Displaying items by tag: Central Asia

A Call to Prayer and Fasting between March 20 and April 3, 2020

God is on the move in extraordinary ways among Persians around the world with multitudes coming to faith, but there are still millions unreached with the gospel.

There are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, including Persians, Tajiks, Hazaras, Tats, and Aimaqs. Each year an estimated 300 million people throughout Central Asia and surrounding countries celebrate NOWRUZ, Persian New Year; for 10 days, they celebrate 3000-year-old traditions that far predate Islam.

Followers of Jesus around the world can take this opportunity to share about Jesus who is “doing a new thing . . making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert (Isa 43:18-19) all things new.”

In a recent meeting, many movement leaders sensed this is a key moment in the history of this nation and its peoples, so the 24:14 Community calls our whole family to 10 days of united prayer and fasting at this 'kairos' time.

Download the Prayer Guide Here:
http://ipcprayer.org/images/Persian%20New%20Year%20Prayer%20Guide%202020.pdf

Each day there are 3 prayer prompts, we suggest that you take time to pray when you would normally be having a meal, or set your alarm 3 times during the day.

Liz Adleta
www.2414now.net

Only days after large crowds of Iranians demonstrated national unity while mourning the assassination of the country's top military leader in a U.S. drone strike, anti-government protests have erupted on the streets of Tehran and several other cities.

The protesters are angry over the establishment's mishandling of the deadly downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet on January 8 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in what is seen as a display of incompetency and recklessness by the country's leaders.

Thousands of protesters, including many students, chanted against the clerical establishment over the weekend and into January 13, with many calling for the resignation of the country's top authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Clerics get lost" was one refrain heard at the protests. Others called Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC commander killed in the U.S. strike and widely praised as a national hero by the state, "a murderer."

It was Iran's delayed admission of guilt for the plane's downing -- three days after the tragedy -- and what was seen by many as an attempt to cover up the real cause of the crash that has aroused public fury and a revival of the grievances that resulted in waves of anti-establishment protests in past months, including in November, when hundreds were killed in a violent state crackdown on rallies against large increases in gas prices.

In the past two days there have been photos and video from the protests showing wounded people being carried away and blood on the ground. In some videos, gunshots can be heard and tear gas is being fired, although the police have denied shooting at protesters.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted to Iranian leaders: "Don't kill your protesters."

The demonstrators in Tehran and cities including Isfahan, Shiraz, and Babol were also upset by what they see as a cover-up, including Iran's lack of cooperation with Ukrainian investigators and the bulldozing of the disaster site, which led to international ridicule.

The protests come amid a faltering economy due to crippling U.S. economic sanctions that have contributed to the fall of the national currency, the rial.

"We're seeing society bursting [in anger], particularly students, against lies and the humiliation of the nation," Paris-based Iranian analyst Reza Alijani told RFE/RL.

Mostafa Tajzadeh, an acting interior minister under reformist former President Mohammad Khatami, suggested he was also shocked over the level of deceit by the government. "I must admit I couldn't believe all the lies, secrecy, and deceit in the Islamic republic. Why and how did we reach this point?" he said on Twitter.

Speaking on January 13, government spokesman Ali Rabiei denied that the state concealed facts and misled the public, while acknowledging the public had lost trust in it.  He noted the plane was downed just a few hours after Iran had fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in retaliation for Soleimani's killing, and suggested the high tension between Washington and Tehran played a role.

"All armed forces were on high alert and this was the reason for the tragic mistake and the accident," Rabiei was quoted as saying by state media.

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/anger-grows-in-iran-over-lack-of-accountability-in-ukrainian-plane-tragedy/30375053.html?ltflags=mailer

Pray for the Iranian people whose lives are affected both by the policies of their government and the effect of the harsh international sanctions.

Pray that Iran will adhere to the requests by the world community for it to stop funding terrorism and to adhere to the nuclear agreement and stop processing enriched weapons grade uranium.

Recently, a group of key Central Asian pastors and leaders gathered for 3 days of fasting and prayer. Out of this meeting our vision to raise up strong, unified, consistent prayer for this region of the world was re-ignited.

In partnership with Central Asian Consultation, we are launching "Silk Road Prayer". We will be sending out regular prayer updates with specific information on how to pray for current needs in the region. We will also be using Social Media to quickly spread information necessary for focused prayer. Within Central Asia, we will be working with pastors and prayer leaders to mobilize more united prayer!

Thank you for joining with us in this effort to see God move in a new and unprecedented way all along the ancient Silk Road!

"...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]." James 5:16 AMPC

Eunice Danielson

Silk Road Prayer Coordinator

Current Prayer Needs:

• Pray for believers and churches that are facing persecution across the region; pray for His great strength to stand strong
• Pray for justice in a court case against a leading church in Kazakhstan
• God is answering prayer for the church in Uzbekistan! The government now seems willing to grant registration to churches which in the past were unable to register. Pray for every church that is submitting applications to be granted registration so that they can meet freely without fear of persecution
• Pray for the church in Turkmenistan to have favor with the government, pray that they also will be granted registration and freedom to meet
• Pray for safe and fair elections to be held in Afghanistan this weekend
• Pray especially for the Uighur (and other Muslim minority) people of NW China. Over 1 Million (possibly up to 3 Million) are being imprisoned and tortured in "Re-education Camps". This includes many of our Christian brothers and sisters. Pray for God to use this horrible situation to draw many to Himself.