Displaying items by tag: pray for change

In Ethiopia’s first free and fair election last year, after decades of repressive rule, the Prosperity Party won. However, an opposition boycott and the war in the Tigray region that left many dead and two million people displaced overshadowed the election. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has now lifted a ban on opposition parties, released tens of thousands of political prisoners, and is opening up one of Africa’s last untapped markets. Praise God that the Inter-Religious Council has declared a week of prayer. Pray that calls for peace will be amplified on all fronts as the prayers are broadcast on religious and secular television channels and pray that the ethnic battle will stop. Pray that the frightened people will receive encouraging counselling to release their stress and anxieties in productive ways. Pray that in the new regime, multitudes will hear the Gospel and many will accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. May they be trained to grow in faith through the efforts of the Churches.

The Maldives is Asia's smallest country by area and population, known for its lucrative tourism industry. Despite tourism, it is an extremely closed country which boasts of being 100 percent Islam and heavily represses Christian influence. Only a handful of secret believers live in the country, which is regarded as ‘fertile ground for recruitment’ to radical Islam. Dozens of Maldivians have joined IS. The 2019 elections had a surprising result when opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih defeated the former president Abdulla Yameen, who now faces corruption charges. The new government has begun reforms. Give praise for the shake-up in the government. Pray that this may shake up the nation’s repressive laws and human rights abuses. Conversion to Christianity results in a loss of citizenship. Churches and Christian gatherings do not officially exist, and believers live in fear of being discovered. Pray for safety and religious freedom in the Maldives.

Many Croatians inhabit the land of the Dalmatian coast which in the 20th century became part of Yugoslavia. The region of Dalmatia is mentioned in the Bible, when Titus left Paul to go there. Croats had access to the Gospel very quickly, and different orders of Roman Catholicism worked among the people. For centuries Croats considered themselves Roman Catholic. Croatia nurtures religious freedom: there are Roman Catholic cathedrals and churches, Orthodox churches, Protestant churches, Islamic mosques, and other minority religions. However, the biggest problem is corruption. ‘Giving favours’, as it is called, is the way of thinking for many. Unfortunately, they do not consider it sinful or recognise the consequences of it for society in general.

Afghanistan’s population is 99.9% Muslim, containing 72 unreached people groups. There are 48,000 mosques and no churches. Any belief contrary to Islam is illegal. Converting from Islam to Christianity results in death. Christian believers gather and worship in secret. Yet extremist violence has caused many Muslims to question their faith. Though impossible to document, it is undeniable that the Church is growing and Muslims are turning to Christ. Some encounter Jesus in dreams and visions; others hear the Gospel through Christian radio. Christian relief agencies also share the love of God through meeting the nation’s immense physical needs; some have died as martyrs. Amid great persecution, there are several thousand believers in Afghanistan today. War and violence are almost routine, and many have given up on anything ever changing. That is what made the recent historic agreement between the United States and the Taliban so monumental. 

The recent Dutch provincial elections revealed a disturbing degree of provincialism and xenophobia; the leader of the winning party had dedicated his university dissertation to the French extreme nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen! The upcoming State of Europe Forum in Bucharest will bring together Pentecostal, Evangelical, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox clergy and lay people from across Europe to explore commonalities and differences in perspectives on the future of Europe. If we all accept that the Jesus story is the defining story of Europe, how do we bring his Lordship (see Ephesians 2: 4,5) to bear on our current challenges of populism, terrorism, corruption, cyberwarfare, nationalism, trafficking, migration, weakened democracy, xenophobia, and much more? God’s people of hope need to point in a different direction. We need to recover the story of Jesus as having ‘broken down every wall’ between race, gender and status, as the defining story of Europe.

On 12 June Peter Horrobin of Ellel said that the UK has emerged from its most extraordinary election in living memory, at the same time as terrorist attacks on Manchester and London took lives in the name of Allah and scarred the lives of many hundreds caught up in the events. As media and politicians discuss the past few weeks, it is time for God’s people to pray for their nation and seek His face afresh for how to respond in the face of chaos, fear and spiritual darkness. It is time to make a stand against moral confusion and false religion. It is time to pray earnestly for our Christians in parliament: Tim Farron has stepped down as Lib Dem leader, after repeated questions over his faith. It is time to pray for Christian voices to command the respect of our leaders in commerce and industry, as investigations begin into the Grenfell Tower fire.