Super User

Super User

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur

Thursday, 01 November 2018 04:48

Asia Bibi, a young mother of five who has spent 8 years behind bars unjustly accused of blasphemy against Muhammad by Muslim neighbors, has now been finally acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court of the charges against her. Friends who monitor the situation there now write:

"This is indeed good news, but now Asia Bibi, her whole family and the whole Christian community need much prayer cover, indeed anyone involved in this case, the judges, the lawyers, also the government.  Several groups have already sworn to take revenge on the Christian community. One of our team members in Lahore was visiting family across the city because of a death in her family.  She is caught there and cannot return as there are threats of riots and people have been told to stay inside their houses." 

Another ministry leader who has spent his life working in that region wrote: "This is an important time to pray for Pakistan for different reasons. Now the Christian community is in danger of getting attacked and the extremists want to see revenge, but we should also pray that the government would back up the decision of the Supreme Court. This was a very encouraging and courageous ruling. There are many others still in prison for the same wrong charges."

  1. Please pray that the police and authorities will be able to keep control of this situation and stop any rioting by the Islamic extremists of which there are many who will be very angry about this ruling.
  2. Pray that this court decision will not result in bloodshed which is always possible in this spiritual dark, majority Muslim country.
  3. Pray that the blasphemy law which enables such false accusations, often attended by terrible violence against the Christians, will be rescinded and others who have been imprisoned unjustly will be acquitted and released.
  4. Pray for His peace to settle over this land, for the protection and empowering of the Christian community, and that the oppressive spiritual bondage will be broken over Pakistan so that many of the majority will come to Christ.

More info:  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46040515

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:10

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Us

Awesome new book on prayer and mission by an IPC leader

“Dr. Leslie Keegel’s new book is full of signs and wonders and reads like the book of Acts!”-
John Robb, IPC Chairman.

Soft Cover - $15, Digital Download - $8

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:33

A Call for Patience and Persistence in Intercession and Mission

Our IPC colleague, Jason Mandryk, who has a global perspective on both the prayer and mission movements, gives a helpful and needed perspective that also underscores the importance of united, persistent prayer, which like snowflakes accumulating become more and more weighty and can be used by God to change even stubbornly resistant situations and conditions over time. Please let us know what you think.

The year is 1891. It is the First International Convention of the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM). Gathered in Cleveland, Ohio are 6200 fervent students; it is the largest student gathering of its era.

The rallying cry of this convention and indeed of the entire movement is “the evangelization of the world in this generation”, a cry that was repeated across the years to come.

The SVM had been formed specifically for the purpose of mobilising university students into world mission. The evangelistic crusades of D.L. Moody and the campus speaking tours of the renowned ‘Cambridge Seven’ were fresh in the public consciousness of Christians in America and Britain. In the 1890s, missionary leaders such as A.T. Pierson and A.B. Simpson were convinced that the world could be evangelized by the year 1900.

Yet, here we are, 127 years and several generations later, and the world is far from evangelized. Literally millions of missionaries sent across these years, billions of dollars donated, hundreds of Bible translations completed. And yet, 28% of the world can still be considered unevangelized - 2.1 billion people who do not have access to the gospel.  What’s more shocking is that the world’s unevangelized population is actually increasing by over 50,000 every day.

During the heady and ambitious days at the turn of the century in 1900, when many thought the Great Commission was poised to be completed, the words of Gustav Warneck, ‘the father of missiology’, must have seemed a rather wet blanket: “Missionary results are not to be reckoned by years but by centuries.”  His caution was echoed in 1912 by missionary statesman John P. Jones: “Let us not fall into the error of thinking that Christianizing the nations and bringing the world to the feet of our Lord is the task of a day or of a generation.”

An important lesson, to be sure, but what does this have to do with prayer and intercession?

We live in a fast-paced world. My ‘microwave generation’ expects immediate results for minimal effort. Businesses tend to think in quarterly profits and not long-term strategy. We grit our teeth in frustration if our favourite Netflix episode downloads too slowly or if the pizza takes longer than 30 minutes to arrive.

The stunning Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, is one of Europe’s iconic buildings. Long queues of people wait to buy tickets to visit its interior every day. Work began in 1886, but it remains incomplete. When pressed on the seemingly interminable project timeline, the architect, Antoni Gaudi, retorted, “My client is not in a hurry.” As with learning a language, mastering an instrument, or building a deep relationship, we know that the greatest accomplishments and most beautiful achievements take time and patience. It is perhaps even more so for the things of God.

Breakthrough in world-changing, nation-shaking, community-transforming ways through prayer and intercession doesn’t happen overnight. This is true for prayer, and it is true for mission. The two are quite intimately and irrevocably connected, after all! Missions works, but it takes time. Intercession brings fruit, but persistence is required.

Hearken back to the year 1900 again. Christians in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (the main mission fields of those days) represented 17% of all Christians. Today, these continents represent 70% of all Christians. The difference is even more pronounced among evangelicals, where these regions account for nearly 80% of the global total.

How did such a monumental shift occur? How did the mission fields of the 1900s become the dynamic centres of global Christianity today? Precisely through the faithful, sustained efforts of missionaries and prayer warriors focusing on the regions for over a century and not giving up. Year after year, day after day, thousands upon thousands of saints, interceding for lost nations and tribes and going to live among them, shining the light into the darkness.

It’s a simple formula. Prayer + mission + time = breakthrough. There are always factors that prevent us from precise spiritual algebra - the fact that the remaining unreached groups are the hardest to reach, the fierce resistance of the Enemy, our own lukewarmness and disobedience, and the mysteries of God’s providence. But the gates of hell will not prevail! “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.” (2 Cor 10:4)

As we feel our world accelerating into a future marked by uncertainty, we can reliably observe that God is accelerating His own agenda. There is much work to be done - over 7,000 unreached people groups still in need of missions breakthrough.  But we can be greatly encouraged by the explosive multiplication of prayer and missionary sending movements from the Global South. Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Philippines, Ethiopia, China, Romania; nations that have for years been mission fields and the subjects of countless prayers are increasingly the powerhouses of global mission and intercession. Missions works. It just takes time.

In 1982, Brother Andrew (a.k.a. ‘God’s Smuggler‘) called for seven years of prayer for the Communist Bloc. Seven years later, the Berlin Wall came down, beginning a chain of events that saw the fall of the Iron Curtain and the opening of previously closed countries to the Gospel.

25 years ago, Christians around the world began to annually observe 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world, in conjunction with the dates of Ramadan. Is it any wonder that in these recent years, we are seeing the greatest movement of Muslims to Christ in all of history?

Prayer works. It just takes time.

The mission base in England where I lived for years had beautiful gardens, containing many fine specimens of trees and shrubs from around the world. Among them was a particularly glorious Turkey Oak tree which rose to well over 100 feet in height. It towered over even other arboreal giants; it seemed invincible. One winter we had a particularly cold snap, punctuated by a rare night of snow. A thunderous crack had awoken a number of us in the night. The next morning we were shocked to see that the almighty oak had toppled. Its ancient heart had been revealed as weak and rotten, and the accumulation of snow had added just enough weight through that cold night to bring it crashing down. Which single, tiny snowflake had been the one that had sealed the oak’s fate?

Our prayers are snowflakes. In a cosmic sense, each prayer is virtually weightless, almost negligible. But their persistent, patient, nearly imperceptible but relentless accumulation will, in time, bring down even the mightiest of giants.

Jason Mandryk

IPC Leadership and author of Operation World, a global prayer handbook

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:33

The UN says Yemen is facing the world's worst famine in 100 years if the war continues

“Half the population of war-torn Yemen - 14 million people - are facing "pre-famine conditions", the UN has warned…

Medics say the number of deaths linked to food-related factors is rising.

Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened after the rebel Houthi movement seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad.

At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,560 injured in the war, according to the UN. The fighting and a partial blockade by the coalition have also left 22 million people in need of humanitarian aid, created the world's largest food security emergency, and led to a cholera outbreak that has affected 1.1 million people…

Every day, 130 children under 5 were dying from extreme hunger & disease in #Yemen at the end of last year.  Nearly 50,000 children during the course of a year. 

https://t.co/elnwNGQJE6

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45964795

Let’s pray for an end to the hostilities and the economic crisis in Yemen, for the return of peace to this long-suffering nation, and especially for the provision of food and other essential resources needed so desperately right now.

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:32

Iran was closer to developing nuclear weapons than was previously thought

 “This is courtesy Barack Obama, who enabled the Iranian nuclear program to take a giant leap forward with his disastrous nuclear deal, a deal that John Kerry and the Western European “allies” are still trying to keep alive. That deal was, as President Trump said, the worst deal ever entered into by any American President. Get the details of just how bad it was, and how much more dangerous a place it made the world, in my book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran.

“Think tank: Iran was closer to nukes than we thought,” by Yonah Jeremy Bob, Jerusalem Post, October 24, 2018:

Iran was closer to developing nuclear weapons than previously thought, according to a think tank report issued late Tuesday.

A report by the Institute for Science and International Security said that combining new information produced by the Mossad during its January raid on a Tehran warehouse along with satellite imagery “conclusively shows that the Parchin site did house high explosive chambers capable for use in nuclear weapons research and development.”

While the focus of the report is Iran’s activities up until 2003, the premise of the report and of the documents which the Mossad appropriated from a site in Tehran (which had not been disclosed to the IAEA) is that the tests performed mean Iran could be capable of building a weapon faster than previously thought.

There are unending debates about whether the Islamic Republic is currently around 12 months or closer to six months from being able to produce a nuclear bomb, if it chose to do so.

Iran has already overcome some of the obstacles to building a bomb which experts thought it had not yet overcome, based on the new report. This would shorten the countdown number.

Moreover, the report implies that based on photos from the Mossad appropriated documents, Iran has not accounted for complex equipment that would be used for the process of developing a nuclear weapon – meaning the IAEA should be confronting Tehran about where and whether it is hiding it….

The report said that the Mossad-obtained “nuclear archive shows that Iran conducted at Parchin more high explosive tests related to nuclear weapons development than previously thought…this work appears to have involved more than what the IAEA called feasibility and scientific studies,” as the IAEA asserted in a December 2015 report….”

Jihadwatch.org

Pray that the Iranians would be foiled in developing or getting access to nuclear weapons which would be extremely dangerous and destabilizing for our world. Pray for the overthrow of the tyrannical Muslim mullahs that dominate that nation and are the world most significant source of international terrorism. Pray also for the rapidly growing underground movement for Christ in that country.

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:31

Bringing Hope to the People of Iran

Calling all followers of Jesus Christ around the world!

On November 4, 2018, join Heart4Iran, multiple ministry partners, and thousands of Christian brothers and sisters worldwide to pray for Iran and bring hope to her people.

God is moving mightily in and through Iran, reaching millions of Persians with His love and truth. Together, we can continue sharing the Gospel with Muslims throughout this nation.

For years, the growing Christian movement in Iran has been largely ignored in the mainstream media, and Iran is consistently vilified by the Western world. But God is moving mightily in and through Iran, reaching millions of Persians with His life-changing, heart-transforming love and truth!

November 4, 2018, marks, to the day, the 39thanniversary of the hostage crisis in Iran with the U.S. Embassy. This is a critical time to come before the Lord in prayer alongside Iranian Christians and for the nation of Iran.

On the International Day of Prayer, a brand-new prayer program in Farsi will air on our partner stations, Mohabat TV, SAT-7 PARS, and Shabakeh 7. This insightful, heartfelt call to prayer will share why prayer is so important for the people of Iran, as well as specific prayer needs.

We will also be broadcasting the JESUS film and two other transformational videos. Our hope is that these moving productions will draw Iranians who don’t yet know Jesus Christ to seek Him. Please pray these four broadcasts will accomplish this goal – and that everyone who watches will be impacted by the truth of the Gospel.

Our ultimate goal is that thousands of men, women, and children will join us in prayer on this special day. Please visit roozedoa.com to learn more about the International Day of Prayer and discover prayer needs unique to Iran. Plus, you’ll be able to let us know you are praying and encouraging our Iranian brothers and sisters.

Ultimately, the mission of the International Day of Prayer is to pray diligently for and with the people of Iran and continue seeing lives impacted by the eternal Gospel throughout this nation.

Again, for additional information please visit: www.roozedoa.com.

International Day of Prayer: Pray for Iran November 4, 2018

Bringing Hope to the People of Iran Prayer Points

  • Pray for peace across the nation of Iran and in her relationships with other nations.
  • Pray for the Western world to see the people of Iran for who they really are as children of God, replacing any prejudices with Christ’s love and compassion.
  • Pray that God would raise up and equip strong Christian leaders in Iran to help lead the house church movement. Pray for these leaders to walk together in unity.
  • Pray that every Iranian follower of Jesus Christ will discover a house church where he or she can build relationships, study God’s Word, and grow in the faith.
  • Pray for persecution of Christians to cease immediately.
  • Pray for Christians to be brave and full of faith as they share the Gospel.
  • Pray for God to open the hearts and minds of Muslims, preparing them to hear the Gospel and respond.
  • Pray for Iran’s leaders and her people to experience the life-changing, heart- transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • Pray for thousands – even millions – of Iranians to watch the broadcasts of the prayer program, JESUS film, and other transformational videos. Also pray they will hear and understand the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ and respond to it.
  • Pray that every person in Iran will have access to a printed, digital, or audio Bible in their own mother tongue.
  • Pray for God to hear us on this special International Day of Prayer, according to His will.
Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:29

“Earlier this year we sent out a newsletter entitled "A Special China Issue," which told of the massive and brutal persecution of Christians underway in China. Many people were shocked by what we shared, and some even doubted if it was true, as other sources weren't reporting the trouble.

In the following months it became clear that God's people in China are not merely going through a regular season of hardship, but a major effort is underway to completely control the Church, backed by new technology that creates challenges to the Body of Christ that have never been encountered before. In this newsletter we will update you on the crisis in China, while attempting to answer some of the common questions people have asked.

What's the Latest News from China?

In recent months the government has markedly increased the pressure on Christians throughout the country. We received an unconfirmed report from a long-term China missionary stating that 314 house church Christians have been killed in recent months, and hundreds more are missing. Most house church leaders have gone into hiding and have disconnected their phones and other devices because of the incredible surveillance capabilities of the state.

Thousands of house churches (which are considered illegal in China) have been closed. Reflecting the actions of Mao's Red Guards in the 1960s, religious symbols such as crosses and Scripture posters have been torn down and replaced by flags of China or portraits of President Xi Jinping.

Note: Our website version of this newsletter includes several important links to articles and videos to help people understand what's going on in China and how best to pray. Please visit www.asiaharvest.org for more detailed information.

Links to articles:
Updated: Large Beijing house church banned as China continues Christian persecution
Inmates initiate hunger strike amid mass incarceration crackdown
China Uighurs: Xinjiang legalises 're-education' camps
Leave no dark corner

Some congregations have been ordered to sing the national anthem or other patriotic songs at the start of their services. Others have been ordered to install government facial-recognition surveillance cameras inside their worship halls, and those that have refused to comply have been forced to shut down.

Landlords who rent buildings to Christians are being heavily fined by the government, with new laws allowing fines of between 20,000 to 200,000 Yuan (almost US$30,000). This has created a climate of fear and suspicion, and thousands of fellowships have been forced out of the premises they were renting. On the streets, the police have the power to stop and search anyone they wish and to check their phones and other devices for content they deem a threat to society. These threats may include the presence of a Bible app or visits to Christian websites, or any communication considered unpatriotic.

The most severe persecution is occurring in the vast Xinjiang region in northwest China. In recent years a promising church movement had emerged among the Uyghur, Kazakh and Kirghiz people groups, but most of the church leaders have been arrested and taken to concentration camps in the desert. Reputable news organizations estimate at least one million people are being detained and tortured in those camps right now. Many suburbs in cities like Urumqi, Hami and Kashgar are now depopulated and countless buildings have been boarded up. Although this initiative was designed to target Muslims in border areas, almost all Uygur and Kazakh church leaders have also been taken away. The government doesn't care whether someone is a Muslim or Christian. It's all the same to them.

Spiritual Forces Behind the Persecution

While there are human reasons for the dramatic persecution, we should never lose sight of the fact that Satan and his fallen hosts hate God's people, and they never rest in trying to destroy them. We recently updated our Christian stats for all 2,866 cities and counties in China, and the end result was a marked increase since the last time we reviewed our figures. Currently, we estimate a total of 129.7 million professing Christians in China, of which 109 million are Evangelical believers. The Chinese government is fully aware of the explosive growth of the Church in China, and they are determined to stop it. They don't want China taking over from South Korea as the number one Evangelical country in Asia.

Political Ambitions

If you have read our Asia Harvest newsletters for some time you will know we don't usually mention politics at all, as our call is to equip the Church in Asia and not to be entangled by civilian affairs (2 Timothy 2:4). Our goal is not to favor one political system over another, but to see all people groups of Asia hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If one quote sums up what we think about politics, it would be this famous one from an economist in the last century: "Under Communism man oppresses man. Under capitalism it's the other way around."

To understand the human reasons of why China is so determined to destroy the Church, however, it's helpful to grasp the historical background behind China's geopolitical ambitions. Starting in the 1800s, China was dominated by foreign powers that carved up various parts of the country and exploited their natural resources. The Chinese consider this the darkest period in their history, and have labelled it "The century of humiliation." Chinese resentment and desire to revenge their "loss of face" runs deep. Japan was one of the foreign nations that dominated China during this period, inflicting shameful cruelties on the Chinese people. A few years ago a survey in China found that 82 percent of respondents said China should launch a war with Japan before the end of this decade.

In a bid to try to erase the painful memories of the past, China believes they have an opportunity to be the new world super-power, replacing the United States and the West. To achieve this lofty goal, President Xi Jinping has stopped at nothing to implement his "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which would result in China having the most powerful economy and military on earth. To help him succeed, earlier this year Xi was appointed ‘President for life'. Whereas often in the West we think in terms of months and years, the Chinese think in terms of decades and even centuries. They are not in a rush, and are determined to gradually work their way toward becoming the undisputed world power.

The Communist leaders trying so desperately to implement their global vision are God-hating atheists, and they are determined not to let anyone or anything stand in their way. They want absolute power over what people do, say and think, and Christians, Muslims, or anyone else who may pose a threat to their goals are being subdued, controlled, or eradicated. These are the reasons behind the current campaign to wipe out the Church in China. Mao tried to do this from the 1950s to 1970s, and Xi Jinping seems determined to finish the job that Mao failed to do….

Read the PDF Version of this Newsletter

www.asiaharvest.org

Let’s continue to pray for a change of policy by the Chinese government that will permit religious freedom. Pray for the encouragement and strengthening of our brothers and sisters in Christ and that the Lord will use the persecution of His people to greatly expand the ministry of the Church and the turning to Christ even more huge numbers of this most populous nation.

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:17

Please join in praying that the crucial U.S. elections next week will bring to power those who have strong Christian values and “bring down the wicked” as the psalmist prayed. Lawless, leftist, socialist groups want to reshape the country into a totalitarian state to become part of a globalist New World Order that diminishes national sovereignty and human freedoms. Surveys reveal that about half of the Millennial generation, who are largely ignorant of history and political science, now believe in socialism even though that form of government has never resulted in any good for the nations that have tried it. Venezuela is a recent example of a once prosperous land that has been brought down to poverty and despotism by that delusion.

In this battle between Americanism and socialism, pray that the American people, especially the Christians, large numbers of which do not even vote, will not succumb to such deception, and rise up to vote for their Christian values. May the Leftist/socialist forces, often financially supported by George Soros (called “the most wicked man in the world”), be decisively defeated at the polls and may America’s traditional values that come from the U.S. Constitution and the Bible be reaffirmed and upheld for the blessing of the coming generations.

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:14

 “A PRAYER FOR RAIN…THE NEED IS BECOMING SERIOUS.

 

On Shmini-Atzzeret—the last day of the fall festival of Sukkot (1 October this year), it is traditional to pray for rain. For the “former rains”, which in Israel begin in the fall.  The “latter rains” fall roughly from Passover in the spring, until around middle May.  Afterwards, there is usually no measurable rain in Israel for five months—we are dependent upon the former and latter rains. 

We have often mentioned in these prayer updates the need of rain in Israel.  but during the past five months acuteness of this need has become more evident.  Israel recently completed her fifth year of an officially-declared drought.  On August 26th, an article in The Times of Israel was entitled, “Israel enters 6th year of worst-in-a-century drought, girds for even worse.”   The article points out how “Many of Israel’s lakes, riverbeds and aquifers are at unprecedented 100-year lows, with the Sea of Galilee [the nation’s largest natural water source] dangerously close to its “black line,” the level below the intake pipes of the water pumps that send the lake’s water to nearby towns.”  Many of the springs in the north, whose streams supply much of the waters to the Sea of Galilee, have slowed to a trickle.  In May, the Water Authority launched a public awareness campaign to make Israelis aware of the shortage and to encourage them to conserve their water usage.  

But with the construction in recent years of five large desalinization plants (which now effectively provide drinking water from the Mediterranean for the country’s most populated regions along the coast), Israelis have tended to put away concern about water.  After all, Israel invented “drip irrigation” (virtually all her produce is now economically watered that way); 86% of her wastewater is purified and used for agriculture.  And now redeeming water from the Mediterranean Sea seems to be taking care of our needs.  Except that it isn’t—even with the two new plants which are being built, there will not be enough for crops necessary to feed this population.  And if the Sea of Galilee continues to sink, it will mean an ecological disaster there, down the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.  Israel is planning to pump desalinated water into the lake—but that is really a stop-gap measure. And the de-salinized water is lacking in many nutrients, and is even being presently studied in Israel as a possible contributor to heart disease.  

Israel—and our neighbors—are desperately in need of rain water.  The scientists are pointing towards Global Warming as being the most probable cause of the drought.  Yet, the Scriptures often connect the coming or withholding of rains in Israel with the favor and mercy of her God (the Creator of the “globe” which is warming!), and with the humility of His people in acknowledging awareness of their need of that mercy:  

 PLEASE PRAY:

  • That God will in mercy send abundant rains on His Covenant Land this year…a land which was meant from the beginning to, “drink water from the rain from heaven, a land for which the LORD God cares; the eyes of the LORD God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year”  (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).
  • That Israel will awaken to her need for water—and an awareness that her God is the source of that water—as He was for our Fathers in ancient times,  when they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them around the desert…and that rock was Messiah! I Corinthians 10:4).
  • That believers in the Land will ourselves take this need seriously, will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from evil ways—cry out to Him for this need,  that He may hear from Heaven and heal our land.

Martin and Norma Sarvis

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 13:13

 ‘The man asked him, “What is your name?” … “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel”.’ — Genesis 32:27–28a

 “Jacob was one of many people recorded in the Bible as being given a new name by God. Jacob was the second–born of twins, who were said to have ‘jostled’ during their mother’s pregnancy. Jacob was named as such as he was born holding the heel of his brother, who was born first. Commentators have associated this name, figuratively speaking, with deception by this act of trying to come first. In Jacob’s life, he continued to seek the importance of the first–born status and fully achieved this when he deceitfully received his father’s blessing instead of his older brother. But that is not his lasting inheritance: God changes Jacob’s name to Israel when, in later life, Jacob shows his dependence is on God. The names we give can reflect our appreciation of a person, but God gives names that reveal his heart for a person.

“The thing that causes me pain very much is when my mum's younger sister started calling me a witch. Often, when I sleep I wet the bed at night, or I speak to myself, and they started calling me a witch.” Naomi told her pastor of the accusations and she says that “the pastor came to our house. He made my parents sit down, and told them not to call me a witch.” Naomi, 15 years old, D.R.Congo

THE NATIONS WILL SEE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL KINGS YOUR GLORY. YOU WILL BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME THAT THE MOUTH OF THE LORD WILL BESTOW. — ISAIAH 62:2

Things to thank God for…

  • Give thanks that God has created all of us in his image. None are excluded from receiving his love and grace.
  • God knows us intimately and names us with purpose. Even when we have been known by our past actions and behaviours, we are not bound to that reputation throughout our lives.

Please Pray

  • Many accusations of witchcraft against children can start from or be influenced by a family member or a community or church leader. Please pray that families will cease calling their children ‘witches’. Please pray that, before this name is given to a child, people will consider the devastating and awful consequences of such a label.
  • Please pray for reconciliation in families and acceptance of children who are living with wider family members.
  • Please pray for all children who are living on the streets because of witchcraft accusations. Pray for their protection today and healing from the trauma and rejection they have experienced. Pray for a welcoming home, a place of safety and the opportunity to begin to hope.

https://www.stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-campaign-12