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Monthly Prayer Agenda

December 2019 Global Prayer Agenda

Created: Monday, 23 December 2019 00:19
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Welcome to the December  2019 Global Prayer Agenda featuring major concerns affecting the nations of our world, and the growth of Christ's church universally for the advancement of world evangelism and the establishment of God's Kingdom.  This agenda was specially prepared for use during the Monthly Global Prayer Teleconference sessions by a few members of the team of leaders facilitating these monthly global prayer calls.  The agenda is structured into three main categories for the convenience of our users.  As you join us in prayer about these various issues, during this month, we trust that you will find the experience spiritually rewarding.  We also extend a special invitation to join us for our next Monthly Global Prayer Teleconference.   

 

Category One

Prayer for the United States, Canada,  South America, the Caribbean, and Europe

Category 1 Scripture Verse:  Psalm 65(NIV)[a]

Prayer for the United States

Some Important Facts on the State of the church and spiritual needs of the nation

  • Based on the current rates of retention and evangelism, it's estimated that 42 million young people could leave the church by 2050. That is over one million young people walking away from the church each year. If, however, we can revert to Gen X rates of retention and evangelism, that number can be reduced to only 20 million.
  • It is also estimated that 176,000 churches could close by 2050 in the US if the trend continues.
  • Every year, about 4,000 churches are planted in the US and every year about 3,700 churches close.  Based on population growth rate we need to triple church planting in the next five years.  By 2050 it is estimated that the US will need to plant 416, 000 new churches. (Source: www.thegreatopportunit,org)
  • At any given time, 75% of pastors in America want to quit. (Church Resource Ministries – 1998)
  • More than 2000 pastors are leaving the ministry each month. (Marble Retreat Center 2001)  (Source: www.Standaloneministry.org)
  • Francis Chan warns Satan is 'getting the victory' amid lack of unity in US churches
  • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US; 47,173 Americans committed suicide in 2017, but there were an estimated 1,4000,000 suicide attempts in the year. In 2015 suicide and self-inflicted injuries cost the Federal Government $69 billion. But the sad news is that the suicide rate is trending upwards, an indication of the high level of hopelessness permeating every sector of American culture.
  • More than 61 million abortions have been performed in the United States since 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision made the procedure legal. For the same period, the number of abortions committed worldwide is estimated at 16 million. Fewer U.S. women are having abortions than at any time since Roe v. Wade, according to new government figures. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, a total of 638,169 abortions were reported, a decrease of 2 percent from 652,639 abortions in 2014.  New York Governor signed into law a recent bill expanding abortions rights, legalizing later terms abortions.`

These facts underscore the dire need for spiritual revival in the church in America.

Pray

  1. For all pastors across America facing all types of moral failure that continue to undermine the credible witness of the church as salt and light of this nation, to turn to the Lord in prayer and repentance to help to facilitate revival in the church for the spiritual healing and transformation of the nation so urgently needed at this time.  
  2. A spiritual revival in the church across America is what is needed today to bring about the healing and social transformation of the nation through the additions of millions of new converts.  As we pray today for revival in the Church across America, let us pray especially to the Father to pour out upon the Christian community across America at this time a spirit of prayer marked by a deep hunger and reverence for Him, repentance towards Him, love for one another and unity to heal the growing divisions within its midst.
  3. Jesus says, “I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”  Pray against the culture of death pervading America, reflected in the high suicide and abortion rates being reported in the nation annually.

 

Prayer for the United States Government

1 Timothy 2: 1 – 6

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior, four who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, six who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time” (NIV).

PRAY

  1. For President Donald Trump and his family; all members of his Cabinet and White House staff, for their safety, protection, and wisdom to govern the country justly and in the fear of God.
  2. For the love, peace, and unity of God to permeate all areas of our deeply divided US Government to facilitate healing and reconciliation in all sectors of American life.

 

Prayer for Children and Youth across America

Knoxville Satanic “Children’s Ministry” Looking To Teach Children Through School Release Program

A Satanic “children’s ministry” claims to be hoping to take advantage of a pilot program allowing them to “proselytize” children during school hours after a Knox County, Tennessee elementary school granted a local church the same right.

According to WVLT 8, a little-utilized law allows students to be released from school for one hour in order to attend a “course in religious moral instruction authorized by a local school district.”…

… Upon hearing the news of the pilot program, however, a group calling itself “The Satanic Children’s Ministry of Knoxville” felt they had cause to rejoice:

November 5, 2019

We are so excited! We just sent off for our 501(c)3!

We want to thank Sterchi Elementary, The Church at Sterchi Hills, and Knox County Public Schools! We could not have done this without you!

We’ve been struggling to find the best way to kick off our Children’s Ministry. We knew the key would be getting inside our local public schools but there was no way presenting our Satanic Release Program to the Knox Country School Board that we’d get approved on our own. We’ve been waiting patiently for another program to be introduced because once Knox County allows one religious organization to come into the schools with a release program, they have to let us all in!

We are so proud to announce that pending the school board vote in November approving The Church at Sterchi Hill’s Bible Release Time program, Satanic Children’s Ministry of Knoxville will be coming to your local elementary with our Satanic Release Program! For one hour once a month, your children can be released from their school to come learn about Baphomet!

Let your children come check out our program! We have so many activities planned to help them learn the tenets of Satanism. We’ll even send your children back to school with candy, prizes, and educational materials so they can share our program with their classmates!

We can’t wait!

Charisma News 4:00 PM EST 11/12/2019 JENNY ROSE SPAUDO

Over 100,000 Have Committed to Jesus as Students Host Prayer, Bible Reading on Football Fields

In October, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) encouraged students across the nation to gather on school football fields to pray, read the Bible and "open up their life to Christ."
These spiritual events are called Fields of Faith, and as a result, over 120,000 people have either professed faith in Christ or recommitted their lives to Him as a result of these events, according to FCA Executive Director of Ministry Advancement Jeff Martin. Martin clarifies that this number is cumulative since Fields of Faith began in 2004.

PRAY

  1. Father, we thank you that your Word tells us no weapon formed against us by the devil will accomplish its purposes – that the gates of Hell do not prevail. We decree and declare that It is Your giftings and callings and purposes for our children which will be and are being accomplished.
  2. We thank you, Father, that your children hear your voice and the voice of the enemy they will not entertain.
  3. We thank you, Father, that you are pouring out your Spirit on our sons and daughters and that they are standing up, stepping up and speaking up. – declaring righteousness and your Kingdom to come.

 

Prayer for Religious Freedom in America

Chick-fil-A Caves In, Christians Will Lose Their Freedom

Chick-fil-A, one of America’s most-liked fast-food chains, just announced they will no longer donate to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Though these groups are widely respected and considered “mainstream,” they have not publicly announced support of same-sex marriage — in keeping with traditional Christian views.

Chick-fil-A has been targeted by radical, secular groups who hate the idea that the company supports traditional Christian groups.

The Salvation Army, for example, takes no political positions. They only seek to live out the command of Jesus Christ to help the poor.

The Salvation Army was frankly shocked by what happened.

Here’s their statement: “We're saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education, and homelessness organizations — areas in which the Salvation Army, as the largest social services provider in the world, is already fully committed.”

Based on IRS records, Chich-fil-A donated to SPLC in 2017, a far left legal organization that has  labeled dozens of Christian conservative advocacy nonprofits as “hate” groups because of their views on issues like marriage and criticism of radical Islamic terror. SPLC’s “hate” group label has been used in mainstream media to discredit the work of Christian conservative advocacy groups. “Anyone who opposes the SPLC, including many Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and traditional conservatives, is slandered and slapped with the 'extremist' label or even worse, their 'hate group' designation. At one point, the SPLC even added Dr. Ben Carson to its 'extremist' list because of his biblical views (and only took him off the list after public outcry).”

Tony Perkins, President of the Christian conservative Family Research Council, who believes that Chick-fil-A has caved to pressures from radical secular groups, asserted that “Chick-fil-A has seriously lost their way” and called for Christians to find other places to eat besides Chick-fil-A.

 “Many people have fought for Chick-fil-A and for them to capitulate to the bullies is betrayal,” Tony Perkins, one of Washington’s most prominent Christian conservative activists, said on his radio show Tuesday. 

"It's time for Christians to find a fast-food alternative to Chick-fil-A," Perkins stressed. 

Rev. Franklin Graham, however, said he was assured by Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy that the company "remains committed to Christian values."

 (Sources: Christian Post and Newsmax.com, November 28, 2019)

Pray for

  1. The Lord to open new doors of financial resources to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to replace the funding they lost from major corporate donor Chick-fil-A as a result of their support of traditional Christian views related to marriage and the family.
  2. Chick-fil-A to resist pressures from all secular and far-left radical groups like SPLC that hate the idea that the company supports traditional Christian values.
  3. The Christian community across America to take a bold, uncompromising stand in affirming support for the Bible as the only source for moral teachings on marriage and the family.

Prayer for South America and the Caribbean

PRAYER ALERT: Chileans attack churches to protest government

Earlier this month crowds of protesters stormed La Asuncion Catholic Church in Santiago, Chile. They looted the church, dragging out pews, statues, and other icons, and burning them.

Why? A two-cent rise in metro fares sparked a student protest on October 18. Since then agitators have stirred bigger crowds to protest inequities in government health care, education, and pension payments.

But what does that have to do with the Catholic Church? Nothing. Yet the attacks on La Asuncion and other Catholic churches may show an outburst of smoldering resentment. Ever since 1984, sexual abuse reports against Father Fernando Karadima had gone unanswered by the Catholic Church. Finally in 2011—27 years later—the Vatican found him guilty and defrocked him.

But in 2015 Pope Francis appointed Karadima’s protégé Juan Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno. Barros was one of the many alleged but unprosecuted accomplices in the Karadima coverup.

The controversy raged on until 2018, when the pope called all thirty Chilean bishops to the Vatican. In response, all of them offered to resign. But the pope has accepted the resignations of only seven of them, including Barros. The other 23 who looked the other way while Karadima practiced pedophilia are still leading the Catholic Church in Chile.

Source: ‘Without any respect for God’: Bishops denounce violent attacks on churches in Chile

Pray

Pray for God to:

  1. Expose further plans of Chilean protesters to loot and burn churches and other buildings, and stop them. Prevent further clashes with police which have added to the casualties, now estimated as 20 dead and 2000 injured.
  2. Bring deep healing to the abused by priests and deep repentance to those leaders who overlooked or covered up the abuse. And if those leaders refuse to change, to raise up good and faithful leaders in their place.
  3. Replace the reproach on the Catholic church with a new reformation. To restore to the church shepherds who will protect their flocks from wolves and lead them in paths of righteousness for Christ’s name’s sake.

Revival across Europe

  1. Hungarian PM: Persecuted Christians will help us save Europe

Dorothy Cummings McLean |Life Site News| November 26, 2019 [excerpts]

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hungarian-pm-persecuted-christians-will-help-us-save-europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary, November 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― The Prime Minister of Hungary believes that the Christians who are being protected from persecution today may save Europe tomorrow. 

Victor Orbán, 56, gave a speech today in Budapest at the second International Conference on Christian Persecution.  

The Hungarian Prime Minister also explained that his country’s Christian identity “obligates us to protect Christian communities throughout the world suffering persecution.”

Orbán contrasted the large number of Christians among those who suffer for their faith with the indifference of most of Europe.

“European politicians seem paralyzed and unable to do anything, insisting that it is all a matter of generic ‘human rights.’”

The Hungarian Prime Minister argued that Christian persecution is not only an attack on people but on an entire culture, “including here in Europe.” This persecution is sometimes violent but sometimes more subtle, including “population exchange through mass migration, stigmatization, mockery, and the muzzle of political correctness.”

The Prime Minister said that the only solution is for Europe to discover its Christian roots and reaffirm its Christian identity.  

The “Hungary Helps” program was set up by Orbán’s government in 2017 to aid Christian communities that are suffering persecution. The Hungarian schemes rely on relationships between the Hungarian government and Christian communities themselves, bypassing such standard middlemen as the UN and large multinational NGOs.

According to Thomas D. Williams of Breitbart, the Hungarian Prime Minister stressed the important role Christian Hungary has to play in the world.  

“Hungarians make up only 0.02 percent of the world’s population, so how much difference can it make? Is it worth it?” Orbán asked.

He answered his own question by reflecting on the 12 apostles who, though small in number, changed the world with the Good News.  

According to Devex, a news website “for the global development community,” the Hungarian projects served as a model for USAID’s new “Genocide and Persecution Response” initiative, which was announced in 2018.

According to Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, one problem with helping Christians is anti-Christian feeling in international bodies. 

“The Hungarian government rejects the approach that often appears on the part of the international community, according to which Christian phobia and any form of anti-Christian sentiment is acceptable,” Szijjártó told the Conference today.  

“Amid the current international political framework, it requires courage to openly talk about the fate of Christians, and those who accepted the invitation to attend this conference have also demonstrated extreme courage,” he continued. 

Szijjártó also criticized the UN Global Compact for Migration, saying that every country has the right not to be a source, transitional country, or object of migration.  

“Every country has the right to decide whether it wants to be one or neither of these, just as everyone also has the right to live in the land of their birth and to live a secure life there in their own homeland,” he declared. 

“This is the foundation on which the Hungarian government is building its policy when it supports Christian communities [abroad].”

PRAY

  1. That God will bless Hungary and its Prime Minister with lasting peace, stability, prosperity and total wellbeing for standing up to protect and support Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.
  2. That Hungary will be successful in fulfilling its vision to influence other nations across Europe and the rest of the world to stand up for Christians against persecution.
  3. That God will so bless the “Hungary Helps” program that they will be able to fulfil their vision without being dependent on such powerful bodies as the UN and large multinational NGOs.
  1. ‘I See You’: A handmade petition to support persecuted Christian women
    Open Doors, Livenet.ch AUTHOR Evangelical Focus LONDON 28 NOVEMBER 2019 [excerpts]

http://evangelicalfocus.com/culture/4926/I_See_You_A_handmade_petition_to_support_persecuted_Christian_women

The exhibition of the Handmade Petition: I See You, organised by Open Doors UK, has been held in Chapter House, Westminster Abbey, London from 17-24 November. The installation was created “to amplify the voices of persecuted Christian women and to demonstrate to the UK Government and parliamentarians the vital need for policy change”, organisers said.

“AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD”

More than 16,000 people wrote, painted, drew or embroidered their names in this unique petition, along with over 250 Christian women from across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America who have been persecuted for both their faith and gender. Their works have been strung at Westminster Abbey, “to give people a visual opportunity to hear these women’s stories and understand the characteristics of gender-specific persecution”.

Additionally, the installation displayed portraits and self-portraits of Nigerian women who have experienced persecution for both their faith and gender, and have been victim to sexual violence by Boko Haram or Fulani militants.

“This petition is about our saying to these women: we do see you, you are seen, we hear your story, we want justice for you, we are praying for you”, said the director of Open Doors UK and Ireland, Henrietta Blyth. According to Blyth, “[It] shows how passionately people are committed to the issue of violence against women who are brave enough to stand by their Christian faith”.

“PRAYING IS VITAL”

Open Doors stressed that “it is really vital that we continue to pray for our vulnerable sisters around the world, so that they would know God’s presence and peace”. “The petition is also designed to have a lasting impact on UK government policy. Faith should be recognised as a specific vulnerability in relation to persecution, in the way that factors such as age and gender are”, they explained.

At the opening reception, the theologian and philosopher Dr Elaine Storkey pointed out that “when you don’t include the whole issue of faith, then it just becomes hidden. We can’t deal with it properly if we aren’t looking at the real thing that’s the cause of the violence”. “Even in those countries where women a+re being violated sexually, […] you’ll find that Christians are being violated even more, over and over +again, in many different forms”, she added.

“A CROWD OF WITNESSES”

A partner of Open Doors from Northern Nigeria, who remained anonymous, also spoke at the opening about the problems in the country, where Christian women are often used by Boko Haram and the Fulani terrorists as sex objects, as slaves or as machines for the production of children. “They have no voice to defend themselves or draw attention to the malady. This handmade petition allows every woman to be sure that everyone sees her. It is like a crowd of witnesses”. The handmade petition is part of Open Doors’ ongoing See Change campaign in support of persecuted Christian women.

PRAY

  1. That God will work through the ‘I see you’ initiative to sensitize people to the horrors of persecution that women face across the globe.
  2. That the special plight and vulnerability of Christian women, in particular, will have a deep and lasting impact on the shape of UK government policy, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming elections.
  3. That the Lord will encircle and strengthen His daughters with His Presence and that this will serve as a powerful testimony to the other persecuted women who have yet to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Category 2

 Israel, the Middle East, and Africa

Scripture: Ps. 52:1-9  

Israel and Iran

WASHINGTON - Western news agencies producing content in Persian have rebuked Iran for harassing their journalists based in Europe and the United States and for intimidating the Iran-based relatives of those journalists.

In a statement emailed to VOA Persian on Tuesday, a BBC spokesman said the London-based network has seen an increase in Iranian harassment of its Persian service staff and their families since the network began covering anti-government protests that erupted in Iran on November 15 and spread to dozens of cities.

Within several days, the Iranian government violently suppressed the protests, which were sparked by the sudden increase in gas prices amid a weakening economy. The London-based rights group Amnesty International said Iranian security forces killed at least 143 protesters in the unrest, in which some people set fire to buildings and looted stores. Iranian authorities have not released a death toll.

“It is deeply disappointing that Iran’s targeting of journalists and foreign-based Persian language media has been stepped up [during coverage of the protests],” the BBC spokesman said. (Michael Lipin, Farhad Pouladi, November 27, 2019)

https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/voa-news-iran/western-based-persian-media-rebuke-iran-harassing-journalists-covering

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Protesters angry over government-set gasoline prices spiking in Iran attacked hundreds of banks, police outposts and gas stations in the demonstrations, Tehran acknowledged Wednesday as its supreme leader alleged without evidence that a “conspiracy'' involving the U.S. caused the unrest.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comment while addressing members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, which help put down the demonstrations. Meanwhile, one lawmaker was quoted as saying authorities arrested more than 7,000 people over the protests while a security official claimed demonstrators attempted to take over Iranian state television. (Associated Press, November 27, 2019)

https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/iran-says-protesters-attacked-hundreds-banks-blaming-us

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Iran of planning attacks against the Jewish state and said everything possible would be done to prevent them. The premier, who was indicted on corruption charges on Thursday and is seen to be battling for his political life, made his remarks on a visit to an army base near the border with conflict-ravaged Syria.

"Iran's aggression in our region, and against us, continues," Netanyahu said. He was speaking on the day US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in the country to meet his Israeli counterpart Aviv Kohavi. The two generals discussed "operational questions and regional developments", an army statement said. (AFP, Nov 24, 2019)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-planning-attacks-israel-netanyahu-205141362.html

Pray:

  1. Pray that international governments would use their influence to encourage Iran to stop harassing journalists and to allow for more freedom of the press.
  2. Pray that international leaders would take action against Iran for the arresting and imprisoning of innocent civilians, especially those arrested for practicing their faith. Also, pray for the release of Christians who have been imprisoned because of their faith.
  3. Pray that Iran will not develop or obtain nuclear weapons.
  1. Pray that Israel will have a duly elected government in place.
  2. Pray for the protection, peace, and prosperity of Israel.
  3. Pray for the strengthening and growth of the Church in Iran and Israel.

Burkina Faso

GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency is calling for greater protection for thousands of people fleeing escalating violence in northeastern Burkina Faso. It says the lack of security is hampering humanitarian agencies’ efforts to reach those in desperate need of aid. Nearly a half-million people are internally displaced in Burkina Faso, and the recent surge of violence is sending thousands more fleeing for their lives. U.N. refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch warned Friday that the number of displaced could reach 650,000 by year’s end if militant attacks on civilians do not end.  
 
Those fleeing say attackers “often forcibly recruit male residents at gunpoint, killing those who resist,” Baloch said. “Militants also stole cattle and other possessions from the communities."  

Baloch said terrified residents flee, leaving everything behind.  He said many have sought safety in Dori, a small town on the Mali-Niger border. (Lisa Schlein, VOA News, November 22, 2019)

https://www.voanews.com/africa/thousands-flee-extremists-go-rampage-northeast-burkina-faso

OUAGADOUGOU - The Burkina Faso army said on Sunday it had killed 32 "terrorists" in two operations in the north of the country after an attack on a patrol.

One soldier was killed in the operations, which come less than a month after 37 people were killed in an ambush on a convoy transporting employees of a Canadian mining company.

The army said 24 people were killed in the first operation on Friday and a further eight in a second on Saturday.

The first operation in Yorsala in Loroum province saw a number of women who "had been held and used by the terrorists as sex slaves" freed. Arms, ammunition and other materials were also recovered in the second operation on the outskirts of Bourzanga in Bam province, the army statement added. (Agence France-Presse, November 17, 2019)

https://www.voanews.com/africa/burkina-faso-army-32-terrorists-killed-two-operations

Pray  

  1. Thank God that the Burkina Faso army freed several women from terrorists who had held these women as sex slaves. Also, pray for the freedom of more people who are held captive by human traffickers.
  2. Thank God that the Burkina Faso army was successful in two operations against terrorists.
  3. Pray for the establishment of peace in northeastern Burkina Faso.
  4. Pray for greater protection and provision for the nearly a half-million people thousands of people fleeing escalating violence in Burkina Faso.
  5. Pray for the dissolution of the Islamic terrorist groups in Burkina Faso.
  6. Pray for the protection and growth of the Church in Burkino Faso.

 Cameroon

As reported by Barnabus Aid, retired pioneering pastor David Mokoni and a hearing-impaired child were killed on Nov. 6 when Boko Haram militants carried out a nighttime attack on a church in the town of Moskota in Cameroon’s northern Mayo-Tsanaga district.

Two other pastors present at the church when the attack occurred managed to escape while another is being treated for a gunshot wound in the leg, according to the international Christian aid agency. In addition, the militants were said to have taken food, clothing and even the pastor’s robes from the church. 

A local source told Barnabus Aid that the Nov. 6 attack in Moskata was the second attack on the town in a week’s span and that a series of attacks carried out in Cameroon’s far north region since October has left at least eight people dead.

On Oct. 31, six people were said to have been hacked to death by militants in the village of Kotserehe, according to Barnabus Aid. The day before on Oct. 30, militants were said to have looted six Christian villages in the Mayo Sava district. (Samuel Smith, CP Reporter, November 21, 2019).

https://www.christianpost.com/world/pastor-and-hearing-impaired-child-killed-by-boko-haram-in-cameroon-church.html

Pray

  1. Pray that those responsible for the eight murders in Mokoni and Kotserehe villages would be brought to justice.
  2. Pray for the defeat and dissolution of Boko Haram in Cameroon.
  3. Pray for the salvation of key Boko Haram leaders.
  4. Pray for the protection and growth of the Church in Cameroon.

South Sudan

The current South Sudan conflict that started in 2013 after the signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Jan 2005 between SPLM and the Government of Sudan.  Over 400,000 people have been killed from the conflict., with over 4 million South Sudanese people have been displaced as refugee in many parts of the world with about 1.8 million internally displaced persons in South Sudan.  Roger Alfred Yoron is a South Sudanese Journalist and former editor in chief of radio Bakhita in Juba South Sudan. He gives first-hand account of how his father who was also a journalist and Chairman of Justice & Peace committee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba was killed for defending human rights violations in South Sudan.

Before his father died, he wrote a letter and signed it on August 17, 1992 requesting his mother to seek intervention through family members with Catholic Archbishop of Juba. Rogers father Alfred Yoron Modi was tried through military court martial and yet he was civilian. He was killed for standing for and defending human rights in South Sudan.  According to Rogers, had his mother taken the letter to the Archbishop maybe he could have intervened and saved his father’s life. http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article68561.

The events surrounding the killing of Rogers father including, unreconciled truths, bitterness, with his family members contributed to his illness. He was diagnosed with Post – Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD.

According to a study conducted in South Sudan in 2015 collaborated by UNDP and South Sudan law society out of 1,525 respondents 41% showed symptoms of PTSD. This high number of mental health cases is long standing legacy of psychological distress and mental health issues that have not been resolved as result of decades of conflicts. According to Amnesty International South Sudan had only 2 practicing psychiatrists in 2016. (Peter Kegode, IPMI Facilitator, November 24, 2019)

Pray

  • Pray for God to bring justice to the families and victims of atrocities and human right violations during the decade of conflict.
  • We repent for the decades of atrocities and unresolved human rights violations including shedding of innocent blood, families that tortured, raped, properties have been taken, tribal hatred
  • Pray for the spirit of God to be released over the nation of South Sudan, to  President Salva Kir and Vice President Riak Macher, to the military heads, Security forces, rebel forces, opposition parties,  to communities, to trigger prayer, repentance, truth & reconciliation, revival and healing of families, communities and the nations.
  • Pray for LORD to release his army of prayer warriors, worshipers, Prophets teachers, evangelists, pastors, bishops, missionaries, to move into South Sudan to do his will and release the land, the people and its resources for expansion of his Kingdom.
  • pray for release of resources to address critical issues affecting Health, Education, Security, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Governance in South Sudan.
  • Thank God for bringing closure to disagreements, releasing peace and allowing South Sudan to enter period of rest.

 

Category 3

Prayer for Movement Day Global Cities, the Persecuted Church and Other Critical Concerns of Asia

Scripture   -   Psalms 71: 1 – 8

PRAY 

  1. Please pray as the Movement Day team works to connect with strong city leaders in Central & South America.
  2. Please lift in prayer the orgteam, as they execute the invitation and onboarding process for Movement Day X 2020 (formerly Movement Day Global Cities). As you pray, please focus on the following three things:
    • Financial provision as leaders are coming from a wide array of countries all over the globe.
    • Favor as international attendees submit visa requests
    • Those who are navigating tough social and political climates as they prepare for this gathering
  1. Prayer for the Movement Day team as they work to identify cities across the globe who are seeking to unite leaders within the church, non-profit and marketplace sectors, to advance city transformation.  
  2. Pray that God would download strategies and innovative ideas within the US City leaders as they convene to cast vision for the future of Movement Day! This annual gathering will take place in Los Angeles, on January 15-17.

The Global Persecution of Christians

We must support government initiatives that promote religious liberty

We are facing an epidemic of religious persecution worldwide, unlike anything seen in modern history. A recent report prepared for the British government found that an estimated 80% of this persecution is being perpetrated on followers of Christ. Indeed, this report found that religious oppression was “arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide.”

Every month:

  • 255 Christians are killed
  • 104 are abducted
  • 180 Christian women are raped, sexually harassed or forced into marriage
  • 66 churches are attacked
  • 160 Christians are detained without trial and imprisoned

Approximately 80% of the world’s population lives in countries where religious liberty is threatened, restricted or even banned... (Source: Christian Post, November  2019)

PRAY

  1. For the families of martyrs who die for their faith bearing in mind their desperate plight.
  2. For our brothers and sisters in Christ, crying out to the Lord for their deliverance.
  3. For the support of ministries that are actively serving on the front line of this battle.

India

US Pastor Still Detained in India, Awaiting December Trial

Christianity Today, November 11, 2019

“Each year, when Tennessee pastor Bryan Nerren delivered the closing message at a conference for Nepali Christian leaders in South Asia, he called them to persist in ministry despite the associated risk in a Hindu-dominated region sometimes hostile to their faith.”

“Now, Nerren, 58, is living out his sermon more than at any time in his 17 years of mission trips to South Asia, trapped in India for more than a month and prohibited from returning home following a six-day imprisonment. While Indian officials charge him with failing to fill out proper paperwork to declare the cash he was carrying, Nerren’s attorneys call the charges unjust and the detention an example of religious persecution.”

“Nerren, pastor of the nondenominational International House of Prayer in Shelbyville, Tennessee, did nothing wrong and “is essentially being held hostage in India for his Christian faith,’ according to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the evangelical legal organization representing him. “He deserves to come home.’”

“Released on bail October 11 in the Indian state of West Bengal, Nerren had his passport seized by a judge while he awaits a December 12 court date. Despite backchannel work by the Trump administration and three US senators, Nerren’s family doesn’t know when he will return home.”

“India ranks number 10 on Open Doors USA’s persecution list, with an increase in attacks on Christians by Hindu radicals reported since the current Hindu nationalist government came to power in 2014.”

PRAY

  1. For the speedy release of US pastor Bryan Nerren from custody to return to the United States.
  2. For the improvement in religious freedom conditions in India to facilitate the growth of church;
  3. For the continued growth of the church in India despite persecution.

North Korea

Chinese pastor shared Gospel with 1,000 North Koreans before being assassinated for his faith

“A pastor on the China-North Korea border shared the hope of the Gospel with at least 1,000 North Koreans before he was assassinated for his missionary work in 2016, a defector has revealed.  Voice of the Martyrs says the Rev. Han Chung-Ryeol, a Chinese pastor of Korean descent, was on Pyongyang's most-wanted list as early as 2003 for his charitable work and dedication to spreading the Gospel.”

“Han, who ministered on the border town of Changbai since the early 1990s, ministered to thousands of North Koreans over the years — many of whom had fled the famine-stricken country in search of food and jobs. The pastor provided practical aid, such as food and clothing, and introduced each person to the Gospel before sending them back to North Korea to share Christ and help their families. After planting a Three-Self Church near the North Korean border in 1993, Han helped orphans, women enslaved to prostitution, soldiers, those starving from famine, and many others.  One man helped by Han, Sang-chul, shared his story in a short documentary released by The Voice of the Martyrs.” 

“North Korea has for the last 18 years ranked as the worst persecutor of Christians in the world on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List. In the hermit country, those who profess Christ or are caught communicating with missionaries face severe repercussions like torture and imprisonment. No definitive estimates exist on how many people have died inside North Korean political camps but some believe the number ranges from 400,000 to many millions.”

(Source: https://www.christianpost.com/news/chinese-pastor-shared-gospel-with-1000-north-koreans-before-being-assassinated-for-his-faith.html?fbclid=IwAR3ZcZu20sSATpFWmRdjPi2TP--v7xUX_Cke_cAZF31Yt1k2ou6ERmHe6f4 )

PRAY

  1. Praise God for the life Chinese pastor of Korean descent Rev. Han Chung-Ryeol, for his charitable work and dedication to spreading the Gospel to the people of North Korea and also for the lives of the other numerous Christian martyrs of North Korea who gave their lives as a sacrifice for the Gospel among the Korean people.
  2. For the safety and protection of believers in North Korea who continue to risk their lives to share the Gospel with others and for the protection of the over 50,000 North Korean Christians in concentration camps suffering for their faith in Christ.
  3. For the continued growth of the church in North Korea and the spread of the Christian influence  despite increased persecution

China

China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years

The Telegraph, December 2019

The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America.

“Officially, the People's Republic of China is an atheist country but that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied.”

“Christian congregations in particular have skyrocketed since churches began reopening when Chairman Mao's death in 1976 signaled the end of the Cultural Revolution.

Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world's number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.

"By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon," said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule.

"It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change."

China's Protestant community, which had just one million members in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Prof Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010 but whose congregations are in decline.

By 2030, China's total Christian population, including Catholics, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil, and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted.

"Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this," Prof Yang said. "It's ironic – they didn't. They actually failed completely."

Pray

  1. Praise God for the amazing story of the survival of the church in China despite the various attempts of the communist Government to eradicate Christianity and the Christian witness since the cultural revolution led by Mao Tsong..
  2. Pray for the house church movement across China facing various efforts of the Chinese Government to restrict its growth across China, including demolition of church buildings, removal of crosses and banning of free access to Bibles. 
  3. For the continued growth of the church across China to facilitate the continued evangelism among the Chinese people and the expansion of Christianity across Asia.

 

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