At least 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide bombing outside a video hall in north-eastern Nigeria, emergency service officials say.

Another 40 were injured in the attack in Konduga village in Borno State, the officials said.

There are conflicting report about whether the blast occurred while people were watching football or a film.

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is being blamed for the attack. There was no immediate comment from the group.

Formed in Borno State, the group has waged a brutal insurgency across the north-east for a decade.

Ali Hassan, leader of a self-defence group in Konduga, told AFP news agency that the owner of the hall had prevented one bomber from entering.

"There was a heated argument between the operator and the bomber who blew himself up," he said.

Two other attackers who were nearby then set off their devices.

The number of deaths was so high because emergency services arrived late to the site of the blast and were not adequately equipped to deal with such a large number of wounded people, Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency (Sema) told AFP.

Video halls are common across northern Nigeria. They are usually rudimentary buildings where people pay a small fee to watch football matches or films.

Boko Haram has targeted them on several occasions, saying they are unIslamic.

Konduga has been targeted before. In July 2018, eight people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a mosque.

At least 27,000 lives have been lost and about two million people forced to flee their homes in the conflict with Boko Haram.

This latest attack comes at the end of a bloody weekend in northern Nigeria. There is rising concern of insecurity in other parts of the country.

On Friday night an armed gang killed at least 34 people in the north-western state of Zamfara, which has been at the centre of a wave of attacks by bandits since the beginning of the year.

The Boko Haram insurgency has been terrorising people in the north-east for the past decade, and has been the main area of focus for Nigeria's armed forces.

But the triple suicide bombings in Borno on Sunday reflect just how complex the security challenges are.

The government has said that Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State of West Africa Province(Iswap) group are on their last legs. But both the military and population of the north-east continue to suffer regular attacks.

Although Boko Haram has lost a lot of the territory it held in the north-east in the last four years, it is still attacking soft targets in mosques, markets and public gatherings.

Combine this with the ongoing banditry attacks in the north-west, and kidnappings across the country's highways, and the scale of the security challenge is daunting.

Analysis by Mayeni Jones | BBC

More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48660150

Pray: That the Boko Haram group is dis-armed and those responsible for these heinous attacks are brought to justice.

Pray: That the Nigerian government and the state government and military step up their negotiations and intervention to return the affected states to safety and stability.

Pray: for all those affected by these and other attacks on innocent people.

During the European Trumpet Call worship and intercession conference at the beginning of September 2015, in Timisoara (Romania), the Lord encouraged the intercessors who had gathered together from many European nations with the word from Isaiah 62:4 'No longer will they call you Deserted … but you will be called Hephzibah (Delight is in Her) and your land Beulah (Married)'.

Then, in a prophetic act on behalf of our continent, we broke off the old anti-christian covenants and as partakers in the covenant and promises for Israel, through Christ, we made a new covenant with the Lord and re-named Europe 'Beulah' (Married). Directly after that, the great flood of refugees began to pour into Europe and since then we have been experiencing shakings in the EU at all possible levels in life, nature, society, politics and in the Church.

'Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if it were told you.' (Habakkuk 1:5)

The Lord is using these present shakings within the European nations and the EU for His purposes. It is still His desire for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and that we (the Church) can live in godliness and holiness and, since our lives and those of our families and churches are governed by those in authority, we are urged first of all to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

European Union

Let us thank the Lord for the results of the European Parliament elections! A great transition is in progress. Around two thirds of the Members of Parliament will be replaced and new alliances need to be formed. Subsequently, many executives in the EU administration will also be replaced.

The following key positions are to be newly elected:

• • President of the EU Parliament – by the EU Parliament
• • President of the EU Commission – by the EU Parliament
• • President of the EU Council – by the European Council
• • EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs – by the EU Commission
• • President of the European Central Bank – by the European Council

Let us pray that as many God-fearing people as possible will be elected into office – people who have a sense of justice, wisdom and integrational strength, and who also respect and understand the cultural diversity of the nations within the EU.

Also pray that the powers striving to subjugate nations by a centrally controlled EU Empire, will be broken.

The idea of creating a United States of Europe on the model of the USA is unrealistic. The USA was created by people from many different nations – people who left their native countries for distant America and formed a new state structure with a shared language and shared core values.

The influence of God-fearing men and women in the founding phase was immense and so, within a relatively short time, a new, US American identity emerged with people who no longer thought of themselves as being British, German, Italian, French etc., but as being citizens of the USA.

Europe is very heterogeneous in that it is made up of many nations, each with their own language and culture and some with a history going back for up to thousands of years. The size of these nations and also their economic strength varies tremendously between the north and south, and the east and west of Europe.

The smaller and economically weaker nations have long perceived the EU as an 'Empire' in which the weaker nations are dominated by the stronger ones (especially by Germany) and the EU administration. They fear that they might lose their identity and freedom and that they will have to pay a high price for any advantages the EU has to offer.

This is something the Lord cannot bless. If the EU does not want to disintegrate, it must find new ways of providing regional development aid that promotes peace and not disunity between great and small and poor and rich. In addition there needs to be a clearer definition and agreement between common EU legislation and national sovereignty.

Above all, the nations of the EU need a fresh encounter with God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fervant prayer avails much!

Brexit

Just recently, we celebrated the founding of the German State, seventy years ago, and the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day. We were reminded of what it cost the British and Americans, along with their Allies and the resistance movements within the occupied nations, to liberate Europe and establish peace.

Great Britain is the only country in Western Europe that successfully resisted the German war machine. Around 330,000 Britons lost their lives. History testifies to the miracles that gave advantage to the British and their allies, and to the importance of the nationals days of prayer called by the King, as well as the intercession of Rees Howells, and the Bible School of Wales.

After the war, the British did not seek revenge. Along with the Americans, they helped to rebuild Germany with a new constitution as a Federal Democratic Republic. Thanks to the strong Christian Values held at that time by the British and Americans, Germany was released from a huge debt, was reconciled with France, preserved its sovereignty and, eventually, was re-admitted to the community of nations.

Bearing these facts in mind, and considering the friendship built up over the last decades, it is high time for a change in policy regarding Britain leaving the EU. The present attitude of the EU leaders is: 'We will no longer negotiate and if the British do not want to accept the presented agreement, then we will treat them like the rest of the world, not even granting a transition phase.' In the light of history and for continued friendship, such an attitude is arrogant and disrespectful.

Let us pray for a positive change within the EU leadership and administration regarding Brexit.

Let us also pray for the forming of the new British government with new vision for the future and sound judgment to protect the sovereignty of Great Britain, while defining its future synergy with the EU.

Evangelisation

Germany and Europe need to be reached again with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord is mobilising a new generation of evangelists along with His Church. This was the main emphasis at a conference held by Christ for all Nations (CfaN) at the end of May, in Hamburg.

Over four thousand attended, including many young people, when the evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke‚ passed on the baton to the younger generation. This new movement needs to be accompanied by prayer!

March for Jesus

The March for Jesus movement is presently experiencing a new awakening. The Lord is encouraging Christians in several European cities to go on the streets and publicly profess His name.

The next March for Jesus will be held in Munich on the 28th of July, under the leadership of Chad Chambers and ‚Europe Ablaze’ team. More information and registration under www.europeablaze.tv

Yours in Christ

Berthold Becker

Firstly, a ‘Prayer For Pilgrims’ with our prayer that you have a very blessed Season of Spiritual Renewal and Strength in these days of Pentecost:

Father in Heaven,

Mould me into Christlikeness;

And Stir up in me,

the Fire of Your Love.

Holy Spirit,

Fill me with Your Power;

And Help me to Tell of the Love

And Salvation in Jesus of Nazareth.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Son of the Father,

Renew my Friendship in You;

And help me to Serve You

With a Quiet Mind

and a Burning Spirit.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Please Keep Me

In the Joy, Simplicity,

and Compassion

Of Your Holy Gospel. Amen

More at:https://www.archbishopofyork.org/priorities/pilgrimage-prayer-witness-and-blessing/pilgrimage-prayers

What Pentecost Did...

There are loads of posts today about the impact of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to us.

This a brilliant video map that shows us the influence of the Gospel around the world since Pentecost. 

It maps the spread of the Gospel across time - all of course empowered by the Holy Spirit.  It's interesting that Communism and other influences were relatively short lived, but Christianity has been pretty much on a constant march ever since Jesus came.

Just click the map to follow the link: https://www.carlbrettle.com/post/what-pentecost-did

Carl Brettle

More at:https://www.carlbrettle.com/post/what-pentecost-did

Focus: The Power of People Group Thinking, a Practical Resource for Reaching the Unreached

If you have a heart for prayer and mission for the fulfillment of the Great Commission, this book is written for you!

It has been put together for followers of Jesus who share His heartbeat for the peoples of the world. It is designed for you if you want to see His love, justice, and salvation begin to operate within a particular group of people for whom you are specially concerned.

If you are a missionary, an evangelist, a pastor, or a lay person who wants to better understand your target audience in order to have a greater impact, this book can help you. It will give you the tools to develop a ministry strategy that, coupled with Spirit-led prayer, will be relevant to the people you are trying to reach. Focus! will enable you to both pray and communicate the Gospel with new effectiveness and greater response. It will assist you to design ministry outreaches and programs that the Spirit of God can use to move a whole unreached group toward the salvation and social well-being He so deeply desires for them.

The author, John Robb, who serves as chairman of the IPC has devoted his life to both prayer and mission initiatives in more than 100 countries for over 50 years. Focus! went through three printings, was translated into over 20 languages, and has been used by many involved in cross-cultural missions around the world. Feel free to download it and also to share it with others who have an interest in making Christ known to those who still do not know Him.

Free Download available HERE

For 25 years, Steve Hawthorne has written and published the Seek God for the City prayer guide. Many of you have told us that you would like to read and pray through other prayers Steve has written. WayMakers has produced several other prayer guides authored by Steve. The “Ways to Pray” series of six, 16-page pocket-sized prayer guides will encourage you in on-going, sustained praying. Each of the different booklets has its own unique theme:

• • Blessings: Ways to Pray in Hope. Learn how to pray blessings by using your own words to express the goodness in God’s heart for others. Seven biblical themes with sample prayers of blessing help you pray for the fulfillment of God’s purpose for next-door neighbors and in distant nations.

• • Light from my House: Ways to Pray for God’s Light to Shine. Fight the battle of light overcoming darkness in the lives of neighbors and people in your community. Focused prayers ignite biblical passages about the light of Christ.

• • The Lord is Their Shepherd: Ways to Pray for Goodness and Mercy. Follow the 23rd Psalm as a guideline to pray for others. Pray your way into the story of what God is doing in the lives of people who are close to you, but still far from God. Pray them all the way home.

• • Open My City: Ways to Pray for Neighbors. Seven biblical themes of openness. Pray open the eyes, ear and lives of those who seem closed to Christ. Pray open the homes and hearts of Christians to welcome them.

• • Prompts for Prayerwalkers: Ways to Pray from God’s Word for your World. This booklet helps prayerwalkers to get started and veterans to keep going. Select scriptures and “street-tested” prayers equip you to pray on-site with insight. Biblical ideas help you enjoy praying with persistence.

• • What Would Jesus Pray? Ways to Pray like Jesus. Prayers Jesus actually prayed, organized around seven parts of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Pray with the same clear purpose Jesus used when He prayed for others.

The booklets are reasonably priced at $2.00 each. Significant discounts for bulk orders of 20 or more are available. You can also order mixed quantities of two or more of these booklets. Check out two sample pages of each of them and place your order today.

These days both challenge and yet strengthen our desire to spend time before God in prayer. Let’s ask God to stir our hearts and unite our faith as we seek His face and ask for His will to be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.

For His glory,

Barb Hawthorne

Stephanie Tucker

More Info and Order at:https://waymakers.org/pray/ways-to-pray/

Spanish

Finnish

Chinese

Urdu

Arabic

Dr Jason Hubbard, Director of the Light of the World Prayer Center in Whatcom County, Washington State, USA tells us about how God is answering prayers for Community Transformation in extraordinary ways.

Their 3 fold prayer strategy involves 30 churches taking a day of prayer, once a month.  Its like a prayer relay, where a church takes the baton to pray for a day, then passes the baton to the next church.  This means they have ongoing, unceasing prayer. 

Secondly, Godly men and women gather together in 7 strategic teams seeking the Father’s will for seeing transformation taking place in their community across the seven spheres of society.    

Thirdly, they have build a communications system with a prayer guide conveying specific, measurable prayer points.  Alongside this, they prepare praise reports with details of answered prayers.   

The result is a canopy of united, strategic, sustained prayer. 

Jason tells us how 80 of the 100 local Pastors regularly gather to pray – with the outcome of deeper expressions of unity between the churches, a growing Church, impacts in the marketplace, the community, mission and much more!

Watch the video here (14:40): https://vimeo.com/334628060?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220

More: www.lowpc.org

As we approach Pentecost Sunday, June 9^th, 2019, let’s ask the Lord Jesus for a fresh ‘infilling’ of the person and presence of the Holy Spirit. One of the keys to a powerful intercessory prayer life is ‘praying in the Spirit.’ Dutch Sheets states boldly, “Without a doubt the greatest single key to successful intercession is learning to co-operate with the Holy Spirit allowing him to be all he was sent to be in us!”

 As John the Baptist stated,

“This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes in and with the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:30-33)

God-the-Son in our flesh who comes to take away the sin of the world, is also the One who comes to baptize in and with the Holy Spirit.  The two works belong together.  When these two titles are kept together the gospel is really ‘good news.’ Jesus-to-the-rescue takes away sin, and then baptizes humans in and with the Spirit of God. 

The term baptize simply means to ‘immerse.’   The Greek text uses both ‘in’ and ‘with,’ the Holy Spirit. The ’in’ relates to that which we are immersed into, and the ‘with’ speaks of that which saturates us or literally, overwhelms us.  Therefore, Jesus the Baptist dunks us in and drenches us with the very life of the Triune God!

Dallas Willard uses the word ‘engulfment’ to describe this experience.  Jesus promises an engulfment in the Spirit of God.  He promises to clothe us, or dress us with ‘power from on High.’ Jesus of Nazareth, God-in-flesh, redeems us from the power and grip of sin and then baptizes us, immerses us, soaks us, dresses us, saturates us, drenches us, and marinates us with the very Life of the Living God!

When the text says that Jesus ‘baptizes,’ it is in the present tense.  In New Testament Greek the tenses of verbs speak of the time of action and the kind of action.  The ‘present’ tense speaks of continuous action, literally ‘to keep on.’ Jesus is the one who keeps on baptizing in and with the Holy Spirit. In other words, He comes to keep on soaking us, keep on drenching us, keep on immersing us, keep on filling us with the Holy Spirit, until every fiber of our being radiates with the very presence of the Living God!

We see this confirmed in the story of the early church! Jesus promises, “in a few days you will be baptized in and with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5).  On the day of Pentecost, ‘they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”(Acts 2:4).  And then a few chapters later in Acts 4:31, the text says, “the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:31).

Paul says that it is God’s will that we ‘be filled with the Spirit.’ Not just once, twice, but over and over again! 

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Eph. 5:17-18)

Whereas wine can ruin one’s judgment leading to debauchery, in contrast ‘being filled with the Spirit,’ leads to empowerment, self-control and a life exhibiting the fruits of the Holy Spirit! It is the nature of Jesus to keep on giving his life to us.  He fills us and keeps on filling us in stages, ‘grace upon grace’ as John puts it, transforming us from, ‘glory to glory’ as Paul teaches us (2 Cor. 3:18).

Barriers

I believe there are two common reasons why many do not experience the fullness of the Spirit in their lives.  The first is fear.  We fear that if we really open up to Spirit we might be swept up into something beyond our control.  The fact it is, Jesus is beyond our control.  We are talking about the Living Lord Jesus coming to occupy and possess us by the Holy Spirit!  Out of fear we can settle for a form of religion devoid of power.  We try to domesticate the One who is an All-Consuming Fire and settle for the predictable even if it is no longer satisfying. 

The second reason is the lack of hunger.  We think we have all we need.  We are content with what God has done for us, and we no longer come to God desperately needy and poor in Spirit. 

However, the reality is that we need the life of God ever-increasing, ever flowing like a river out of our innermost being (John 7:37-39).  We need to come more and more under the sway and influence of the Holy Spirit! 

We need to be invaded, and permeated, saturated, and flooded with the life of the Spirit in every aspect of our lives!  From the very beginning, God has revealed his passion to give his Very Self to the world. 

The Holy One intends to fill the whole created order with his Glory!  The filling of the Holy Spirit makes fully alive, fully human!  We are finally what we were created to be when filled with and animated by the life of the Triune God! 

In Luke 11, Jesus writes,

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The Father is a good father and gives good gifts to his children.  In our life of prayer we come to him in dependence recognizing we can’t do anything apart from Jesus.

We need HELP! As Alvin VanderGriend states, “The Father is in the prayer-assistance business. He has appointed his Son, Jesus to be our enthroned prayer assistant, and his Holy Spirit to be our indwelling prayer assistant.” Jesus is telling us to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking for the great Helper, the third person of the Trinity!  

So this Jesus comes as a Lamb- to- the- rescue to take away the sin of the world. And He comes to baptize again and again and again in and with the Holy Spirit.  And whenever he does “there enters into our helplessness and fatigue, ‘a surge of new life,’ and we are freshly empowered, “to do the undoable, to face the un-faceable, to bear the unbearable.” (William Barclay)

Let’s return to the Holy Spirit, turning away from our own works to a total dependence on the Holy Spirit!

Dr Jason Hubbard - Executive Coordinator

International Prayer Connect

We live in a historical time. Every single people group can be reached with God’s Word and kingdom within the next decade. Millions are still waiting to have access to the Gospel. What is Jesus calling us to do?

Well, there is one thing that we have seen God use over and over again to accomplish His eternal purposes: prayer. This upcoming Pentecost, God is uniting the international body of Christ to refocus on what matters. The unreached. Hundreds of like-minded ministries and thousands of churches are united under the Pray for ZERO banner so the unreached are no longer waiting.

Pray for Zero is an international prayer movement dedicated to the provision of God’s Word and kingdom among the remaining unreached, Bibleless peoples. There are currently over 2,000 people groups without access to any Scripture in their language. Through social media and regional prayer gatherings, we connect God’s people to the goal of seeing all remaining translation projects started within this next decade. 

You are invited to unite with millions of others to pray for the number of unreached people groups to be brought down to ZERO.  Each year we will gather to pray until we live in a world where every single person has access to the Word of God in their language and a local expression of the body of Christ. 

If we love those still waiting for a chance to hear of Christ through His Word, then we should do whatever we can to raise awareness so that others will join us in this effort. We encourage you to adopt a people group, pray for them frequently, and post pictures and videos on the International Day for the Unreached — June 9, 2019.

Take a stand. Do your part. Pray for Zero. Visit prayforzero.com.

“Always pray and never give up.” Luke 18b (NLT)

Solomon Lujan

YEAR OF THE FRONTIER May 2019 through May 2020 is a previously unprecedented time of united, informed prayer for the largest gaps in work among the unreached around the world! For thirteen months starting May 2019, join prayer networks around the world coordinating with:

• The Alliance for the Unreached
• The Ethné Movement
• The 24:14 Coalition
• Joshua Project's "Unreached of the Day" (http://JoshuaProject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday)
• Frontier Venture's Global Prayer Digest

as well as many others to pray for every one of the 400 Frontier People Groups (FPGs) with an in-country population over 500,000 as field efforts collaborate to see movements to Christ in every people and place.

What are Frontier People Groups? These FPGs contain nearly all of the one-quarter of all humanity currently the most isolated from the good news that Jesus came for all peoples. Less than 1 in 1,000 are followers of Jesus in these groups. Only 1 out of every 100 cross-cultural laborers work among these groups! Until Jesus followers unite in obeying His commission, these masses have no hope of hearing about and being introduced to Jesus before they die! This unprecedented collaboration will focus on the fulfilment of God's promise to bless all peoples through Jesus movements healing and restoring broken families and communities.

 Why is prayer important? Extraordinary prayer is foundational to every movement to Christ. Prayer is the first domino to fall leading to change in spiritual receptivity to the gospel and fruitfulness. Leviticus 26:8 “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand…”—there is multiplied power in agreement. As intercessors faithfully lift up these specific people groups and believers reach out, God does what only God can do to release harvest.

Learn more about the "Year of the Frontier" at: http://Go31.org/yof

Joshua Project https://joshuaproject.net/frontier

“Reaching the Unreached” video https://vimeo.com/244739881 and

“The State of the World”video https://globalprn.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b371ecb81ea5dd83cb1ed45cd&id=b68ef93f6a&e=3ba0399bc5

Your prayers are vital to extending God's blessing in Jesus to all the remaining Frontier People Groups.

Draw close to God by embracing His passion to bless these Frontier People Groups. Invite others to join you in:

* Praying daily for every one of these 400 Frontier People Groups over this year:

To get daily prayer materials via email: https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/email or
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org Then submit your email in the top right box.

Apps to help you are available for Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=umot.tw.dgp

or iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/global-prayer-digest/id1181417800?l=es&mt=8

* UPG of the Day Widget to customize for your website: https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/widget

* On social media, use these hashtags to raise awareness: #YearOfTheFrontier, #FrontierPeopleGroups, #UnreachedPeopleGroups, or #RememberTheUnreached.

* Promoting the international Day of Prayer for the Unreached (http://AllianceForTheUnreached.org)

* Partner to focus on a specific people group through www.InherittheNations.net

* Preparing for the Global Outreach Day 2020 (http://globaloutreachday.com/2020), which will coincide with the culmination of the Year of the Frontier. During the entire month of May 2020, our goal is to mobilize 100 million Christians to pray for their neighbors and nations as well as to share the Gospel with them.

We believe that together with many denominations and ministries it will be possible to reach 1 BILLION people with the Gospel and for prayer-care-share to become an ongoing lifestyle for every follower of Christ.

More at http://go31.org/yof/