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A grieving Boston community filled a park late Tuesday where 8 year old Martin Ruchard, a local boy and the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombings, once played. They prayed for the family and neighborhood as they held candles and sang ‘God Bless America.’ Martin was by the finish line when the explosion killed him and two others and injured 176. Richard's mother Denise suffered brain injury and his 6-year-old sister Jane lost a leg. We are asked to pray for Bill the family’s father. President Barack Obama vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Christians have taken to Twitter to express their sympathies and ask for prayers with the hashtags #prayforboston and #BostonMarathon Mars Hill Church Pastor said, ‘The most powerful weapon at our disposal against evil is the hope-filled prayer of God's people.’ See also: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/prayers.after.boston.marathon.explosions/32145.htm
Pray: for medical personnel and counselors treating the victims. May God give these men and women helpful words for hurting people. (Ps.40:17)
A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit to stop the display of the World Trade Centre cross at a memorial of the 9/11 terror attacks. The ‘government enshrinement of the cross was an impermissible mingling of church and state,’ the American Atheists said in a press statement. The group filed the lawsuit this week in New York and posted a copy of the lawsuit on its website naming many defendants, including the state of New Jersey, the city of New York, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The World Trade Centre cross, two intersecting steel beams that held up when the twin towers collapsed, was moved Saturday from near a church to its new home at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. There was ceremonial blessing of the cross in a service led by Father Brian Jordan, a Franciscan monk who ministered to workers clearing the area after the 9/11 attacks.
Pray: against religiosity and agnostic aggression that could smear an important part of commemorating 9/11 (Ps.36:9-11)
Anti-bullying campaigns have been grabbing headlines for months, mainly fighting bigotry against homosexuals. Now Dan Savage, a top anti-bullying advocate, has been caught up in an incident that some say is hypocritical at best. Savage is a gay man who founded one of the most popular anti-bullying websites, ItGetsBetter.com. But he was recently captured on tape doing some bullying of his own, attacking the Bible and targeting Christian students at a high school event. ‘We can learn to ignore the bull---- in the Bible about gay people, the same way we have learned to ignore the bull---- in the Bible about slavery, about shellfish, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation, we ignore bull---- in the Bible about all sorts of things,’ he says in the tape. Many students walked out in protest of Savage's diatribe against the Word of God, sacred to both Jews and Christians.
Pray: that those who object to Dan Savage’s ideas will overrule and promote Christian Biblical ideals. (Col.2:20)
More: http://www.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=39610&PN=1&TPN=1
On paper, Mr Obama should have been in trouble. He became the first president to achieve re-election since FDR with an unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent. A swathe of statewide ballots culminated in US states supporting legalizing marijuana for recreational use, allowing gay marriage and rejecting a call to ban public funding for abortions. These moves were decided among more than 170 ballot initiatives and referendums held across the country. The upsides of Mr Obama's victory ensures the survival of healthcare reform bringing the US more or less into line with other rich countries providing guaranteed coverage, if and when implemented, for all their citizens; and American foreign policy will be in the hands of a leader of proven cool and sound judgement, who no longer has to worry about his next election. Mitt Romney urged his supporters to set aside partisan differences and Barack Obama also stated his desire to work with Mitt Romney to take the country forward.
Pray: the President to have a united government that will successfully implement solutions to the challenges ahead.(Eph.4:3)
Last week a tornado outbreak of 440 warnings in five states killed 39 people and completely flattened whole townships. Meteorologists say this only comes along once every 10 or 20 years. The Salvation Army has sent in Emergency Disaster Service teams from nearby New Albany to the badly damaged town of Henryville in Clark County, where mobile canteens have been set up. Another team is providing food for 200 people at the Red Cross shelter in Charlestown. In Washington County, they are providing food for nearly 400 victims. The Salvation Army is assessing what's needed and providing support to the victims of these storms, and believe they will be meeting needs for a long time.’ Father Schaftlein in Henryville, a town severely affected said, ‘Although the response to provide help to those people affected has been significant, sustaining that outreach over the course of several months will be vital.'
Pray: for excellent communication between the various service providers, enabling swift, successful and appropriate aid wherever it is needed. (Php.4:19)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/salvation.army.aids.tornadoaffected.communities/29423.htm
Congress is divided amid warnings of dangers to the world economy. The financial crisis deepened after President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner accused one another of failing to negotiate to avert an unprecedented debt default early next week. Chiefs of the International Monetary Fund and credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's and Moody's warned they will downgrade the United States' top credit rating if an agreement isn't reached by Tuesday. Also on Tuesday the Arab League will meet in Cairo at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas due to a funding crisis causing them to be unable to pay employees salaries. A funding crisis crippling the West Bank government is due to pledged aid by the Arab League not materializing. PA staff receive half-pay until funds arrive, if the crisis continues the government will take additional austerity measures. See http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/07/2011726172640853156.html
Pray: for God to give his wisdom to the nations who have chosen to spend beyond their means. (Pr.21:1)
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/07/2011726172640853156.html
A Christian pastor in Iran is sceduled for execution this weekend. Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was convicted of apostasy, a crime that carries the death sentence in the Islamic state of Iran, while his wife was sentenced to life in prison. Nadarkhani led one of the largest Christian communities in Iran; he was singled out by authorities for helping Muslims turn to Christ; he was finally arrested last October after protesting against the enforced reading of the Qur'an to Christian children. Rights activists are petitioning for the release of both Nadarkhani and his wife. Pray: to the Lord that He would send angels to protect Pastor Yousef and bring about his release. (Lk.4:10) More: http://www.worthynews.com/9700-iranian-authorities-to-execute-pastor-for-apostasy
Haiti. We'd like to call people to prayer for our city and the countryside surrounding it. There seems to be an outbreak of some kind of a water-borne disease where people who contract it come down with severe diarrhea resulting in death within 24-48 hours. We do not have concrete numbers of how many have actually died to date, only scattered reports from Haitians seeking aid and purified water saying; ‘Many, Many, Many people are dead or sick!’ The hospital in St Marc is filling up with cases and our clinic down the road has been made ready for overflow. Pray: that God would hear our prayers and for a breakthrough by the health professionals to combat this outbreak. More: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=8326
The wives of the British and German ambassadors to the United Nations have written an open letter to the wife of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad, asking her to call for peace in her country. In the unusual move Sheila Lyall Grant, wife of British ambassador Sir Mark Lyall Grant and Huberta Voss Wittig, wife of German ambassador Peter Wittig, made the letter into a short video and posted it on YouTube, urging women all over the world to sign a change.org petition strongly encouraging Asma al-Assad ‘stand up for peace - for the sake of your people’. ‘We are asking Asma Assad to take a risk and to say openly, ‘stop the bloodshed, stop it right now,’ Lyall Grant and Vos Wittig said.
Pray: pray this may go viral and that the voice of millions will be heard and acted upon for the sake of the Syrian people. (Ps.9:16: 11:7)
More: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16210802
66,000 Congolese refugees have crossed into Uganda in recent days, following fighting between Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces and the Democratic Republic of Congo's national army. Their arrival has left the Ugandan government and humanitarian agencies struggling to meet the refugees' needs.The UN Refugee Agency in Uganda said, ‘We don't have the infrastructure to support this huge influx of this scale in an area where we didn't have a presence in the past.’ Uganda already hosts more than 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers, over 60% of whom are from DRC. The refugees are in dire need of water, health supplies, sanitation, and shelter. On July 15th the UN delivered enough food for 20,000 people for five days. More food is expected to arrive. Uganda's military has beefed up security at the DRC-Uganda border to ensure ADF rebels do not infiltrate the country. More refugees are on the way.
Pray: for the villages and transit centres and for NGO-ministries in the area to know God’s provision and protection. (Is.16.3b)
More: http://www.irinnews.org/report/98417/uganda-unprepared-for-influx-of-drc-refugees