in Egypt

25 Mar 2016

A new campaign titled ‘Ban the niqab’ was launched in Egypt earlier this month, calling for a ban on the full face veil in all state institutions, including universities, public hospitals, schools and government departments. The campaign was strongly criticised by some Islamic clerics, who believe that wearing the niqab is a virtuous act by women and banning it is not permissible. Meanwhile, others argued that the campaign was not directed at Islam, saying that the niqab is merely a tradition unrelated to religion that should be removed. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mohamed Attiya, the campaign’s founder, said that he launched the campaign because of the volatile political climate in Egypt and the attempts made by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters to cause chaos and panic among Egyptians by carrying out terrorist attacks against state institutions. He believes that the campaign will prevent terrorists from exploiting the niqab to conceal their identities to carry out attacks.

The Power of Praying for friends who don't know Jesus

24 Mar 2016

In this week's video Pete Greig from 24-7 Prayer talks about the preacher DL Moody who prayed for 100 of his friends to know Jesus. Ninety-six of them came to faith before he died, the last four became Christians at his funeral. It's an encouragement for us all to pray for those we love who don't yet know Jesus. Using the leather prayer strap Pete ties 5 knots, and encourages all to do the same as a reminder for us to pray for those 5 people God has put on our heart over the week of Thy Kingdom Come, 8-15 May 2015.

Watch the video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/MNIZooHYgl4

The Servant Queen

24 Mar 2016

The first 100,000 print run of a new book to commemorate the Queen’s 90^th birthday - The Servant Queen - has already been sold and another 100,000 being printed. Scripture Union are producing a schools edition a copy of which will be sent to every junior school.

‘The Queen’s birthday books I ordered have been delivered today… They are absolutely wonderful and more than once moved me to tears – not an easy task usually. I am sure they will be highly valued by everyone who receives one, and they contain a wonderful, very simple, memorable message. Brilliant!’

You can preview the book in the video above and download the video here. Click here to order copies of The Servant Queen.

Do pray with us that God will use each of us in this season to follow the Queen’s example, talking naturally about Jesus. May God use us to bring in an amazing harvest www.hopetogether.org.uk/Groups/262514/Queens_Birthday.aspx

The first 100,000 print run of The Servant Queen has already been sold and another 100,000 being printed. Scripture Union are producing a schools edition a copy of which will be sent to every junior school.

Powerful time at WATCHING conference

23 Mar 2016

Our prayer conference at Swanwick was a memorable time. It was a time of calling and preparation not just for the people there but for many across His church. We are in a time of change with great political and economic uncertainty but we are standing on the plans and purposes of Jesus.

God is looking for a people who will be obedient – who really make Jesus the head of all we do, who fully depend on Him.
God is looking for a broken people who can be authentic and compassionate in a broken world. He wants us to be changed by knowing Him more deeply as our Father, He delights in us, walks with us, and equips us. God's heart is deeply moved by the brokenness He finds in many of His people and we felt His loving arms around us. He is opening our eyes to a broken and traumatised world, of abused children, disintegrated families, vulnerable young people, and victims of injustice whether they be in India or our neighbourhood.
He is calling for watchers – people who will respond to the accelerating need to watch and pray.
He is declaring a time of change and fruitfulness – for WPC as we enter the third year of our journey through 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, and for His church as He awakens us to prayer and evangelism.
Malcolm Duncan blessed us deeply in so many ways and his teaching was deep and broad, looking at our call to serve the Lord and defend His name, serve the globe and serve His church in the UK. God spoke deeply to Malcolm and he brought a very specific word from the Lord for the last day – we will send out the transcript shortly but essentially the message is – it is time to prepare our hearts and raise our expectations for a move of God in our nation.

TIME TO GET READY

It is time for more prayer, for informed prayer, for focused prayer, for faith filled prayer -

For the gospel to be preached across the whole church this Easter, for Jesus to be revealed in marches of witness, church services, family gatherings etc. pray for joy to fill His church as we celebrate Easter together. We pray for a powerful move of God this Easter.
For the broken – let us see our neighbourhood and workplace with Your eyes, let us pray for your love where there is brokenness
In the light of the Brussels bombs, we pray for Your comfort. Have mercy on Belgium, have mercy on Brussels, open people's eyes to Your love.
Protect our nation – we stand on the walls of the United Kingdom and ask – Lord have mercy, give wisdom and insight to our security forces and authority to us as we pray.
Bring peace this Easter at the marking of the 100^th anniversary of the Easter Rising - in Dublin and across the Republic; and in Belfast and across Northern Ireland.

Steve Botham