Displaying items by tag: prayer

There has been a sensing among prayer leaders around the world of a significant corporate calling to identificational repentance for our nations. Christians have been led simultaneously to draw the Church together to pray concertedly in the spirit of ‘If my people…’ (2 Chron 7:14) for the healing and renewing of each of our lands. This has culminated in a number of online events and initiatives that are taking place over the next two months. Some of these are detailed in International Prayer Connections Prayer-Alert intercessors are invited to join the first of these united prayer events, which will be a World Prayer Together call on 19 September. See also UK article on National Day of Prayer.

MPs are returning to Westminster with very full inboxes. Coronavirus challenges will be at the forefront of ministers' minds. Jeremy Hunt warned, ‘The situation coming into winter is potentially very perilous’. Pray for the Government to succeed in encouraging a return to something approaching normal while keeping the virus under control. The UK and EU must reach a Brexit agreement by 31 December 2020. But at the end of every round of negotiations, the messages are ‘little progress’ and ‘considerable gaps remain’. Pray for God’s resolution to come to the surface. The furlough programme is winding down, but opposition parties want the scheme to be extended. While furlough was one of the largest schemes, others are also due to come to an end soon, with disagreement between the parties over their ongoing value. Pray for parliament to agree on wise provisions for the 9.6 million who were furloughed.

In 1727 the Moravian community in Herrnhut, Germany started a 24/7 unbroken prayer watch, which continued for over 100 years. Moravian influence on John Wesley helped start the Wesleyan revival. Their vision of sending missionaries (they sent hundreds) helped spark the 19th-century Protestant mission movement which took the gospel to most of the world. 26 years of the annual ‘30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World’ publications ‘coincided’ with 26 years of unprecedented numbers of Muslims encountering Jesus. Today, movements of Christians praying together to pray are bigger, wider and deeper than at any time in history. 24/7 Prayer (www.24-7prayer.com) and Ihop (International House of Prayer) draw thousands of people into a worldwide, unbroken stream of prayer and worship. But more prayer is needed in this season of global pandemic, recession, fear, poverty and wars.

The Kenyan Senate is calling for submissions on the Reproductive Healthcare Bill currently before them, which legalises abortion up to birth. There has been an outcry among Kenyan Christians over this bill; it seeks to legalise abortion carried out by a doctor, nurse or midwife acting alone, a ‘trained health professional’. The international abortion lobby and their NGO allies will be emailing their opinions in droves. There is money to be made if abortion becomes legal in Kenya. The time is short for objections to be presented as the deadline is Monday 17 August. The published notice does not specify that only Kenyans can respond, so we can pray that many Godly, informed responses will be made against this bill from concerned individuals across the nations.

The government-appointed commissioner to combat anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, was criticised in an open letter to Angela Merkel from sixty academics, authors and artists in Germany and Israel. They warned the Chancellor concerning ‘provocative, factually and legally unsustainable use of the term “anti-Semitism”’, saying that freedom of speech is endangered by criticism of Israel’s policies. However many believe Mr Klein has taken his responsibilities seriously with courage and commitment, tirelessly bringing problems to light and demanding concrete action (anti-Semitism in schools and on the Internet, preventing the growth of extremism, and much more). He is the contact person for Jewish groups and social organisations in the fight against anti-Semitism nationally, at federal state level, and in civil society in general, plus promoting awareness of the latest forms of anti-Semitism. He has received support from many different Jewish organisations.

Beirut rescue operations continue following a massive explosion on 4 August, causing indescribable damage in a mostly Christian part of the city. The death toll is currently 137 with 5,000 injured. Totals are expected to rise. Ask God to disperse the trauma covering the area and for a spirit of healing to be released. Beirut is in a two-week state of emergency. Pray for God’s enabling strength for rescuers searching for hundreds of people still missing. May they find survivors, not bodies. Pray for comfort for those mourning the dead and for those still waiting for news of the missing. Pray for the 300,000 homeless people currently in shock with no shelter. May there be a united effort by the international community to organise medical supplies, food, shelter, beds, clothes, manpower and financial aid for structure repairs. Amnesty International called for international investigations into the blast that are ‘free from domestic political interference’, to ensure ‘truth, justice, and reparations for victims.’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has launched Together in Unity to support Anglican communities suffering from the pandemic. The unprecedented and devastating effect of coronavirus on global communities already impacted by conflict, natural disaster, and famine means they are ill-equipped to implement even the most basic hygiene and sanitation measures. Hospitals and clinics are without critical supplies, and lockdown measures have brought wages down to zero. Funds raised through the UK appeal will be distributed to coronavirus-response projects. Also, in the UK people have been making thousands of scrubs and walking miles to raise money for Hospitals. But Asian Christian hospitals have no such support and no government funding. People walk for days or travel on hot overcrowded trains to clinics, but lockdown and widespread fear of the virus has led many people to skip treatments at missionary clinics and hospitals that depend on income from routine treatments to pay staff. See

It can be difficult to know where to start when praying for a crisis as large as coronavirus. So Tearfund have created a simple helpful prayer guide for intercessors to use individually, with a group or with the church. To download this perceptive resource for praying for situations close to home and around the world click the ‘More’ button.

Some churches have faced the lockdown challenge by simply meeting the needs of their existing congregations. This could be a missed opportunity to discover what it might look like to ‘go and make disciples’ in the 21st century and beyond. Let us not forget that many revivals started outside the church and were later embraced by the church. This pandemic has introduced the many of the older generation to Skype, FaceTime and Zoom, which has helped those who live alone at home or in care to feel less isolated. The church in this new season still has a fundamental Christian mission to build relationships, to worship together, pray together and serve together. Each church must seek God to discover what He is asking of them. God is giving His church an opportunity electronically to ‘throw out a new net - where there are many fish’, and we can give thanks for the increase in online views of church services during lockdown.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetime if they are able. On the Hajj Muslims seek the forgiveness of sins and to deepen their allegiance to Allah. In Luke 7, Jesus said to a sinful woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven: your faith has saved you; go in peace’. Jesus has the authority and power to forgive all of our sins through his atoning sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. 1.8 billion Muslims in the world today reject Jesus as a Saviour. Instead, they go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in order to earn forgiveness of sins from Allah. A phrase used in most Arabic conversations is ‘al-ḥamdu li-llāh’ - literally, ‘Praise be to God’. Pray for people to truly know God and praise Him when they use this phrase. See also