After a week of public violence that shocked the world, South Africa is beginning to reflect on the cause. 

Mass looting and destruction of property followed the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma for contempt of court after he refused to testify at an inquiry into corruption alleged to have happened when he led South Africa between 2009 and 2018. 

The violence left more than 337 people dead and hundreds injured, with damage to the economy estimated at billions of dollars. The unrest was only quelled by the deployment of 25,000 soldiers, who are still patrolling parts of the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. 

The African National Congress, or ANC, government has been widely criticized for its handling of the crisis. Speaking to the nation this past weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the riots were “orchestrated” to cause social instability and “severely weaken, even dislodge,” his administration. 

The South African Bishops, in a statement, "condemn in strong terms the glaring criminal elements that are taking advantage of this situation". "We - the prelates write - call upon individuals who are involved in vandalism and thuggery to give a thought to the livelihood of many people that they are jeopardising by destroying their places of employment. We must also remember that we are in the height of Covid-19 pandemic that thrives in the conditions of disorder that we see, and that the longer these conditions prevail, the more we put ourselves and others in danger of infection that will be difficult to deal with".  

Invoking the path of dialogue, the Bishops denounce the fact that "our society has normalized the use of violence and vandalism to get the government to listen and be serious in addressing economic concerns of the poor". "We need a shift in mind-set, a collective conversion of heart and mind, which affirms that violent protests and destruction of property can never be a just response to the current economic hardships and economic injustice. We reiterate Pope Francis’ call in Fratelli Tutti, reminding all that: in face of political and economic problems there is always a possibility of choosing constructive engagement over violence". 

This month's riots across South Africa have also underscored concerns about inequality and stability after nearly three decades of democracy. In Soweto, owners of pillaged shops accuse the government of failing them 

Violence left more than 337 people dead and hundreds injured, with damage to economy estimated at billions of dollars.  Experts say the riots were an eruption of frustrations that have long been simmering among South Africans.  Extreme inequality has persisted since the ruling party -- the African National Congress -- was first elected in 1994.  Nelson Mandela University's Hlingwe Ndlovu says although it brought freedom to the nation, the ANC has since failed to deliver for the poorest. 

"We're seeing now post 1994, we have a different governance with a different face, but the conditions pretty much are more or less the same... People are angry, people are hungry and they want to take out this frustration," Ndvolu said. 

South African Parliament on Friday said a joint meeting by its several committees resolved to refer a request to establish an inquiry into the recent violence in the country that killed at least 337 people. 

The request will be sent to Parliament’s Presiding Officers for further consideration and decision, the parliament said in a statement issued here, adding that the meeting was of the view that the establishment of this inquiry is important in light of the violence, impact of the looting on the economy and loss of life caused by the unrest. 

Sources / More:: Voice of America, Agenzia Fides 

Pray with us that peace will prevail, so that its citizens can begin the hard work of rebuilding all that has been lost. 

Pray with us for a spirit of reconciliation that the nation can stand against violence and despair (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) 

Click Here to access the prayer pointers for Africa that were shared at the 1^st Friday GO PRAY on Friday 6^th August.

Our friends at Global Voice of Prayer are partnered with many South African ministries in a ‘Heal our Land’ – ‘Hope for Revival’ initiative during August.  Please lets be in prayer with them for a healing of the land and a revival across South Africa.

The first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law was jailed for nine years on Friday for terrorist activities and inciting secession, judges said, in a watershed ruling with long-term implications for the city’s judicial landscape.

Former waiter Tong Ying-kit, 24, was accused of driving his motorcycle into three riot police last year while carrying a flag with the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times.”  Tong’s lawyer, Clive Grossman, told reporters outside the court the defence would appeal both the verdict and the sentence. He made no further comment.  Judges Esther Toh, Anthea Pang and Wilson Chan - picked by city leader Carrie Lam to hear national security cases - ruled on Tuesday that the slogan was “capable of inciting others to commit secession”. 

On Friday, the judges sentenced Tong to 6.5 years for inciting secession and 8 years for terrorist activities. Of these, 2.5 years will run consecutively, resulting in a total term of 9 years.  Human rights groups have criticised Tong’s conviction, saying it imposes new limits on free speech, as well as the precedents set by the trial, which they say contrast with Hong Kong’s common law traditions. 

“The sentencing of Tong Ying-kit to nine years confirms fears that the national security law is not merely a tool to instil terror into government critics in Hong Kong; it is a weapon that will be used to incarcerate them,” Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said in a statement. 

Tong is the first person to be found guilty of breaching the controversial security legislation, which also outlaws subversion and collusion with foreign powers.  This comes as draconian Beijing-imposed national security law, introduced to smother dissent and free speech in Hong Kong, has completed over one year, leaving the once British-controlled region in turmoil and chaos. 

China, with the help of local authorities, has been ruling Hong Kong with an iron fist. Authorities have also begun clamping down on pro-democracy activists. The law criminalises any act of secession (breaking away from China), subversion (undermining the power or authority of the central government), terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with punishments of up to life in prison. 

Sources / More:: Reuters, FreePressjournal 

Pray:

Pray with us for Hong Kong to lead in proclaiming the Gospel to Chinese people worldwide. 

Pray with us for justice, grace and mercy in a land that is intent on the opposite. (Isaiah 1:17) 

A succession of record-breaking natural disasters have swept the globe in recent weeks. There have been serious floods in China and western Europe, heatwaves and drought in North America and wildfires in the sub-Arctic. 

Germany and Belgium were the worst-hit countries by the extreme rainfall on July 14 and July 15, with authorities reporting more than 200 people to have died as floods engulfed entire villages.  German chancellor Angela Merkel said the events of the last week have been “characterised by fear, by despair, by suffering”, pledging to victims of the catastrophic floods that the government “will not leave you alone in this difficult, terrible hour”. 

London also experienced flash flooding earlier this week, when “nearly three inches of rain hit the capital in 90 minutes” on Monday night. Reports of “flooded streets, basement flats, Tube stations and high streets” were shared from across the city, the i reports, with the flooding mainly hitting areas in the southwest, north and northwest of the capital. 

In China, scores died in the floods across Henan province, some of them in subway trains and road tunnels that remained open long after meteorologists issued a red-alert warning of lethal weather. 

In Canada, the trends are worrying. This summer, various parts of British Columbia saw temperature records broken during the heatwave in June, notably the town of Lytton, which set the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada at 49.6 C — a remarkable 5.2 C increase over Lytton's previous heat record (which was also a record for B.C.) in 1941. 

Some scientists are beginning to worry they might have underestimated how quickly the climate will change. Or have we just misunderstood extreme weather events and how our warming climate will influence them?

Floods and wildfires are not discrete events: they are the result of numerous interconnections and feedback loops in the climate system. Take the mid-July flash floods in London. These were caused by summer rainstorms, which were in turn driven by warm air rising from the Earth’s surface that built up during the preceding heatwave, stacking the deck for the downpours that were to follow. The wildfires raging in the western US, meanwhile, are a catastrophe whose stage was set by long-term drought. 

We are used to treating each natural hazard independently from another. But it takes more than rain to create a flood, and more than a spark to start a wildfire. All of the elements of our climate system – and the hazards it produces – are connected in one way or another. 

And as our climate continues to warm, its baseline is shifting. How these hazards and their causes interact is therefore also changing fast, challenging the very definition of extreme weather events. 

An international group of climate scientists are now warning that there is "mounting evidence that we are nearing or have already crossed tipping points associated with critical parts of the Earth system." In a paper published in the journal BioScience on July 28, researchers pointed to the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, warm-water coral reefs, and the Amazon rainforest as climate systems that were possibly nearing or had already reached their tipping point. 

The interconnections between extreme weather events have, until recently, been largely overlooked by the science community. But there is now growing international research tasked with mapping these complex relationships. 

Sources / More:: cbc.ca, the conversation, the economist, theweek.co.uk 

Pray:

God of life, 

Help us to see that your gifts are meant to be shared by all, not just exploited by a few. 

Lead us to take action to make a change not just for ourselves, but for all creation. 

We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen. 

Adapted from the Global Catholic Climate Movement. 

IPC are partnering in a UK based prayer gathering to pray over the forthcoming COP 26 Conference. Please email us for more details.

The Olympics provide an opportunity every four years for the global church to focus prayer on the host nation. 2021 is Japan's moment to be prayed for.

JiSP (Japan International Sports Partnership), a coalition of sports ministries in Japan, set a goal of reaching one million Japanese people during the Olympic season. In the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, every door seemed to close. 

But one door remained open. This was the door to prayer. And who knows that this is not what the Lord desires of us at this time? There has long been a conviction that committed prayer is needed for significant spiritual breakthrough in Japan. 

JiSP, joined by JEMA (Japan Evangelical Missionary Association), want to invite the global church to join us in praying for Japan. 

Japan is the 3rd largest economy in the world and Tokyo is the most populated metro region in the world.  Japan has the highest percentage of elderly in the world (28%) 

Less than 1% of the 125.1 million pop. is Christian, 18 cities and 524 towns are without a church and 1 out of 8 Protestant churches have no pastor 

Missionaries who have served in Japan emphasise the necessity of prayer over any one strategy.  Believers in Japan long for spiritual breakthrough that will impact the culture, society and church. 

To support this movement, visit japan1million.com and join with them for 1 million hours of prayer. 

Sources / More: japan1million.com, Japanprayerguide.org

Pray: (From OMF International):

Lord, as we seek to see a vibrant church impacting every community, may Your Church in Japan at least double in size by 2030. In a culture that discourages standing out and being different, may Christians be bold to speak of Jesus and may many people come to know him.

Lord, may Christians understand how society and the younger generation is changing and be able to proclaim your gospel in a way which connects to people’s hearts and is sensitive to the times.

Lord, we praise you for those involved in evangelism media ministry and pray that you will expand that work so that many can hear the gospel through social media. We pray for more creative ways to bring the gospel to those who have not yet heard. 

‘UNITED,  SIMPLE,  POWERFUL’

Following our memorable launch meeting on August 6^th,  we are pleased to invite you to unite with us in a further simple but powerful prayer time on the first Friday of next month.

We want to pray in unity with many believers, prayer networks and church denominations worldwide, for revival and for the harvest according to Luke 10:2-3.

Each month, we will invite people with insight on the topics we are praying for - to brief us.

The format will be informal.  We will meet with simplicity and humbleness of heart as we wait on the Lord and pray in unity.

JOIN US: FRIDAY September 3rd at 6AM PACIFIC TIME (FIND MY TIME)

JOIN THE MEETING (PASSCODE 1221)  

#1 PRAYER FOR THE HARVEST

Pray like Jesus said in Luke 10:2-3: "Lord of the harvest, send workers into the harvest field.  Lord use me according to Your Word. I will make myself available and share my faith with one person in the next week."

#2 ISRAEL

Some major feasts take place during the month of September.  We want to lift up the nation of Israel at this time.  We will be led by some teachers and prayer-leaders who are based in or have a heart for the region.  They will explain the prophetic significance of these feasts.

Join the call (PASSCODE 1221) and be part of the vision of raising 1 million hours of prayer for Japan - one of the most unreached / unchurched nations in the world.

>> Further meetings are being held on Oct 1st, Nov 5th and Dec 3rd 2021 <<

1st FRIDAY GO PRAY is convened by Global Outreach (GO) Movement, International Prayer Connect and many worldwide partners.

More info and meeting link at www.gopray.world

90 Days of Hope runs from 30th of May to 28th August 2021

It culminates in Global Day of Hope on 28th of August 2021 and Includes a 1 hour broadcast - streaming HOPE to the nations!

PRAY - PRAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, NATION, AND THE WORLD TO KNOW THE HOPE OF JESUS

CARE - CARE FOR THE PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE LONELY OR IN NEED TO GIVE THEM HOPE

SHARE - SHARE YOUR HOPE STORY AND THE GOOD NEWS THAT JESUS SAVES WITH ONE PERSON EVERYDAY

LIVE WEEKLY TRAINING

EACH WEEK DURING THE 90 DAYS OF HOPE WE WILL BE HOSTING A LIVE TRAINING SESSION TO EQUIP YOU WITH SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL WAYS TO SHARE HOPE

The 90 Days of Hope and Global Day of Hope are an initiative of Hope of the Coming Harvest which is a collaboration of prayer and missions leaders working together to share hope around the world through 2021.

More information and sign up at: https://www.globaldayofhope.com/

10 Days is a prayer meeting for your entire city!

The goal is a season where Jesus Christ is the focus of every heart in your geographical area for 10 complete days.

10 Days 2021 will be from September 6-16 beginning the evening of September 6th. It’s celebrated simultaneously in cities and towns around the world on an annual basis. Over 150 locations from all six continents participated in 10 Days 2020.

10 Days began in 2004 with a visionary experience.  It was born out of a time of seeking God with prayer and fasting, motivated by Jesus’ prayer in John 17, “Let [my followers] be one just as we [the Father and the Son] are one.”

Have you ever done something difficult, something that you doubted that you’d be able to do that later became one of the best moments of your life? This Sept. 6-16, we challenge you to do something difficult that has the potential to change everything, impacting your relationship with God and your city!

10 Days is organized locally by people all over the world. We’ve put together prayer guides, posters, videos, and other promotional materials to help anyone organize a 10 Day prayer event. We also have teaching resources to fuel movements of united prayer, worship, and repentance.

To register your city's participation: https://www.10days.net/register-your-city

Promotional Resources in multiple languages: https://www.10days.net/10daysresources

(German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Bahasa, and Hindi)

Individuals can sign the Consecration Challenge: https://www.10days.net/consecration-challenge

Church Leaders are calling the Nation to Prayer for the Covid Crisis under the banner of AUSTRALIA PRAYS Sunday 22nd August 2021

The team at the Australian National Day of Prayer & Fasting, in consultation with many church leaders and prayer networks, including Bishop Philip Huggins and the National Council of Churches, is calling Australia to united prayer in the light of the current Covid-19 crisis.

We are drawn to pray together across the land, given the current level of need and distress.  Our theme is found in this beautiful liturgical prayer: “Lord have mercy - Jesus have mercy”. Inspiration for this prayer is found in the story of the blind beggar in Luke 18:35 and his cry to Jesus for healing.

This simple prayer for mercy is found throughout the Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments.

“Our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy.” - Psalm 123:2

Participants are of course encouraged to add to this prayer, and also to fast as they feel led.

Those who inspired and are organising the event acknowledge the division that Covid-19 and Australia’s response to it has caused, even within the church. Nevertheless, they are calling for Christians to set these conversations aside in order to seek God’s mercy at this crucial time.

“This situation is very frustrating for everybody,” Ps Wayne Alcorn, National President of Australian Christian Churches, has said of the crisis. “However, we need to rise up and remain Christlike, gracious, and beacons of hope in the midst of this heaviness that pervades our society.”

Wayne Alcorn wrote these words on 15th July, in a widely read letter that floated the idea of “a National Day of Prayer if we don’t see things start to turn around quickly”. Ultimately, this letter became a significant prompt for the organisers of Australia Prays. National prayer events that took place in 2020, one which Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended, was also an inspiration for the event.

Event organisers are cognisant of Australia’s need at this time. “Everything happening draws us now to deeper prayer,” says Bishop Philip Huggins, the Chairman of the National Council of Churches in Australia. Jodie Pickard of Love Adelaide longs for Christians around Australia to “all come together in prayer for our nation and for no more harm to come to our people.”

We encourage you to pray in your own church and in your own way at this time. To facilitate a national prayer focus, the team at the National Day of Prayer and Fasting are providing the following prayer resources and opportunities.

• Every day from Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd August 2021, a daily devotion will be sent out to those who register. Each daily devotion will include a prayer from a different church leader. Register Here:

• Every night at 8pm-9pm (AEST) from Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd August 2021, a nightly prayer call will take place with input from a different church leader each night. Register Here:

• On Sunday 22nd August 2021, from 9am – 9pm (AEST), the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team will host a Zoom prayer call featuring church leaders and Indigenous Christian leaders. Come for a short while or come for as long as you like. Let us join in prayer for our nation. Register Here:

https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org.au/lordhavemercy

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

We want to thank you for joining us in setting apart annually the 40-Day Fast & Prayer for both the nation and the church. We truly appreciate your faithful partnership in this last 20 years.  

As we look back through the journey, many of the issues and situations that we have been praying for may have not turned out to be better, yet it has always been the Lord’s desire for our hearts to return to Him. It is natural for us to sometimes feel discouraged, however we need to remember that in each of us we carry the beacon of hope that should emit light in the midst of darkness.

History is full of facts with revivals that spring up here and there, not in the times of tranquility but in seasons of turbulence and trouble. Our main responsibility is to remain faithful in seeking the heartbeat of the Lord in all things; for we have been called to be watchmen over the nation, city and town, where the Lord has placed us. We must continue to safeguard future generations with prayers and petitions to Him.

Hence, we encourage you not to give up, but to set aside another 40 days to fast and pray for our nation. Our theme for 2021 is “Be Still, and Know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), and it is timely for this season where everything below is sifting and shaking. The secret of being still lies with our knowledge and relationship with our Maker, who is the Author of our life and the Finisher of our faith!

This year we have limited printed hard copies available because of the CMCO restrictions. The order of the 40-Day Fast and Prayer booklets will be operated on a first-come-first-served basis. Kindly place your order by clicking the links below and download the form and send your order to us through email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Please do not forget the payment.

God bless you,
Pr Sam Ang
Secretary-General of NECF

The 40-Days Fast & Prayer 2021 booklet is available for ORDER
More info about the 40 Day Fast

Noon Prayer with Hand in Hand with Families (Malaysia) will participate in the NECF 40 Days Fast through *The* *MIDNIGHT CRY.*

From the 11th hour of one day we enter the gateway to a new day, thus praying over two days in two hours.

We invite All to join us every night *11pm - 1am*  starting Sat 7th Aug - to 15th Sept.

May the nation be shaken and captives be set free; may we see breakthroughs and miracles for our Families and generations to come.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake.... and everyone’s chains came loose. Acts 16:25-34