Displaying items by tag: prayer request

Sharren Haske, a prominent Israeli opposition politician, has urged Christians in Britain to pray for peace for her country, following massive protests against plans to reform Israel's judiciary. This week, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a delay to the plans, saying he is ‘not ready to divide the nation in pieces’. Sharren is a member of the opposition National Unity party and chairs the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus. ‘It's a very challenging time right now in Israel. Many of our citizens are really heartbroken’, she said. ‘The division among the nation is one of the biggest challenges that such a diverse community as the people of Israel is facing every single day. We're not against it. We understand that there is the need for reform and for changes. The question is how the judicial system is going to look, the next day. They take a more extreme approach, we are for a more moderate one.’

On 26 December intelligence agents raided Pastor Matthias house church during Christmas celebrations. Matthias and two other converts were arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht. On 3 January Matthias’ wife Anna was summoned to intelligence offices, arrested, and also transferred to Rasht. Matthias was jailed in January 2022 for a six-year sentence on national security charges, saying that he was an enemy of the state. Although detained in prison, he was allowed regular leave, and continued to minister in the local house church. Friends are concerned about Anna’s health in detention as she has back problems. They request prayer that God will strengthen and encourage them, and that their teenage daughter will be adequately cared for while her parents are in prison. Criminal charges will not be brought against Matthias and Anna or the two other converts arrested at the Christmas gathering.

Christians in Qatar are inviting the global church to join with them in praying for a move of the Holy Spirit during the World Cup, which begins on 20 November. The country is number 18 on the World Watch List. Although foreign Christians can worship in relative freedom, Qatari Christians are forbidden from having their own churches or even entering a church. Converts can also face extreme pressure from their family and community. Despite these challenges, the church in Qatar is growing - and there is the expectation that it will continue to do so during the World Cup. ‘We’re expecting a big move of the Holy Spirit during the World Cup,’ says a church leader for expats and migrant workers. ‘We already see the move of the Holy Spirit in Qatar. God is visiting people in their dreams. God is doing miracles. God is doing healings among the Qatari people.’

The European Evangelical Alliance prayer network has a prayer request from Nazareth Hospital , which began 160 years ago as a Christian medical mission. It has grown from a five-bed clinic to the town’s main trauma and acute care hospital, employing 800 staff from all faiths in the region. Their Christian witness, mission and faith is important; their reach is felt across staff and the annual 250,000 patients. Talks with Israel’s government to find a solution to the funding crisis have been unsuccessful, and many hospital departments have had to close. Despite all their efforts they believe the Lord wants this ministry to continue. They say, ‘Please join us in urgent prayer for the hospital, that a solution will be found for our finances, that we will be able to pay our staff what they are owed, that the hospital will reopen, and that our Christian witness will continue for the next 160 years in Nazareth, or until the Lord returns.’

Last week 560 men, women, and children who were on paid flights and ready to evacuate were blocked at the last minute and had to return home. However, over 200 of these persecuted Christians cannot go home. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs and are in imminent danger. Just when things seemed hopeless, God provided a new temporary housing option. Please pray for God to clear the way for these flights to take off and provide safe places of refuge outside Afghanistan. Pray for encouragement for those who were sent home; may the Holy Spirit move in their hearts and remind them they are seen by our Lord. Pray for protection for those who will remain inside Afghanistan, continued provision for their daily needs, and a clear plan for long-term ministry and support.

On 5 September intelligence agents in Rasht arrested Christian converts Ayoub Morteza, Morteza Mashhoudkari and Ahmad Sarparast and interrogated them. Ayoub was able to contact his family from there. The prosecutor refused to grant them bail and Morteza and Ahmad were transferred to Lakan Prison on 18 September. Iranian intelligence said that Ayoub had also been taken to the prison, but Morteza and Ahmad said he was not there. Please pray that Ayoub’s present situation will quickly become known and that his family will no longer be worried about him. May God encourage and strengthen these men and grant them peace during their imprisonment. Pray also that engaging in Christian activities and meeting with fellow-Christians should no longer be considered a crime in Iran.

On 21 July 2020, 27-year old university student Pınar Gültekin (pictured) was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, becoming another victim of Turkey’s wave of femicides. Gültekin was declared missing for six days before she was found dead, strangled to death for refusing to reconcile with her former partner.

The news of Gültekin’s murder sparked protests across the country, with women taking to the streets in more than ten cities. The largest demonstrations took place across various neighbourhoods of Istanbul, gathering thousands of people. Smaller-scale protests also took place in less-populous Turkish cities including İzmir, Edirne, Mersin and Malatya.

On more than one occasion, women protesting gender-based violence were met with violence themselves. In İzmir, police officers brutally intervened in the protest and several women were beaten. Videos from the event captured scenes of women being manhandled and dragged away by police officers. 12 were taken into custody, although they were later released.

Since the news of the murder of Gültekin, 11 women have met a similar fate. These tragic murders are, unfortunately, in no way isolated incidents. They form part of a larger pattern that has been emerging in Turkey under the country’s increasingly authoritarian Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Under the AKP, the number of women killed by men has increased rapidly. Since 2010, more than 3,000 women have been murdered as a result of male violence, with the figure more than doubling over the years. The vast majority of these women were killed for making decisions about their own lives – breaking up with a partner or rejecting men’s advances.

The government’s attempt to turn the Istanbul Convention into a wedge issue has backfired. There is no clear segment of society against it, and according to an opinion poll by Turkey Report only 8.8 percent of the population want to withdraw, and 51.7 percent are not even aware of its contents.

While the number of femicides has steadily increased, the Turkish government has failed to implement measures to protect women or introduce any reforms to tackle gender inequality. According to the Judicial Records statistics in 2019, most of the complaints made by women of sexual and physical violence do not result in a prosecution. This year, Turkey ranked 130th out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. Women’s rights activists are outraged by the deteriorating situation that is worsened by the proposal to withdraw from the treaty, with many arguing that it was never properly implemented in the first place.

Source: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2020/08/17/populism-and-femicide-in-turkey/

Pray that Turkey's wave of violence against women and femicides would stop immediately

Pray that the current Turkish government would take more actions and responsibilities to prevent these murders

Pray that all Turks would find the true women's right and equality in Jesus Christ and His Gospel of peace

Due to their work being sensitive names of places and people are omitted in this prayer request, but God knows who you mean when you pray. D was in NWB for five months before safely returning to the UK with his family. They are all currently in quarantine and then will enter further training. Please pray for God to prepare a community for them to return to in the mission field. Pray for God to protect their business and the team that they left behind and for visa options to open up for those wishing to join the team. Pray also for God’s guidance as they work out their fundraising plans and for open doors to be revealed so that their ministry grows. Please pray for protection for non-Covid patients and staff, and for enough income to keep going; Ask for wisdom for R, who is unsure when to return to the UK for home assignment, and for any visas that have been delayed by closures in immigration due to Covid.

Gulgoze (Turkey) - Inside the sixth century church in southeastern Turkey, dozens of Assyrian Christian women, men and children in their Sunday best attend a service, one of only a few held in their ancient homeland.  They are among the nearly 4,000 Assyrians left in the region after violence and poverty forced the community to leave Turkey in the 20th century.  They are now scattered across Europe, with over 100,000 living in Germany, nearly 100,000 in Sweden and tens of thousands in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Assyrian Christians, also known as Syriacs, are part of the eastern Christian tradition and pray in Aramaic, which Jesus is believed to have spoken.  Yuhanun Akay, 40, lives in the historic region of Tur Abdin (meaning "Mountain of the servants of God" in Syriac), in the centuries-old village of Gulgoze in Mardin.

The village, known as Ain Wardo, meaning "eye of the rose" in Syriac, was once home to hundreds of Assyrian families, where they farmed, prayed and educated their children.  Now only three families remain including Akay, a farmer and father-of-eight.

"In the past there were 200 Syriac Christian families, and seven priests in the village. We had three churches, so each neighbourhood had a church," he told AFP.

"Every Sunday there would be a service in all three churches and they would be full."

There are 2,500 churches and 300 monasteries in Tur Abdin, according to Evgil Turker, head of the Federation of Syriac Associations.

Community leaders including Turker are worried over the future of the community in Turkey despite a slight recent increase in population figures.  There are around 20,000 Assyrians in Istanbul.  Like other communities, Turker said Assyrians were affected by the same economic issues and "political pressures" under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Some left in search of a better life.

There were fears earlier this year that Assyrians were being targeted after a couple belonging to the Chaldean Catholic minority went missing in January in Sirnak, near the Iraqi border.  While Hurmuz Diril, 71, remains missing, his wife Simoni, 65, was found dead in March.

The arrest of Syriac Orthodox priest Sefer Bilecen on terrorism charges also caused concern, but Turker said he did not believe there was state-led targeting of Assyrians.

Pray for Assyrian Christians in Turkey:

Pray that the political and any other form of pressures from the government against Assyrian Christians in Turkey would stop immediately

Pray that the Turkish government would assure the livelihood of Assyrian Christians to stay in their places and to keep their traditions

Pray that God would bring a revival among these Assyrian Christians and other traditional orthodox churches in Turkey and throughout the Middle East

Gulgoze (Turkey) (AFP)

More info: http://silkwavemission.com 

The following request was received through Maria Harbajan, IPC's Regional Director for the Caribbean:

1. URGENT Pray for Curacao.

Curacao is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuelan coast.

The Nation has been under siege from within.

It began with mass demonstrations versus the Government over economic issues. They stormed the City and broke into the Government buildings. It has escalated with criminal elements now burning buildings all across the nation, attacking security facilities and threatening government officers.

Dutch troops were sent into the island to assist local police in keeping unrest in check, broadcaster NOS stated on Saturday. The move follows days of violent protests against Covid-19 layoffs which saw demonstrators looting stores and storming the government palace on the island.

The addition of Dutch troops to the island is expected to allow local authorities ease the 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m curfew it has held in place in recent days. A reporter for the broadcaster said that there were dozens of fires set leading into the early morning hours of Saturday, and that the authorities seemed to have a difficult time preventing them from happening.

Unrest on the island was ignited on Wednesday after the local government announced that a number of garbage collectors on the island would be laid off. Protests ensued, which quickly turned into riots that culminated in the storming of the government center Fort Amsterdam on the island's capital city, Willemstad. In addition, large numbers of storefronts in Willemstad were looted, with fires being reported across the island.

A total of 48 people were arrested on Wednesday alone, many of whom were young people suspected of theft and vandalism. According to the local authorities, a number of gangs also took advantage of the chaos in order to run roughshod.

There was concern that the presence of the Dutch military might make matters worse with the imagery reminiscent of the island's history as a Dutch colony.

The Prime Minister has summoned a meeting with Pastor Bakhuis and the Council of Churches to meet with him.

Let's be in prayer that calm can be restored and financial assistance can be brokered for those whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the pandemic.

Pray also for the over-stretched medical staff on the island as they handle the covid-19 situation.

More: https://nltimes.nl/2020/06/27/dutch-deploy-troops-quell-curacao-riots

2. Update on Guyana:

Beloved , Guyana now awaits judgement at the level of the Caribbean Court of Justice concerning the March 2 Elections results which are still pending.

The hearing will be on July 1st. Of course, we are looking to The Righteous Judge of all the Earth for His judgement. The stakes are great. The warfare Intense, lots of propaganda & misinformation. 

We would greatly appreciate your prayer. Both major political parties have grieved the Lord. But God's will & purpose for us, a Church which has failed Him in many ways, is the important factor. We plead for His mercy.

3. Event: 'Intercessors at the Summit... Soaring like Eagles'

We have an Upcoming Intercessors Camp 2020 which is going ONLINE using Zoom.   The theme will be: "Intercessors at the Summit...Soaring Like Eagles."   Date: July 31 - Aug 1 2020 starting each day at 9am (Jamaican time).

More info will be available shortly at www.nipnoj.org