Following protests and civil disorder when Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Christians erected a tent where 8-10 hours of praise, worship, intercession, and evangelism occurred daily. Believers of every hue united to provide opportunities for Ferguson to experience God. There were miraculous healings and deliverances; a couple of major protests were turned into prayer meetings, a few violent situations were defused through supernatural intervention, 50 people surrendered their lives to Jesus, and many heard the Gospel. The tent expression ended on 25 October.  Minister Thomas said, ‘We've only just begun. The crisis invited the Church to manifest God’s love. He’s exposing our hearts. Jesus deals with iniquity in us before He deals with inequity around us. Regardless of the facts, and final outcome, every believer has a role to play in the healing of these wounds and bringing peace.’

Nigeria’s population growth has put immense pressure on overstretched public services and infrastructure. 45% of the population are under 15 years of age and 4.7 million primary school age children are not in school. Statistically, 40% of those aged 6-11 don’t attend primary school and 30% of those in primary education drop out, with only 54% progressing to Junior Secondary Schools. The Northern region has the lowest school attendance rate, particularly for girls. The proportion of girls to boys in school ranges from 1 girl to 2 boys and 1 girl to 3 boys. Children skip school to work or when families cannot afford uniforms and textbooks. Sometimes a school is beyond a safe walking distance from homes, sometimes girls marry early. UniceF reports that the prospects of Nigeria achieving’ Education For All by 2015’ are frail.

The death toll has risen to 49 after a suicide bomber disguised in a school uniform blew himself up at a boys' secondary school in northern Nigeria on Monday. 57 people were injured. Other reports put the number of injured victims at 79 in the attack in Yobe state, which took place as students were in the yard of the boarding school during the morning roll call. All schools in the town are closed now. The attack came six days after a similar one on a Shi'ite Islamic school in Potiskum, in which 30 people died. Boko Haram targeted both schools. The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) said attacks on children are attacks ‘on the future of Nigeria’, warning that the country already has the largest number of children out of school in the world. (see item 2 below)

Australia has been criticised recently for the way it has responded to the Ebola crisis. (Australia suspended entry visas for visitors from Ebola-affected countries and wouldn’t send health workers to fight the epidemic.)  Now, this week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has contracted a private company to staff and operate an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone. Mr Abbott said, ‘We are not sending people over but we are ensuring there is a 100-bed treatment centre staffed and run in Sierra Leone by Aspen Medical, an Australian health provider.’ The Australian government has also committed A$2m to provide logistical support for Ebola teams in West Africa, and A$2m to help ensure that East Timor and Papua New Guinea can treat Ebola if any cases are reported there. Aspen will have some staff in Sierra Leone within days and the centre will be operational by the end of November. Australia’s UK partners have been building the centre.

Republicans need only six seats to have a majority in the Senate; this week they gained that majority. While the Republican Party is far from perfect, it is currently the political party that most closely matches the core policy beliefs of evangelical, ‘born again’ Christians and Catholics. According to pollster George Barna, there are 77 million ‘born again’ evangelical and Catholic voters in the United States. The Midterm election results means Republicans will have new powers to challenge Obama's agenda in the final two years of his term, able to launch investigations and hold hearings from both chambers. They can hold up key appointments and pass GOP (Grand Old Party) favoured legislation. The division of power also could yield areas of agreement on subjects ranging from immigration to energy.  See also 

On Tuesday an enraged Muslim mob beat a Christian couple to death near Lahore and burnt their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran. This is the latest example of mob violence against minorities accused of blasphemy. Pakistan’s brick-kiln workers are often subject to harsh practices, with an estimated 4.5 million being indentured labourers (Indian indenture system is a form of debt bondage). Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a three-member committee to fast track investigation of the killings and ordered police to beef up security in Christian neighbourhoods. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with allegations often prompting mob violence. A Christian woman has been on death row since November 2010 after she was found guilty of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed during an argument with a Muslim woman. Continue to pray for the repeal of the blasphemy laws which are often misused to persecute Christians and those of other minority faiths.

A UN report issued on 2 November warned that unchecked climate change will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Ban Ki-moon said that if we maintain a ‘business as usual’ attitude about climate change the opportunity to keep temperature rise below the 2 degrees Celsius target ‘will slip away within the next decade.’ A recent assessment of climate change report confirms actual climate change being registered around the world and warming of climate systems that is unequivocal. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, snow and ice has diminished, sea levels have risen and the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased to an unprecedented level. The report found the world very ill-prepared for the risks of a changing climate, especially the poor and most vulnerable who have contributed least to this problem. See also last week’s Prayer Alert ‘EU reaches deal on CO2 emissions cut’.

Boko Haram laughed at the announcement of a ceasefire and release of abducted school girls. Two weeks ago Nigeria’s Foreign Minister said the schoolgirls would be released ‘in the very near future.’ However, a recent Boko Haram video showed Abubakar Shekau saying, ‘Don't you know the Chibok schoolgirls have converted to Islam? They have memorised two chapters of the Quran. We married them off.’ He also denied knowing the negotiator with whom the government claimed it had worked out a ceasefire deal. In the video, Shekau talked not of peace but of more violence - promising more ‘war, striking and killing with gun.’ On Saturday Boko Haram sent messages to Christians in hideouts in the hills telling them that non-Muslims would be killed. Many tried to escape to Cameroon in the night but were stopped. Boko Haram later attacked the area and killed many remaining in the hills. See:

As unrest tears through the land over one million people, many of them Christians in predominantly Muslim lands, have been displaced. Most have fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Winter is approaching. Refugees face temperatures of 35 to 55 degrees F. ‘It is already cold at nights and they have nowhere to go’ said the president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council. Meanwhile a representative of The Catholic Relief Services said, ‘Just weeks or months ago, they were middle-class with homes and careers. they were corporate professionals or barbers or teachers or college students. Now they’re in perilous conditions.’ The refugee camps already have fever and disease. International humanitarian organisations are working together to bring relief to thousands of Iraqi in Turkey; 850,000 Iraqi in Kurdistan, including 150,000 Christians; 200,000 Syrians in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Thousands more arrive daily. See also 

The following is from the 31-day prayer guide for Nigeria. Day 30 tells us of the increased dependence of Nigeria’s politicians and even some ‘church leaders’ on occult powers. The experience of two state governors; Anambra and Ogun states were publicized but many other governors and their cabinet members are involved in taking oaths at shrines to confirm allegiance. This idolatry brings about God’s wrath, (judgment, curses, captivity, and defilement, famine, drought, cloud of darkness, reprobate minds, evil kings and demonic presence in lands). Pray for God to bring repentance for the sin of idolatry and occultist practices by political leaders. Pray and ask God to convict those involved in sinful acts of their wickedness and that they will repent and turn to the true God, (Prov. 28:13, 1 Jn.1:8,9) see: