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The Global Day of Prayer for America is scheduled for 22 September, with the goal of sparking a nationwide revival. Participants are invited to join an online prayer meeting from 7:00 to 10:00 am (EST), featuring leaders from around the globe. This event focuses on uniting believers to seek a Christ-awakening, where the Holy Spirit ignites a passion for Jesus and spiritual transformation sweeps across the country. Dr Jason Hubbard emphasises the urgent need for revival in American churches, communities, and families, highlighting the spiritual stagnation and division currently present. The call is for extraordinary prayer and intercession, recognising that true revival brings societal transformation and comprehensive change. The event underscores that revival is not merely a series of meetings but a deep, God-driven movement marked by humility, repentance, and a hunger for God's presence. It is a call for America to be saturated with the power and glory of God, bringing revival from coast to coast.

Christians in Japan are asking the world for one million hours of prayer for their nation throughout the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.  International Prayer Connect are partnering with them to get this message out and are inviting you to please pray about how you might be able to take part – by pledging at least one hour.

The Japan international Sports Partnership (JiSP) is calling on churches, individuals and families across the world to unite in prayer for Japan as their country takes centre stage from Friday 23rd of July.

Pastor Keishi Ikeda who leads JiSP in this movement is driven by a vision to see the Japanese Church grow to 10 million people by 2024.  “Imagine ten million Christians in Japan...This would change Japan. And not just Japan, we could send teams from Japan into other countries that many can’t get into as our passport is powerful. This is a wave; we need to ride it,” said Ikeda.

The current reality is that the Japanese people are the world’s second largest un-reached people group. Church attendance hovers around 4 in 1000 - with only one being male. Nothing short of a miracle will awaken Japan. We serve the God who has promised miracles. We believe an awakening is coming.

Edwin Orr the great scholar on revivals said, “Whenever there is an awakening there is evidence of three things. People coming together “in one accord,” people hearing the Good News in their own “heart language” and a deep, ongoing passion and commitment to prayer. 

As Japan steps into the spotlight these Olympic Games, Christians in Japan are calling on their global brothers and sisters to sign up for at least one hour of prayer.

The Olympics and Paralympics will run for 30 days. If 3,000 Churches globally committed 10 people from their church to pray one hour over these 30 days, we would achieve 900,000 hours – very close to our goal!

Japanese Christians like Pastor Keishi are willing to do anything to see their land coming alive spiritually with 10 million believers by 2024. It is not just about hosting an Olympic Games.

Pastor Keishi said, “We had hoped to reach a million people during our Olympic outreach. With Covid that has not been possible. Can we turn that dream into a million hours of prayers from both the Japanese Church and from across the world?   What a gift to Japan from the global Church - a million hours of prayer for God’s Glory to fall upon our land..”

More info and Sign Up to pray on the website at: https://www.japan1million.com/  

Each of the 30 days of the Games you will receive email prayer points focusing on Japan, the Olympics and Paralympics.

A July prayer report looking at the opportunities and challenges of vaccinations, Covid-19 Hot Spots and some suggested Prayer Pointers with links to resources:

As of 6^th July, the total global figure for people infected by Covid-19 stood at 184.3 million according to Johns Hopkins University. In addition to this, the recorded number who have died totalled 3,986,701.  After peaking in late April, cases declined throughout May and have remained steady in recent weeks

Covid-19 hot spots

Here are those countries / regions which are currently showing high levels of infection.

Brazil, India and Colombia currently have the highest case rates on a weekly basis, however these are declining relative to previous weeks.  Indonesia has seen a 35% increase in cases over the last week.  Other countries showing particular spikes include Spain, Myanmar and Russia whilst Africa recorded its record number of cases over the past week. There were 36,000 new infections reported per day, driven by a surge in South Africa.

Indonesia is suffering a serious rise in cases, its medical infrastructure is struggling to cope and is teetering on the brink of collapse as jammed hospitals turned away patients, forcing desperate families to hunt for oxygen tanks to treat the sick and dying at home.  CNN reports that more than 60 people died in a hospital last weekend (3/4 July) after oxygen supplies nearly ran out, as the country battles a severe wave of covid-19 that authorities say is driven by the more infectious Delta variant.  The world's fourth most populous nation is facing one of Asia's worst outbreaks, with a record high of 27,913 new cases reported on Saturday 3^rd July. The islands of Bali and Java -- which includes the capital Jakarta -- went under emergency lockdown Saturday to curb the spread of the resurgent virus.  In a statement, the Sardjito hospital on Java said 63 patients died between Saturday and early Sunday after it nearly exhausted its oxygen supplies. The hospital said it had sought more oxygen for days before the incident, but virus patients streaming in since Friday had pushed it beyond its capacity, consuming oxygen faster than expected. 

The devastating wave of infections that recently overwhelmed India has passed however the full impact and devastation caused by this is still only now emerging. India remains the second worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic after the United States. The overall case count officially now stands at 30,619,932 cases, and 403,310 deaths although many fear it may be 5 or 6 times higher than this. Doctors have demanded additional protection after being subject to violence and assaults by frustrated and angry families whilst a lack of access to online learning, particularly for poorer girls, has led to research suggesting millions of girls could drop out of secondary school as a result of the pandemic. 

Brazil continues to see great suffering in 2021.  Thankfully, cases have decreased more rapidly over the last 2 weeks, although they still remain above levels seen last September. In total, Brazil has seen 18.79 million cases and 525,112 deaths.  

Although there has been a slight improvement in recent days, as the pandemic recedes in much of the world, according to the World Health Organisation, Latin America has become the driver of global infections. Mid June, the region recorded nearly half of the world’s 10 200 daily covid-19 deaths.  In Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay, coronavirus cases are surging and hospitals are filling with younger patients aged 25-40 years old, said Carissa Etienne, director of WHO’s Latin American office, the Pan American Health organisation (PAHO).  Bolivia, Colombia, and Paraguay all recently saw record covid-19 fatalities in the last fortnight. Venezuela reported 1300 new covid-19 infections and 18 deaths on 1 July. Hospital data show that the actual figures are at least four times higher than those published by the authoritarian government, say public health experts and doctors.

New waves and Variants

It seems that new variants are emerging monthly, each presenting new and concerning challenges. Last month much of the focus was on the Delta variant which now appears to be the dominant worldwide strain. Four major Australian cities went into a four-day "circuit-breaker" lockdown this week to try and stop it from spreading. Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, announced looser vaccination policies to try to get more people immunized before the variant could spread. Ireland delayed plans to resume indoor service in bars and restaurants and US officials urged Americans to get vaccinated to stop its spread. The World Health Organization says the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, has spread to at least 85 countries since it was first identified in India last fall. At least half of the United States is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases as the highly transmissible Indian 'Delta' variant continues to spread, according to a new analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

It is feared that the delta variant is responsible for much of the new, third wave affecting Africa, but the picture is unclear in a number of countries as testing – let alone genomic sequencing – is sparse.  Dr Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, has said “We are in acute emergency mode – we need to prepare oxygen, field hospitals, health workers, declare humanitarian emergencies in countries where the systems are overwhelmed, and have surge capacity people coming in if needs be,” she said.  She said that the pandemic in Africa was “silent”, with people suffering or dying at home . “In India we had the burning funeral pyres that the whole world looked at in horror,” she said. “This is like watching bodies slide under water, a silent mass drowning where people are reaching their hands up for help but no-one is watching and nobody can see.”

The latest variant to be highlighted by the World Health Organization, named Lambda, has now been found in at least 27 different countries. It is especially widespread across South America, having first appeared in Peru in August last year, and is accounting for more and more cases in these countries.

Having found its way to Europe, where there is already an ongoing battle against the Delta variant, due to lack of study it is still unclear how major a cause of concern it might be. It is not yet listed as a ‘variant of concern’, rather a ‘variant of interest’ by the WHO, meaning it has been identified as causing transmission or detected in multiple countries.

Some scientists fear that the Lamda variant that is ravaging Peru may be resistant to vaccines however there is no definitive data to support this yet.

This New York Times article provides a useful and detailed analysis of the nature and scientific understanding of variants.

Vaccines

“The global failure to share vaccines equitably is fueling a two-track pandemic that is now taking its toll on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The emergence of variants has shone new light on the vaccination programmes as it is clear that without vaccination, the chain of transmission, hospitalisation and death will not be broken.  Whilst many poor nations are crying out for vaccinations for the most vulnerable, some rich nations have begun vaccinating teenagers where the risk is very small.

African countries are also suffering from a crippling shortage of Covid vaccines. Only 15 million people, just 1.2 percent of the entire African population are fully vaccinated, according to the WHO.

The African Union special envoy tasked with leading efforts to procure Covid-19 vaccines for the continent has blasted Europe on Thursday, saying that “not one dose, not one vial, has left a European factory for Africa”. Strive Masiyiwa took aim at the global scheme COVAX which was run by various organisations such as WHO and UN that was meant to distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

Masiyiwa said COVAX had promised to deliver 700 million vaccine doses to Africa by December. But at mid-year, Africa has received just 65 million doses overall. Less than 50 million doses via COVAX have arrived.

Moreover, even those Africans who have been fully vaccinated may not be able to travel freely in a post-pandemic world. European Union has recently imposed restrictions on people vaccinated with Covishield, the Indian-produced version of the EU-accepted AstraZeneca vaccine. Dr Ayoade Alakija is the co-chair of the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance told BBC that if the decision is confirmed, that would amount to what she calls “vaccine-apartheid”.  “What it feels like there is a two-tier vaccine system in this new world… where we are living in one world, the pandemic is almost over, in another world the pandemic is quite frankly beginning.”

Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be hit by increasing numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths, highlighting the stark global inequalities in access to vaccines, officials from the World Health Organization warned.

At a time “when we are seeing some reprieve from the virus in countries in the Northern Hemisphere,” Carissa Etienne, the director of the W.H.O.’s Pan American Health Organization, said at a news conference that for most countries in the Southern Hemisphere, “the end remains a distant future.”

Only one person in 10 has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, she added, calling it an “unacceptable situation.”

“Access to Covid-19 vaccines shouldn’t be a privilege for a few but a right we all share,” Dr. Etienne said.

Current figures show that 3.25 vaccination does have been administered, 895 million people are fully vaccinated, representing 11.5% of the world population.

Let’s Pray… Let us continue to declare that the novel coronavirus is defeated by the blood of Jesus.

We pray for divine intervention and for God's name to be glorified even as each nation and government tries its best to prevent or control the emergence of new waves of infection and finally arrest this epidemic.

We pray that individuals, leaders and nations focus on the needs of others rather than themselves, and that cooperation and compassion lie at the heart of the world’s response to the crisis.

We pray for our scientists.  In particular we pray for those assessing and communicating risks associated with vaccines, that they be filled with wisdom and understanding. We pray too for those investigating, sequencing and analysing new variants.

We pray especially for the nation of Indonesia.  We stand with our brothers and sisters who are living amidst this uncertainty.  We pray in particular for those providing medical support in the most difficult of times. 

We release wisdom, skill, and integrity upon our leaders, particularly as they grapple with the complexities, challenges and many voices that seek to influence them.

We pray that leaders and nations will see their moral duty to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and back this up with action not just words.

We pray for protection, wisdom and strength, for those working to bring treatment and comfort to the sick and their families.

We pray for individuals struggling to decide whether to receive the vaccine.  We ask that their fears be settled and that the information they receive be truthful and honest.

We pray special grace and help for the vulnerable and lesser-developed nations.

We pray for a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine to be released soonest and the continued development of a range of vaccines to supply the whole world

We continue to release faith, hope, and love over the peoples of the world. May the Church seize this opportune time to manifest Jesus our Lord and Savior to those who are seeking answers and peace.

Religious minorities in India are facing “systematic persecution” at the hands of Hindu nationalists, which is condoned by the authorities, the police, and the media, new research suggests.

The report Destructive Lies: Disinformation, speech that incites violence and discrimination against religious communities in India, by the Christian charity Open Doors, based on research compiled by a team from the London School of Economics (LSE), says that Christian and Muslim minorities are facing an “existential threat” from mobs of Hindu nationalists known as Hindutva.

Hindutva is an ideology that disregards Indian Christians and Muslims (and other religious minorities) as true Indians because they have allegiances that lie outside India and asserts the country should be purified of their presence. This is leading to a systemic, and often carefully orchestrated, targeting of Christians and other religious minorities.

Researchers from the LSE - who have not been named for safety reasons - said that “state actors” were complicit in the attacks, as well as media, and senior religious leaders, who offered tacit approval for the violence. Social media are also frequently being used to stir up attacks on minorities, with impunity.

One researcher said: “The extent to which . . . state actors are complicit in the violence is shocking; it was there even at the ground level. The bureaucrats, the police, the lower court judges, all of them are . . . openly colluding to harass these minorities. And politicians, top religious leaders, and powerful media owners [are giving] very overt signals that this [behaviour] is desirable.”

Christian communities are now living in an “atmosphere of deep trauma, fear and anxiety”, the report says.

“Apart from regular spectacular incidents of mob lynching, even daily life for many religious minority groups is now marked by fear and a sense of abandonment from their fellow beings as well as from the government, and indeed their own religious institutions,” researchers said.

The report featured 8 case studies and determined 4 headline findings:

1. Persecution pervades everyday life
The research found that ‘an atmosphere of deep trauma, fear and anxiety pervades the Christian communities that we visited in rural areas, as well as many of the Christian and Muslim communities in medium-sized towns and villages and on the outskirts of larger cities’.

2. Covid-19 has made persecution even worse
Not only have Christians been deliberately overlooked in the distribution of Covid-19 government aid, they have also been the subject of disinformation relating to the pandemic. These lies have spread across mainstream and social media platforms and apps.

3. State officials are increasingly hostile
Some Indian states have anti-conversion laws. These are frequently used to target Christians for ‘forced conversions’ and reflect how hard-line Hindu influences in the political sphere translates to regressive laws.

4. Attacks are shared as warnings on social media
One of the first things extremists will do before attacking Christians and other religious minorities is snatch their phones. This is to prevent them documenting the incident. But the perpetrators themselves will record the attack and post it on social media.

Sources / More: OpenDoors UK, The Church Times

Pray:

Pray with us that the UK Parliament will respond to this report and use their influence to improve the lives of Christians in India.
Pray with us that each recommendation in the report will be fulfilled.
Pray with us that the lives of Christians in India will be changed (2 Timothy 3:11–12)

Chinese American Pastor Bob Fu of the group China Aid, which provides legal aid to Christians in the People's Republic, recently tweeted, "New Cultural Revolution" starts in #CCPChina this notice to students in a 1st Grade class demanding all parents and teachers to hunt all "religious books, antagonistic books & overseas books including books & videos that are copied/duplicated & translated". Everyone is mandated!"

CBN News says this is not only just another effort by the Chinese Communist Party to indoctrinate students, but it's also trying to prevent disruptions for the 2022 Winter Olympics which will be held in Beijing next February. 
  
"We've got an Olympics coming up and the Chinese communist government does not want any disruptions for the Olympics," Lane said during an interview. "They really fear there could be protests, a pro-democracy movement going, and so forth, leading up to the Olympics and during the Olympics."

"So this sends a message to the parents. 'Look, no outside influence. We don't want any collusion with foreigners here,' because they know that foreigners are pro-democracy," Lane explained. "And so they are indoctrinating students, but they are also targeting not only the youth of China, but also sending a message to the adults."

Alongside this, on June 29, Bitter Winter (A magazine on religious liberty and human rights) published an article revealing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled a "Christianity Loves the Party" Exhibition in Shanghai, claiming that “the Chinese Communist Party has been inextricably linked to Christianity from the day of its birth.” Even though the CCP "arrested, tortured, and killed countless believers" during its century reign, authorities expect religions to express enthusiasm and celebrate the 100th anniversary of CCP.

The exhibition tells the story of Christians who helped the first Communists, with some becoming members of the CCP. However, what the exhibition does not tell is that many of these Christians were later expelled from the Party and even executed, while the CCP clarified that only atheists can become Party members.

In this year, the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the CCP, the government has ordered local officials and police officers to strengthen their persecution against all dissident groups, in particular Christian religious movements.

Sources / More: CBN News, Bitter Winter, China Aid

Pray:

Pray with us for the safety of Christians living in China (1 Samuel 2:9)
Pray with us for courage, perseverance and hope for the Church in China.
Pray with us that international political leadership will continue to challenge human rights abuses in China.

Canada is a nation enduring significant pain and grief following the recent discovery of the unmarked graves of indigenous children in a number of sites, including Kamloops.  The Kamloops Indian Residential school was one of the largest in Canada and operated from the late 19th century to the late 1970s. It was opened and run by the Catholic Church until the federal government took it over in the late 1960s. It closed permanently about a decade later and now houses a museum and a community facility with both cultural and memorial events.  In 2015 Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report detailing the damaging legacy of the country's residential school system. Thousands of mostly indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools.

The report detailed decades of physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by children in government and church run institutions.  As was documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, many of the children in residential schools did not receive adequate medical care with some dying prematurely of diseases like tuberculous.

The commission estimates that more than 4,000 children died while at residential schools over a period of several decades, but the final commission report acknowledges it was impossible to know the true number.

Watchmen for the Nations, a family of believers who long to see Canada become a dwelling place for the Lord, state:

“Canada is positioned in a crucial moment. From her foundations, the Lord has laid ancient paths for her people to walk in as one family consisting of different colors, tribes, and tongues. He is revealing the breaches in the walls of Canada that need to be addressed and acknowledged. We ask for wisdom on how to rebuild. Amidst the brokenness, God is healing the land of Canada that she might walk in the fullness of her calling to be a leaf of healing to the nations.

Together, we stand in one heart with Canada as she returns to these ancient paths. We lay hold of God's promises and proclaim His faithfulness and purposes over the First Nations family in the land. We believe the Lord will raise a standard from the heart of this nation for His pleasure and glory.”

Sources/ More: Watchmen for the Nations, CNN

Pray:

Pray for the overwhelming healing love of God to flood the nation of Canada (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Pray with us that for wisdom in political leadership, bringing society together to rebuild the nation
Pray with us that for an end to violence and attacks associated with these terrible events

With each passing day, the boundary between Hong Kong and the rest of China fades faster.

The Chinese Communist Party is remaking this city, permeating its once vibrant, irreverent character with ever more overt signs of its authoritarian will. The very texture of daily life is under assault as Beijing moulds Hong Kong into something more familiar, more docile.

Residents now swarm police hotlines with reports about disloyal neighbours or colleagues. Teachers have been told to imbue students with patriotic fervour through 48-volume book sets called “My Home Is in China.” Public libraries have removed dozens of books from circulation, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Under Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the Communist Party has grown tired of Hong Kong’s duelling identities. To the party, they made the city unpredictable, even bringing it to the edge of rebellion in 2019, when anti-government protests erupted.

Now, armed with the expansive national security law it imposed on the city one year ago, Beijing is pushing to turn Hong Kong into another of its mainland megacities: economic engines where dissent is immediately smothered.

The Hong Kong government has issued hundreds of pages of new curriculum guidelines designed to instil “affection for the Chinese people.” Geography classes must affirm China’s control over disputed areas of the South China Sea. Students as young as 6 will learn the offenses under the security law.

All of this has led to a wave of emigration. Many Hong Kongers have applied for immigration visas to the United Kingdom through their British National Overseas (BNO) status. According to a report by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford in May, 34,000 Hong Kongers have applied to live in the UK in the first three months of 2021, whilst The Times reports that 100,000 people have left in the last 12 months.  This is particularly true of families with children who believe that the ‘old’ Hong Kong is now lost.

At the same time, at least three major US tech companies, Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet’s Google, have threatened to leave Hong Kong in protest at planned changes to data-protection laws as the pro-Chinese government cracks down on dissent.

The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry body backed by the US tech firms, warned Hong Kong’s personal data privacy commissioner that proposed amendments to privacy laws may force its members to stop investing there.

Sources: The Times, Irish Times, New York Times

Pray:

Pray with us for the safety of those who stand against China’s authoritarian rule of Hong Kong
Pray with us for wisdom as families and individuals determine whether to stay of leave
Pray with us for the Church in Hong Kong to remain strong in the face of suppression (Acts 20:28-30)

As of 7^th July, the total number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of the Florida apartment block stands at 36, while 109 residents are still missing.  Emergency teams are increasingly pessimistic of finding any more survivors among the rubble and say they have detected no signs of life since the immediate aftermath.

Nearly 2 weeks after the collapse, the search continues but with few positive signs.  The building’s collapse occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on June 24 while almost all of the residents were sleeping. The structural failure initially began in the pool deck and garage areas, which engineers believe triggered the collapse of the midsection of the tower and then the front part facing the ocean. Fifty-five of the 136 condo units were destroyed.

Particular help has come from local synagogues given the apartment block, Champlain Tower South Condo, was in the area of Surfside, which has a tight knit Jewish community.

Many members are affected by the disaster: at least 34 of the missing are Jewish, one local synagogue told journalists.  Synagogues in the neighbourhood have been collecting money and providing food for rescue workers and survivors. One synagogue raised more than $100,000 in just a few hours.

Pope Francis sent a message to the Archbishop of Miami, the Most Revd Thomas Wenski, on Saturday, and offered “heartfelt prayer that Almighty God will grant eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy”.

The cause of the collapse is not clear, although an engineer’s report from 2018, revealed on Saturday, referred to “a major error” in the original design of the 12-storey sea-front Champlain Towers. It said that the fault prevented water from draining away from the base of the building.

The Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt Revd Peter Eaton, said that prayers were said in the diocese on Sunday. “We pray for the dead and the grieving, the injured, and those still unaccounted for, and their family and friends who are waiting anxiously for news of them. We also pray for those who are now homeless, and who have lost everything.”

He asked Episcopalians: “Please remember in your prayers, as well, those who are working around the clock to search for survivors, to recover the dead, and to account for the missing.”

Sources / More: The Church Times, MSN News

Pray:

Pray with us for grieving families and individuals, that they may be comforted by the overwhelming peace of God. (Psalm 34:18)
Pray for the search and rescue teams, that they may be sustained in hope and strength even as they grow wearier and more despondent.
Pray with us for the local Church, that they will know how best to reach out in love and support to those affected.

The conflict in Afghanistan – America’s longest war – is at an end, or so President Joe Biden is expected to declare this week. At an end, too, is Britain and Nato’s military involvement, dating back to the invasion that followed the 2001 al-Qaida attacks on the US. Except the conflict is not over. In truth, it is intensifying. What’s changed is that the western allies are, in effect, washing their hands of it.

By setting an unconditional US withdrawal date of 11 September shortly after taking office, Biden triggered an unseemly military scramble for the exit that has been joined by all residual Nato forces, including most UK troops. It now appears the vast majority will have left by the start of July, without ceremony or fanfare, almost by the back door. The fourth of July is American Independence Day. It may also come to be remembered as deserting Afghanistan day.

The official silence in Britain surrounding this shabby, half-hidden retreat is deafening – partly for justifiable security reasons, but also out of sheer political embarrassment. Ministers and army chiefs surely know his unilateral decision to quit, despite the absence of a peace deal or even a general ceasefire, is dangerously irresponsible.

The withdrawal has set Afghanistan back on the path to terror, mayhem and disintegration. A catastrophe is in the making. These are not the predictions of mere armchair critics. Gen Austin Miller, commander of US forces, warned last week that chaos beckoned. “Civil war is certainly a path that can be visualised if it continues on the trajectory it’s on. That should concern the world,” he said.

The impact on women and girls

Many Afghans say they expect that the Taliban will return to power, either via a power-sharing deal with the Afghan government or through sheer force. The group already controls around half the country, ruling by its own definition of Islamic law. And there is widespread fear that if they do, the Taliban will reintroduce its notorious system of gender segregation from when the group ruled in the late 1990s, which barred girls and women from almost all work, the right to vote and access to education.

If the scant gains won by women and girls in education disappear, it could have wide-reaching ramifications, from the role women play in shaping their country’s future to donor support that keeps Kabul’s hospitals open and government workers paid.

Experts see the treatment of women and girls by the Taliban as a barometer of the group’s future actions as they take over large swaths of the country. The restrictions on education could only be the beginning of a large-scale rollback of women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have made quick territorial gains throughout the country since U.S. troops began leaving Afghanistan, including seizing at least 80 districts of the country’s approximately 400 since May 1, according to a tally by the Foundation for Defense and Democracies’ Long War Journal. More than one thousand Afghan security forces fled north into Tajikistan since last week.

Soon, beleaguered Afghan security forces will be left to fend off the Taliban and other extremist groups without any NATO firepower. In recent months, nonstate actors from the Taliban and groups aligned with Islamic State have targeted and killed a slew of women in the public eye, from journalists to health workers.

In early May, insurgents targeted students leaving school in Kabul, killing at least 90 people, most of them schoolgirls from the Shi’ite Hazara minority, an ethnic group long persecuted by the Taliban. Bloodstained backpacks and charred notebooks lay strewn among their dead bodies. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack and condemned it but stopped short of heeding calls by the Afghan government and Washington for a permanent cease-fire. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, blamed the Taliban, which pointed the finger at Islamic State.

Sources / More: The Observer, Time

Pray:

Pray with us that God will protect the most vulnerable in Afghan society, especially young girls and women (Isaiah 1:17)
Pray with us that the international community will come to realise its ongoing responsibilities towards this nation
Pray for political leadership on all sides, that it might focus on peace and reconciliation over violence and confrontation

‘UNITED,  SIMPLE,  POWERFUL’

You are invited to unite in a simple but powerful prayer time on the first Friday of every month.

We want to pray in unity with many believers, prayer networks and church denominations worldwide, for revival and for the harvest according to Luke 10:2-3.

Each month, we will invite people with insight on the topics we are praying for - to brief us.

The format will be informal.  We will meet with simplicity and humbleness of heart as we wait on the Lord and pray in unity.

JOIN US: FRIDAY AUGUST 6th at 6AM PACIFIC TIME (FIND MY TIME)

JOIN THE MEETING (PASSCODE 1221)  

#1 PRAYER FOR THE HARVEST

Pray like Jesus said in Luke 10:2-3: "Lord of the harvest, send workers into the harvest field.  Lord use me according to Your Word. I will make myself available and share my faith with one person in the next week."

#2 JAPAN AND THE OLYMPICS

Little of Japan's population knows Jesus. (0.3%) Let's pray for the harvest during and after the Olympic Games. Let's also pray for the Government, the people and the Church in Japan.

Join the call (PASSCODE 1221) and be part of the vision of raising 1 million hours of prayer for Japan - one of the most unreached / unchurched nations in the world.

>> Further meetings are being held on Sept 3rd, Oct 1st, Nov 5th and Dec 3rd 2021 <<

1st FRIDAY GO PRAY is convened by Global Outreach (GO) Movement, International Prayer Connect and many worldwide partners.

More info and meeting link at www.gopray.world