Be encouraged as you listen to John D Robb, Chairman of International Prayer Connect being interviewed by Daniel Lim, CEO of iHOP about how the Lord has led him in his service to the Prayer Movement around the world in recent decades.  John shares some of the breakthroughs.

More at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k4lurlki5dfQV7Aju1vbqvWiD4CaHva-/view?usp=sharing

WHAT'S UP IN EUROPE? - God is doing extraordinary things through ordinary people like us. We can see that during events and camps or through everyday friendships, the Body of Christ in Europe is alive! UnitedHive is an app where you can find testimonies of what God is doing in Europe and in your region. Check it out HERE, it’s a fun way to share and read about lives being changed.

Jeremiah felt inadequate as God called him to a ministry of prophetic prayer for Israel and other nations. We often feel the same, as if our prayers will make little difference, but they can have the awesome power of the Almighty to change a nation’s history. The Lord told Jeremiah that He had put His words in the young prophet’s mouth; He was appointing him ‘over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant’ (Jer. 1:9-10). For those of us who follow Christ, the King of Kings, and are members of His eternal family, should we expect anything less when we pray for the nations? If anything, we ought to expect far more! According to the Apostle Paul, we have been raised in Christ to sit with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). See also Intercessor Focus in UK section.

Give thanks for Clayton and Ellen Kershaw, from the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Team, who partnered with the International Justice Mission (IJM), and visited the Dominican Republic to help bring a major reduction in the scale of sex trafficking of children. They met with local government officials, local partners and survivors. They then used their American platforms in sports and media to shine a light on this issue and released a clip on the internet about their visit. Please pray for many people to watch the video clip about sex trafficking and then go on to join the fight for justice.

A survey asked over 47,000 citizens from 35 African countries about their experiences and perceptions of corruption. More than half of the survey respondents think corruption in their country is getting worse, and that their governments are not doing enough to tackle this scourge. Citizens have every reason to call for stronger anti-corruption measures: from education to health care to policing, rackets affect millions of people each-and-every day. More than a quarter of citizens paid bribes to access public services over the past year - that is equivalent to around 130 million people across the countries surveyed. Of all public institutions, police forces were identified as the most corrupt; but many other areas of government are also seen by citizens as corrupt. The good news is that the majority of people are optimistic that they can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

The number of new Ebola cases is at worrying levels and now the virus has reached Goma City, the Central Africa transport hub, where 2 million people live. A Pastor, who had become ill in Butembo travelled to Goma on 14 July and died in its treatment centre. All passengers on the bus the Pastor had taken to Goma have been traced. Butembo is one of the towns hardest hit by Ebola. The pastor held regular services in seven churches there and laid his hands on worshippers, including sick people. Over 1,650 people have died and about 700 people have recovered from Ebola. Currently there are 2,489 cases. The movement of people around or through Ebola zones is a huge challenge for health services. Provinces affected by the virus are characterised by poor infrastructure, political instability and ongoing conflict involving scores of armed militia groups and community mistrust of national authorities and outsiders. The World Health Organisation has sounded a global Ebola alarm see.

Iran's state TV said on 18 July that the Revolutionary Guard had seized a foreign oil tanker with 12 crew members accused of smuggling one million litres of fuel in the Lark Island of the Persian Gulf. The guards said the vessel impounded was the same one it towed on the previous Sunday after it sent a distress call. The TV didn't identify the tanker or say which country the crew were from. There has been speculation earlier on the whereabouts of the Riah oil tanker, which sails under the Panama flag. At the time of writing it is not known whether the vessel towed by Iran was indeed the Riah. The US expressed suspicion that the Riah had been seized in Iranian territorial waters. US General Kenneth McKenzie said that they were talking to other countries about freedom of navigation in the Gulf and will work ‘aggressively’ to find a solution to enable free passage.

IS claimed responsibility for detonating a car bomb in front of a church in the city of Qamishli, which is held by the Kurdish YPG militia, injuring at least eight people. Earlier that day a bomb killed 11 civilians, including children, in the city of Afrin, on the border with Turkey. Many others were wounded, some seriously, in the explosion at the entrance to the city. One report said the bomb was planted in a diesel fuel tanker left in a residential area of Afrin and that many homes were damaged in the explosion and subsequent fire. Afrin, was held by the Kurdish YPG until 2018 when it was seized by Turkish-backed militia.

Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, are often said to be a ‘gaping hole in the global church’s holistic response to human need’. Please pray into these World Health Organisation facts: - one in five of the world's children and adolescents have mental disorders or problems. -Nearly 800,000 lives are lost through suicide every year. -Wars and disasters increase mental health problems dramatically. -Poor mental health leads to poor physical health. Many people worldwide deny themselves mental health treatment and cure because of shame and embarrassment. -Mentally ill people in many countries are locked up, restrained or have their human rights violated in other ways. Pray that Christians will break the cultural taboos and stigmas associated with mental health issues, and address them in a holistic and loving manner. Pray that care for the mentally ill and traumatised will become a hallmark of the Christian Church. See also article 2 in UK Section, ‘We Cry over What Children Say’.

Europe’s new president of the European Commission is German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. She will lead the executive body that shapes policy for the world's largest economic bloc. Many believe Leyen's appointment confirms their view that the EU is undemocratic and doesn't respect ordinary citizens because she wasn't selected by the voters in the recent EU elections or by the lawmakers who won those seats. She was hand-picked by the 28 EU member states, who side-stepped better-known candidates chosen by various political factions. Anti-EU politicians like France's Marine Le Pen will spend the next five years declaring that von der Leyen's presidency reflects everything that is wrong with Brussels. Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and others gave her narrow margin of approval so that her mandate is weak as she confronts fraught relations with the US and China, showdowns over Italy's budget, erosion of Hungary and Poland’s rule of law and the UK's exit.