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Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 208 | Wed 01 May 2013

IRAQ: DANGER AS SECTARIAN WAR LOOMS

by Elizabeth Kendal

The last US troops left Iraq on Sunday morning 18 December 2011. The preceding week, this prayer ministry issued a call to prayer which now provides essential background to today's reality.

See IRAQ: PROPAGANDA VERSUS REALITY
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 138 | Wed 14 Dec 2011

http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/138-iraq-propaganda-versus-reality.html


As soon as the US vacated Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq got to work, regrouping and rebuilding. It also developed a potent fighting force inside Syria: the Al-Nusrah Front which is currently leading the rebel forces in the battle for Syria.

On Tuesday 23 April at 5 am the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi security forces raided a Sunni protest camp in the northern city of al-Hawijah in Kirkuk province. For months, some 4000 Sunnis have been protesting in the streets, calling for Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's resignation. They accuse the Shi'ite-dominated government of persecuting the Sunni community and detaining Sunni civilians on spurious accusations of involvement in terrorism. Many believe Maliki, a Shia, is seeking to bolster his Shia credentials for political gain in the face of rising Shi'ite opposition, particularly from the Sadrist Movement of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. More than 50 Sunni protesters were killed, dozens wounded and around 400 arrested in the al-Hawijah raid. Predictably this has compounded Sunni anger. In Fallujah, some 1000 Sunnis took to the streets after calls of 'War' were broadcast from mosques. In Ramadi, the capital of Sunni Anbar Province, Sunnis rioted, attacking Iraqi military vehicles and personnel. The regime responded by resorting to extreme military violence, including the use of attack helicopters. By Friday 26 April at least 215 people (mostly Sunni civilians) were dead, with hundreds more wounded. Al-Maliki claims the protests are part of a foreign-backed conspiracy. [Maliki, an ally of Iran, has been letting Iran run flights into Syria via Iraqi airspace, about which the US has protested.]

Enraged by the massacre, Sunni tribes across central Iraq are joining forces and arming to fight the Shi'ite-dominated government. These include the 'Awakening' (Al-Sahwa) militias, whose leaders in Anbar Province have announced the formation of the 'Army of Pride and Dignity'. Its task is to protect the Sunni province from the US-backed, Shi'ite-dominated, Iran-allied government. If Maliki cannot pacify the Sunnis, their anger could pave the way for an alliance between former enemies: US-backed 'Awakening' and a revived al-Qaeda. On Monday 29 April car bombs exploded in four Shi'ite districts south of Baghdad, killing more than 30 people.

Meanwhile, it appears the Kurds are exploiting the chaos to make a move on the oil-fields of Kirkuk. Erbil, capital of the Kurdish province, has deployed Kurdish troops to Kirkuk, claiming they are simply filling a security vacuum. However, Baghdad sees this move as a 'dangerous development' in violation of agreements.

This RLPB ministry has long maintained that the real war for Iraq would not begin until after US troop departed and that 'the mother of all battles' would be fought over control of Kirkuk. The coming war will pit Sunnis vs Shi'ites; Kurds vs Turks vs Arabs; federalists vs centralists; nationalists vs international jihadis; anti-government vs pro-government forces and alliances; Iran vs Saudi Arabia; international jihadis vs everyone else; and probably more. (This is just as in Syria, but possibly worse!) Underneath it all, the region's indigenous, long-suffering, besieged, remnant Christians will be victims of every contest, targeted by all forces.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT -

* our holy, just and sovereign God will be powerfully at work amidst the chaos, advancing his purpose and glory.

* the Lord of Hosts will bring down all that is false and destroy all repressive systems so that God alone will be exalted and healing faith might bloom in freedom. (Isaiah 2:10-21)

* our Lord Jesus Christ will comfort, encourage and sustain his faithful ones, covering them with his hand, gathering them in his arms, fighting for them, supplying their needs and fuelling their faith.

'. . . that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.' (From Isaiah 61:3 ESV.)

* God will awaken the Church throughout the world to the reality of the looming genocide of some of the world's most ancient Christian communities, from Antioch to Nineveh - our spiritual heritage.


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

DANGER AS SECTARIAN WAR LOOMS IN IRAQ

On Tuesday 23 April at 5 am Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi security forces raided a Sunni protest camp in the northern city of al-Hawijah, Kirkuk Province. More than 50 protesters were killed, dozens were wounded and hundreds arrested. Sunnis, who have been protesting persecution under the Shi'ite-dominated Maliki government, were outraged. As riots erupted, government violence escalated and by Friday 26 April at least 215 people (mostly Sunni civilians) had been massacred. Sunnis are now uniting and arming to fight the government. Al-Qaeda, now revived in Syria, will doubtless seek a comeback in Iraq. Meanwhile, Kurdish forces have moved into oil-rich Kirkuk in violation of agreements with Baghdad. An ethnic-political-sectarian war looms, in which Iraq's long-suffering, besieged, remnant Christians will be exceedingly vulnerable. Please pray for them, and for the region.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'
(Deror Books, Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to  join-rlpb@hub.xc.org . 

You can search the whole world for your breakthrough, when it’s actually a lot closer than you think. Whether you need a miracle in your health, finances, relationships, or peace of mind, it’s possible that the answer is right under your nose—or perhaps right under your feet.

In his classic book, Acres of Diamonds, Russell H. Conwell tells the story of a Persian man named Ali Hafed, who heard about the discovery of diamond mines in some parts of the world. Ali sold his large farm to travel throughout the world in search of a diamond mine that would make him extremely rich. After a fruitless search, he was so poor, broken, and defeated that he committed suicide.

One day the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm saw a flash of light from the stream where he was watering his camel, and he pulled out a huge, radiant stone out of the water. The man had discovered the diamond mine of Golcanda, the most magnificent mine in history. The moral to the story was that “Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own garden…he would have had acres of diamond.”

Ali Hafed was extremely close to his breakthrough, yet he died penniless and defeated because he never knew what he had.

Conwell’s story was first published in 1890, but its lessons still resonate today. Each of us is richer than we realize, but often we simply don’t know where to dig. Or perhaps we began to dig in the right place, but we gave up too soon—right on the brink of our breakthrough.

Too often, we don’t recognize the amazing blessings God has already given us:

• Jacob was in a barren desert when God gave him a supernatural revelation of a gateway to heaven.   he concluded (Genesis 28:16).

• Joshua was struggling with fear when God told him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you,” the Lord assured him (Joshua 1:3). The territory already belonged to him, despite the appearance of walled cities and enemy nations.

• Paul told the Ephesians he was praying for their spiritual eyes to be enlightened to “know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). And he told the Colossians that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Like the diamonds concealed under Ali Hafed’s house, some of God’s treasures are hidden beneath the surface—and we won’t find them unless we are willing to DIG.

If you need a breakthrough today, remember this: You’ve already been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). So go ahead and enjoy the Lord, and start receiving everything He’s purchased for you. You’re a lot richer than you think.

Your breakthrough is probably a lot closer than you think. Whether you need a miracle in your health, finances, relationships, or peace of mind, it’s possible that the answer is just a few steps away.

But I can understand if you are skeptical. You may have been waiting a long time already.

Abraham and Sarah had waited many years for a son, and you can understand why they would laugh upon hearing God’s prediction that their breakthrough was finally less than a year away (Genesis 17:15-17, Genesis 18:9-15). Yet their baby boy came just as the Lord promised, and they named him Isaac, which meant “Laughter” (Genesis 21:1-7).

If you laughed when I said your breakthrough was probably close at hand, you may want to call your eventual breakthrough Laughter, as Abraham and Sarah did. Of course, God always has the last laugh (Psalm 2:4), but I think Laughter is a wonderful name to call the breakthroughs He gives us.

Often it seems that our breakthrough is far away or simply impossible. The four lepers who sat glumly at the city gate certainly didn’t feel like they were on the brink of any breakthrough. The city was surrounded by an enemy army, and its inhabitants were gripped with famine, starvation, and hopelessness. But within a single day, the lives of these men were profoundly transformed (2 Kings 7:3-11).

Jesus’ disciples had fished all night and caught absolutely nothing, and their prospects looked anything but bright. Yet everything changed when they obeyed His surprising advice: “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat!” (John 21:6)

Doesn’t this seem like a pointless instruction? If there were no fish on the left side of their small boat, why would it make any difference if they tried the right-hand side?

But the disciples were closer to a breakthrough than they could have imagined. They took Jesus’ advice, and that made all the difference. Within moments, they had caught 153 large fish.

How long will it take for YOUR breakthrough? Isaac was born within a year of God’s prediction to Abraham and Sarah. The lepers received their windfall of treasure within 24 hours of their step of faith. And the disciples received a miracle catch of fish within mere moments of obeying Jesus’ instruction. A breakthrough doesn’t have to take very long at all.

So here are two questions for you to ask: What do you need from the Lord? And what is He asking you to do?

After you have followed His instructions, your long-awaited answer can come with remarkable speed. Laugh if you want, but it’s true.

It's interesting and encouraging that many of our churches are waking up to the fact that even Christ followers in our ranks are still sinning big time. For years studies by Barna and others have been telling us that church people aren't at least statistically that different morally from those not in the church.

But unfortunately the truth is being realized and we're having to admit the studies were right. Christians struggle with porn, kids who sext with each other, get divorced, have affairs and cheat on their taxes just to name a few things.  It's not that God isn't at work, lives aren't being changed or that there aren't some really miraculous things taking place but we're still a mess.

So naturally and thankfully many churches are being called to pray for their church, city and country, that God would do a great work and change people.  The problem is that too often we are only praying for the symptoms not the real problem.

We pray that our people would quit having affairs and getting divorced. We pray that our young people would reject the habits of their friends online and not send dirty pictures to one another. We pray for people to come to our churches and lay aside their distractions. And we should want those things and more.

But if that is all we pray for we've missed the boat.  We'll be like the surgeon who removed the cancerous spots on the patient's skin but didn't consider the tumor or disease elsewhere in the body. There is a deeper root.

Jeremiah 2:13 is probably familiar to most of us but it is a key passage for understanding the underlying issues.  My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

We must pray people to go back to God (Jesus) for their water, for what really gives them life and meaning and purpose.  We must help them see the broken cisterns in their life that culture and our selfishness have drawn us to for our worth, satisfaction and fulfillment.

We have started to worship our kids and their needs so we let them get away with too much, quit parenting and look the other way. We worship comfort and happiness so we spend much of our time earning more, getting more and storing up more, too exhausted to consider doing anything for God.

And when our spouse feels the same way we have no time for them and them for us. But someone out there will have time when we're most vulnerable and we need to dull our pain.

We must pray for Christians, starting with us, to re-visit our first love, Jesus. Ask God to help us put Him first and to lay aside our leaky buckets, to exchange again our idols for the glory and pleasure of God. We must not dress the wound of the people as though it were not serious. (Jeremiah 6:14)  We must pray for people to tell it like it is and not settle for superficial change. 

And if we do, then God will truly heal us, our churches, our communities and our land. Change will be real and lasting. Why would we want anything less?

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 207 | Wed 24 Apr 2013

by Elizabeth Kendal

APRIL 2013 UPDATE - During April we prayed concerning . . .

* BANGLADESH (RLPB 204), where a long struggle for the heart and soul of Bangladesh appears to be entering a critical and dangerous stage.

UPDATE: Having displayed their people-power by bringing hundreds of thousands of supporters out onto the streets, Hefajat-e-Islam has given the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina an ultimatum: meet their 13-point demand by the end of the month or they will lay siege to Dhaka on 5 May. The Islamists are demanding the enactment of blasphemy laws with a penalty of death for those found guilty of defaming Islam. The PM is rejecting this, assuring the Islamists that current laws can be used to punish defamation of Islam. It is highly unlikely that the Islamists will be satisfied with the PM's compromise. A showdown is imminent. Meanwhile, the masses are polarising and Islamist violence against vulnerable minorities is escalating.

* EGYPT - LAWLESS SINAI (RLPB 205), where refugees being trafficked are tortured for ransom and routinely killed. The refugees - mostly Eritreans, many of whom are Christians fleeing religious persecution - are kidnapped from Sudanese refugee camps and sold to Bedouin gangs in the Sinai. Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt refuse to do anything to stop what is a highly lucrative business that is hurting only people about whom they care absolutely nothing. Pray that the Lord of Hosts will bring justice to the Sinai (Isaiah 59:15b-19).

UPDATE: Egypt is pouring tanks into the north-eastern Sinai in breach of its peace accords with Israel, ostensibly to tackle terrorism (which does not include human trafficking). May God's will be done! Pray for radical change in Eritrea, the source of the humanitarian problem.

* UZBEKISTAN (RLPB 206), where Protestants, most of whom are converts from Islam, are systematically harassed and persecuted by the local population as well as by the authorities who regard them as a threat to social cohesion. Fines for unregistered Christian witness and worship are massive.

APRIL 2013 ROUND-UP - also this month . . .

* AZERBAIJAN: BAPTISTS HIT WITH EXORBITANT FINES

Forum 18 reports that two Baptists in Azerbaijan's north-eastern Zakatala District have been fined the equivalent of more than a year's minimum wage for violating Article 299.0.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences, that punishes clergy and religious associations holding unregistered meetings. The two Baptists - Pastor Zaur Balaev and Hamid Shabanov - have both previously spent time in prison for their faith. Their church has been seeking state registration since 1994, but to no avail. Pastor Balaev (whose wife is suffering with cancer) said that, though he cannot pay, he will not appeal the fine as he knows he broke the law. 'I would rather take the State Committee to court for refusing to register us for so many years,' he said. Pray for the Balaev and Shabanov families and for the Church in Azerbaijan.

* EGYPT: ST MARK'S CATHEDRAL, CAIRO, ATTACKED DURING FUNERAL

On Friday 5 April an imam in Khusus (a poor area on the outskirts of Cairo) issued a call from the mosque: 'Kill the Christians and cleanse Al Khusus' of 'infidels'. Four local Copts were killed in the subsequent Islamic pogrom. On Sunday 7 April, as Coptic Christians gathered at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo for the funeral of the four, Muslims came and started stoning the mourners. The mob grew as more and more Muslims joined in, many arriving with weapons, including guns and Molotov cocktails. Cairo police took more than an hour to respond and when they did arrive, they did nothing to quell the attack. Live TV footage shows most police remaining motionless throughout the attack, while some actually join in, lobbing tear gas grenades into the church compound. One Copt died from gunshot wounds whilst dozens were wounded. The economy is in decline, food security is precarious and Islamic intolerance is soaring. Egypt is a tinderbox! Pray for the Church in Egypt, a land of promise (Isaiah 19:16-25).

* SOMALIA: 'WHO CAN HEAL YOU?' (Lamentations 2:13).

On 8 December 2012 al-Shabaab militants shot and killed Mursal Isse Siad (55) outside his home in Beledweyne, 332km (206 miles) north of Mogadishu, in retaliation for his leaving Islam for Christianity. Siad's widow, Fartun Omar (42) gathered up their five children and fled from the house. Rumours were circulating that al-Shabaab was hunting for her because she, like her husband, was a secret Christian. Therefore Omar decided to leave Beledweyne and seek refuge with relatives. Morning Star News reports that on 10 April the family boarded a bus which was subsequently stopped at an al-Shabaab roadblock. After screening all the passengers, the militants ordered everyone back on the bus including Omar's children, but having recognised Omar, they kept her. By 13 April it had been confirmed that Omar had been executed for her faith. Whilst Said and Omar's five children are safe in the custody of a neighbour, they have lost both parents. Pray for the Church in Somalia.

'. . . let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! . . . Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him [our Lord the healer] for the lives of your children . . .' (Lamentations 2:18,19 ESV).

* SYRIA: 'YOUR RUIN IS AS VAST AS THE SEA' (Lamentations 2:13 ESV).

On Monday 22 April two of Syria's most senior Christian clerics - Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo, and Bishop Boulos Yaziji, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Aleppo - were kidnapped by foreign, non-Arabic speaking terrorists. Middle East Concern reports that the two bishops were on a humanitarian trip to an area near the border with Turkey as part of the negotiations for the release of two priests kidnapped on 9 February. Bishop Ibrahim, his driver and another Christian drove to the Turkish border to collect Bishop Yaziji at a rebel-held border crossing. Subsequently, as the four were returning to Aleppo their car was ambushed and the bishops kidnapped at gunpoint. The driver (a priest) was murdered, while the other passenger managed to escape. Pray for the Church in Syria and that the Lord of Hosts will intervene in that land.

'But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases . . .' (Lamentations 3:21,22a ESV).


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We usually provide a summary to use in news-sheets unable to  run the whole of an RLPB. As a summary is not practicable with this monthly update posting we suggest one or more of the above items be used instead. 


This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'  (Deror Books, Dec. 2012)

http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email

to <join-rlpb@hub.xc.org>.

INTERNATIONAL PRAYER CONNECTIONS

April 2013

“Globalizing Prayer, Transforming our World”

IN THIS EDITION

1. Top Ten Crucial Prayer Concerns
2. Egypt: Sectarian Clashes Leave Several Dead
3. Istanbul Statement on the Church in Syria Issued by the Religious Liberty Partnership April 2013
4. Turkey: Call to Prayer on Martyrs’ Day, April 18
5. Evangelical Colleges Inching Toward Affirmation of Homosexuality in the USA
6. North American Prayer Summit - Change of Dates
7. Current Prayer Requests for Afghanistan and Pakistan
8. Save the Dates! An Invitation to the International Prayer Initiative for the United Nations, November 18-20, 2013, New York City
9. PRAYER JOURNEY FOR THE ARAB WOMEN
10. Christian Prisoners in Sudan’s Jails
11. Nepal: Global Outreach Day on May 25th
12. Sri Lanka
13. Malaysia General Elections on May 5
14. China and Its One-Child Policy
15. North Korea
16. Indonesia- Authorities Demolish a Protestant Church
17. 1Turkey
18. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN INTERCESSORS CONFERENCE, July 25-28, 2013, Chennai, India
19. Report from IHOPKC re: Transform World 2020 Prayer Summit
20. Mexican Drug Cartels in Suburban America
21. Exposed 2013
22. IPC Events Calendar
23. The IPC Website
24. About International Prayer Connect (IPC)
25. Donating to IPC through PayPal
26. Contacting the IPC Office

The Global Day of Prayer is just a month away. This will be the ninth year that the United States will be participating in this sustained prayer movement. GDOP is a call to encounter God in repentance and prayer for the glory of Christ and the blessing of the nations. God is calling us to humble ourselves and to pray so that He will fill our communities, and all the earth, with His glory.

Invite your church to join together on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013. “A Prayer for the World” is a powerful prayer that takes about 4-5 minutes to pray together. However, there are endless possibilities of what GDOP may look like. Inspire others by showing the 2-minute video of gatherings large and small from around the world. As nations are praying together across the globe, the USA has the honor of offering the “Amen” to the prayers of so many. www.gdopusa.com/resources/a-prayer-for-the-world

GDOP is more than a one-day event. It begins with ten days of prayer, guided and focused with biblical prayers from Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 18. This follows the example of the ten-day prayer gathering in the upper room before the first Pentecost. Download a copy of the prayer guide to share with the leadership at your church. Or pray through it yourself. You may not be praying with “the 120” that were in the upper room on Pentecost, but you will be praying with many others from around the world. www.gdopusa.com/resources/prayer-guide

Never underestimate the impact of a small, well-organized gathering of a few churches, as it can be a great catalyst to propel your community forward in the coming months and years. The Global Day Organizer Guide offers some great ideas. www.gdopusa.com/resources/global-day-organizer-guide

For Christ’s glory,

Stephanie Tucker

Global Day of Prayer USA

Within hours of when the Boston bombing suspects were identified, terrorism experts were barraged with an intriguing but misguided question: How did these young men become “radicalized”? After spending several years in the United States, why would they hate us—to such a degree that they would carry out horrific acts against innocent bystanders?

Well, I’m sorry, but this question totally misunderstands what it means to be radicalized. There’s nothing “radical” about hatred or violence. Those are easy traits, certainly not radical ones.

Nor is there anything radical about envy—a prominent feature of humankind ever since the sad tale of Cain and Abel.

You see, radical means “going to the root or origin” of a problem. Hatred, violence, and class warfare certainly aren’t radical by this definition. Why? Because such things only deal with symptoms and external issues, not the root causes.

The Boston bombers weren’t true radicals. They were simply angry, envious, and perhaps demonic young men. Their radicalization was counterfeit, for it failed to address the heart of the matter—which is always a matter of the heart.

Jesus was a true radical, for He warned people they would never enter into His kingdom as long as they held on to hatred, jealously, or unforgiveness. He rejected the Zealots’ call for violence, but He said the answer wasn’t in being religious either—you must be spiritually reborn. Your proud, hard, self-centered heart must be replaced!

What does it look like to be a true radical? Jesus said you must love your enemies and those who persecute you. Instead of killing people who disagree with you, you must lay down your life in serving them and showing them the truth.

We need some true followers of Jesus today—people radicalized through and through by a gospel message that transforms lives and brings a touch of heaven to earth. We need genuine disciples of a Savior who offers the world healing balm instead of bombs of destruction.

We need leaders who understand what it means to go from comfortable Christianity to radicalization for Christ. May God raise up a new generation of radicals like William and Catherine Booth, who mobilized an army of love and salvation that brought transformation to hell-holes around the world.

May we have more leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., who preached that people should be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. That message was far more radical than those who prescribed violence as a solution to radical prejudice.

So, are you willing to be radicalized by the lordship of Jesus Christ? Or will you be swayed by counterfeits or an easy-believe-ism that requires nothing but verbal assent to the claims of the gospel?

Lukewarm Christians will neither change the world, nor persuade misguided souls like the Boston bombers to abandon their foolish thinking. The only way to defeat counterfeit radicals like the Boston bombers is to become true radicals for Jesus, the Lamb of God and friend of sinners.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 206 | Wed 17 Apr 2013

UZBEKISTAN: PROTESTANTS HARASSED AND BULLIED WITH IMPUNITY

by Elizabeth Kendal

Uzbekistan, a predominantly Muslim former Soviet Republic in Central Asia, has been ruled by Islam Karimov since 1989. Karimov continues to operate according to Communist Soviet paradigms and society is heavily regulated. The main threats to the State come from Hizb-ut-Tahrir revolutionaries and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) jihadists. IMU was a local body founded in 1996 with the specific aim of overthrowing the Karimov regime and establishing an Islamic state. However, in a February 2013 report for the Centre for International and Strategic Analysis, Dr Syed Manzar Abbas Zaidi explains that the IMU has 'morphed into a lethal non-Arab al-Qaeda entity'. By 1998 government crackdowns had forced the IMU to flee into northern Afghanistan where it set up military training camps in alliance with the Taliban. When US forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 the Uzbeks found sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal regions. Because most had university degrees and experience in the Soviet military they rose quickly as leaders. Today, Uzbeks comprise up to 90 percent of the many thousands of foreign fighters in Pakistan and hold some of the most significant leadership positions in the international jihadist movement. Aided by sympathetic Afghan and Pakistani officials, they travel the region freely, disguised as merchants. So the threat to the Uzbekistan regime is real and not a mere pretext for repression as the West often claims. Meanwhile the violent and indiscriminate nature of the regime's repression only encourages more Uzbeks to seek solutions in revolutionary and jihadist Islam.

Uzbekistan's religion laws mandate that all religious groups must be registered with the government. However, registration is exceedingly difficult to get, designed as it is to weed out small, non-traditional groups. Whilst the main targets of the laws are seditious Islamic cells, it suits the authorities that Protestant Christians are swept up in the same net. Though they are a totally peaceful tiny minority (0.3 percent), the authorities despise the Protestants, regarding them as a threat to social cohesion (due to conversions, particularly from Islam).

On 11 April Forum 18 reported that on 4 February the Tashkent Regional Court upheld a decision to levy massive fines against four Protestants: Gennady Chen, Vladimir Zhikhar, Aleksandr Lokshev and Gennady Timoyev. Each was fined 50 times the minimum monthly wage for leading unregistered worship. All religious literature is under tight state censorship and Protestant believers found in possession of Christian literature are routinely charged with illegal production, storage, import or distribution of religious material. Fines are often exorbitant. On 10 February police raided the home of local Protestant Jamila Jurakulova. Found in possession of seven Christian books and ten DVDs, Jamila was fined 50 times the minimum monthly salary. Samarkand Regional Court recently upheld the decision. On 22 March a Criminal Court fined local Protestant couple Ashraf and Nargisa Ashurov 100 times the minimum monthly wage after officers from the Anti-Terrorism Division found religious literature stored in the house they had been renting from a foreign Christian. Their baby-sitter (not a believer) was present during the raid and was also fined.

Forum 18 also reported that on Sunday morning 24 March security officials raided a small Baptist fellowship in Mubarek, abusing worshippers as 'backward-looking fanatics who drag society down'. The eight adults and four children present in the home of local Baptist pastor Vladimir Khanyukov were photographed and are now awaiting decisions regarding their punishment. Rasulon Ahmedov, a member of a registered (legal) Baptist church in the Ferghana Valley, was recently fined 20 times the minimum monthly wage for discussing his religious beliefs with his neighbour. The court deemed that was 'missionary activity', which is illegal in Uzbekistan.

Many prosperous Western Christians might rather risk their lives and become martyrs for Christ than risk their life savings and become destitute for him. In Uzbekistan, witness, worship and possession of Christian literature can lead to impoverishment. It is a cruel and unjust strategy that in truth has nothing to do with security and everything to do with making Protestant Christianity undesirable, both to its members and to the masses. Despite this, Uzbekistan's Protestant and independent churches are growing - and 'God is not ashamed to be called their God' (from Hebrews 11:16 ESV).


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT -

* the Holy Spirit will forge unity and solidarity amongst believers so that in assisting one another their love will be a witness to others.

* Christ will build his Church, raising up leaders filled with the Spirit and marked by grace, maturity and wisdom to shepherd the flock through difficult days.

* God the Father will comfort and sustain Uzbek Christian prisoner Tohar Haydarov (30). [Reported to police after he left Islam, Tohar Haydarov was then framed and sentenced in March 2010 to ten years in prison on false drug trafficking charges.]

* God, who rules heaven and earth, will raise up political and civic leaders in Uzbekistan who will establish justice and liberty. [Karimov has poor health and the next elections are in 2015.]


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

PROTESTANTS IN UZBEKISTAN HARASSED AND BULLIED

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov rules according to Communist Soviet methods, so society is heavily regulated. Revolutionary and jihadist Islam are real threats to his regime. Religious laws primarily targeting these Islamic groups are also used to persecute Protestant Christians whom the regime considers are threatening social cohesion. Small house churches are routinely raided by hostile security police. Protestants charged with breaching the religion law by possessing Christian literature, witnessing or worshipping without registration face exorbitant fines often 50 and 100 times the minimum monthly wage. These fines leave them destitute. This persecution has nothing to do with state security and everything to do with making Protestant Christianity undesirable to its members and to the masses. Despite this, Uzbekistan's Protestant and independent churches are growing. Please pray for them.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books,
Dec. 2012) http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email to

  <join-rlpb@hub.xc.org>.

Good leaders are like training wheels on a bicycle. They are a indispensable to get you started, but they’re removed once you’re able to ride on your own.

The transition away from training wheels can be scary, but it’s exhilarating to discover you can succeed without them. You can travel farther, faster, and have lots more fun on the journey.

Good parenting is the same way. Newborn babies are utterly dependent on their parents for their very survival. But gradually they mature and become self-sufficient, able to navigate life on their own. Wise parents understand this process. They are willing to remove the training wheels at the appropriate time, even though this involves a certain degree of risk.

However, some leaders—and some parents—insist on keeping the training wheels on for too long. Either they are fearful of an accident, or they simply love the sense of being “needed” by those they lead.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says leaders are called “to equip God’s people to do his work.” You see, the purpose of “training” wheels is to train people to ride without them. Do you see the parallel here?

Any other kind of leadership is self-serving and even toxic. Wise leaders and wise parents will resist the urge to create a culture of dependency. Like a mother eagle, they will prepare the next generation to FLY!

Of course, some people don’t want their training wheels removed. They are scared to ride through life without constant supervision and control. No wonder there are so many codependent families and churches—not to mention codependent politicians and their constituents.

As you assess your own relationships today, consider taking a step of faith and removing some of the training wheels. Entrust yourself and the people you are leading to God (Acts 20:32). Yes, some oversight and accountability may still be needed, but learn to maximize freedom. Teach people to depend on the Lord instead of on you.

This is the only way people can soar into their destiny. I don’t think you’ll see any training wheels in heaven.

I am the National Prayer Coordinator for Christian Grandparenting Network and I would like to share my thoughts about WHY there is an urgency to pray for our grandchildren.

We live in a time of extraordinary circumstances and events. We have seen many events of evil in our world over the past year with many innocent lives taken away from us. In our society, our nation, our world— we see the need of grandparents actively influencing their grandchildren for Christ. We need to be intentional. It takes an effort. It takes prayer. It takes you.

Our role as grandparents in the lives of our grandchildren is unique and powerful. Our influence is incredibly important. Never forget that no matter who we are or what our situation is, God is in it with us. He has the power to make our efforts for His kingdom take root and bear fruit. He just needs us to stay involved. Show up. Be there. Stay in the game, get in the fight. Then watch what God does through us to reach our grandchildren for Him.

The younger generation seems to perceive Christianity in a negative way. It is likely that our grandchildren’s friends and classmates will only serve to undermine the spiritual values we have tried to impart.

However, even though it seems discouraging at times, we have an awesome God who is always there for us. Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. What a wonderful privilege we have to partner with Him in prayer for our dear loved ones.

Christian Grandparenting Network has formed Grandparents @ Prayer intercessory pray groups as a way to call grandparents to unite to pray for each other’s grandchildren and their families.

My challenge to you is to take up the call to start a Grandparents @ Prayer group in your area. Invite other grandparents you know to link arms with you and form a group to intercede for the next generations. Pray about whom you could invite to join you to stand in the gap to pray for your grandchildren. You can start with just praying with a friend, overtime it will grow.

I will be happy to send you guidelines to help you get started, just go to http://www.christiangrandparenting.net/prayer/grandparents-prayer/participate-in-gap, fill out the request form and I will send you additional information.

We even have a Grandpaprents@Prayer group here on Pray! Network. Check it out.

Next Week I will be sharing in my blog about the upcoming Grandparents Day of Prayer telling you about the free download.

God has been stirring up a burden in my wife, Julie and me, for our many unsaved family members. We’ve also heard this from other Christian friends we know as well. This is a clear indicator that the Holy Spirit is about to be poured out upon all flesh in these last days before tribulation comes upon the whole world. I believe this is our “hour of opportunity”—an open window to pray like never before with the burden of the Lord for our lost family members and to prophetically proclaim Household Salvation, even as Joshua did in Joshua 24:15 when he declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”!

It’s time for Christian parents, whether still together, or a single mom or single dad, to have daily devotions with their children. A reading from the Bible along with a family prayer will do wonders for the children. It will ground them in the fear of the Lord and in a sense of divine purpose for their lives even at an early age. Fathers are the priest of their home and they are responsible before God to bring up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It is also the joy and honour of single moms to instill the truth of God’s word into their children and God will be their husband and a Father to the children. It cannot be stressed enough that when you get this priority right, God can begin to move in your situation to bring forth Household Salvation.

There are two main passages in the Bible that support the scriptural principle of Household Salvation—the first one is Exodus 12:3 which says,“Speak  unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, they shall take to them every man a lamb, a lamb for a house”. And when the Death Angel came through Egypt, he passed over every Hebrew house that had the blood of a lamb applied, and the entire family inside were saved. The harlot Rahab in Joshua 2 is another example of household salvation where her entire family was spared death because of her faith. The second passage is in Acts16 where Paul and Silas were miraculously released from prison and prevented the jailer from taking his own life. In desperation, he cried out to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”. It was God's desire to save, not this man only, but all of his family. So the promise included his house.

Your prayer and intercession breaks the grip of the enemy upon your loved one. It softens the ground of their heart to receive God’s mercy. It awakens in them a sense of conviction that they need to get right with God. That’s exactly how we all got saved—because someone was praying.

We are a vital part of the Holy Spirit’s “last call” for men and women to repent before Christ comes for His Bride! The devil is not happy with us praying for our loved ones who are held captive by him, so be prepared for a fight as you begin to stand in the gap, but know that God stands with you to strengthen you in the fiercest warfare ever fought on planet earth. You can expect your loved ones to react in a negative and even angry manner initially, but do not be disheartened—that is a sure sign that God is working. Keep up the praying and stand your ground and see the salvation of the Lord! Here are four basic points to assist you in knowing how to pray more effectively for your loved ones.

POINT #1. Pray with CONFIDENCE—this is the ASSURANCE that God hears your prayer!  1John 5:14 tells us, “this is the confidence that we have in Him, for if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” We also know according to 2Peter 3:9 that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” That includes your loved ones! So pray in faith and boldness knowing that you are praying according to God’s will for your unsaved family. Household salvation is always God’s will.

POINT #2. Pray with COMMAND—this is the imparted AUTHORITY that we have in Christ, according to 2Corinthians 10:4-5 for the “pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, (arguments) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” Command the enemy to release your loved one from his grip of deception, apathy and human reasoning.

POINT #3. Pray for CONVICTION—this is the God-aroused AWARENESS in your loved one’s soul of their need for repentance and godly sorrow that works salvation. How does this happen? Through intercessory prayer that removes the spiritual blinders from their eyes and awakens them to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. No one can come to Christ on their own accord until they are first drawn by the Spirit. This happens when you pray for hot conviction on their sinful heart. Remember that Ephesians 6:12 tells us that  we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

POINT #4. Pray for COMPASSION—this is the unconditional ACCEPTANCE of who your loved one is, regardless of their ungodly lifestyle. No matter what they have done, they are a still a soul in need of salvation. Matthew 9:36 tells us that,“When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd”. Lost sheep without a Shepherd. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes and let’s remember where we came from and what our lives used to be like before Jesus, our Good Shepherd, rescued us from sin and destruction, when old things passed away and all things became new. While not condoning their sin, your loving acceptance of them will work more powerfully upon their heart than a thousand sermons. Leave the preaching to others who God will bring into their lives to witness to them through your prayers of compassion.

At the time that I was preparing this article, the reality of Household Salvation Prayer hit home full force to Julie and me, when we received the tragic news of two sudden deaths in our family involving a head on collision. A father and son that we will never see again on this earth. They won’t be at family gatherings anymore at Christmas time and weddings and special occasions. Death is so final and that’s why the Holy Spirit is sounding an urgent plea to bring our loved ones to the throne of grace while there is still time, where God can extend mercy and grace in their lives toward Household Salvation. Jesus stands poised with the Lamb’s Book of Life opened, ready to record your loved ones’ names in its eternal pages, and when the roll is called up yonder, they’ll be there!

As we close the 40-day period of Seek God for the City 2013, the team at WayMakers have heard from some of the thousands who used to the prayer guide to pray beyond themselves toward great things God has promised, many of them for the first time. Here are a few examples:

“I love that you can cover the world in prayer in 40 days.”

“It brought us together to pray strategically for our city.”

“Allowed us to focus on needs outside our four walls.”

“It grows your prayer life by giving you a greater vision for the world.”

I've heard from some that are continuing to use Seek God in the months ahead. Someone figured out that this year there are 40 weeks from Palm Sunday to the end of the year. So they are going to be praying one of the 40 prayers during each week for the next 40 weeks.

Another way to continue praying is to get the Seek God for the City app. Use the app to set a weekly reminder for yourself and tap “Today’s Prayer” to let the app pick a random prayer for you. If you have last year’s app, switch between the two for an even greater variety. www.waymakers.org/app

Mark the dates for next year’s Seek God for the City: March 5 to Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014.

I want you to know of two more upcoming opportunities for united prayer.

Global Day of Prayer2013   

The Global Day of Prayer is coming soon, giving your church an opportunity to pray with many others around the world. Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013, will be the ninth year that the United States will be participating in the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP). The vision is as simple as it is profound: The glory of Christ and the blessing of all nations.

GDOP is more than a one-day event. It begins with ten days of prayer, guided and focused with biblical prayers from Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 18. This follows the example of the ten-day prayer gathering in the upper room before the first Pentecost. A team of international leaders has written the 10-Day Prayer Guide designed to help focus the prayers of people all over the world. Download and print or photocopy all the copies you need. www.gdopusa.com/resources/prayer-guide

On May 19, 2013, Christians will gather to pray and repent with sincere hearts and united hopes. Once again we will be gathering locally but praying globally. This year we will see even more of an emphasis on local churches praying the “Prayer for the World” as part of their normal Pentecost Sunday services.

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World 

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World invite you to pray, using a special prayer guide called 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. This annual prayer guide calls Christians from all over the world to pray for Muslims during Ramadan, July 9 to August 7, 2013. This is a great way to pray with informed wisdom and hope for Muslim neighbors, and Muslims around the world. Never before has the Muslim world needed more prayer. Check out a few sample pages and order this full-color, 56-page guide at www.waymakers.org/pray/30-days. A single copy is $3 with discounts as great as 60%. The booklets will be available the first week of May. Order today.

As we close the 40-day period of Seek God for the City 2013, the team at WayMakers have heard from some of the thousands who used to the prayer guide to pray beyond themselves toward great things God has promised, many of them for the first time. Here are a few examples:

“I love that you can cover the world in prayer in 40 days.”

“It brought us together to pray strategically for our city.”

“Allowed us to focus on needs outside our four walls.”

“It grows your prayer life by giving you a greater vision for the world.”

I've heard from some that are continuing to use Seek God in the months ahead. Someone figured out that this year there are 40 weeks from Palm Sunday to the end of the year. So they are going to be praying one of the 40 prayers during each week for the next 40 weeks.

Another way to continue praying is to get the Seek God for the City app. Use the app to set a weekly reminder for yourself and tap “Today’s Prayer” to let the app pick a random prayer for you. If you have last year’s app, switch between the two for an even greater variety. www.waymakers.org/app

Mark the dates for next year’s Seek God for the City: March 5 to Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014.

I want you to know of two more upcoming opportunities for united prayer.

Global Day of Prayer 2013

The Global Day of Prayer is coming soon, giving your church an opportunity to pray with many others around the world. Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013, will be the ninth year that the United States will be participating in the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP). The vision is as simple as it is profound: The glory of Christ and the blessing of all nations.

GDOP is more than a one-day event. It begins with ten days of prayer, guided and focused with biblical prayers from Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 18. This follows the example of the ten-day prayer gathering in the upper room before the first Pentecost. A team of international leaders has written the 10-Day Prayer Guide designed to help focus the prayers of people all over the world. Download and print or photocopy all the copies you need. www.gdopusa.com/resources/prayer-guide

On May 19, 2013, Christians will gather to pray and repent with sincere hearts and united hopes. Once again we will be gathering locally but praying globally. This year we will see even more of an emphasis on local churches praying the “Prayer for the World” as part of their normal Pentecost Sunday services.

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World invite you to pray, using a special prayer guide called 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. This annual prayer guide calls Christians from all over the world to pray for Muslims during Ramadan, July 9 to August 7, 2013. This is a great way to pray with informed wisdom and hope for Muslim neighbors, and Muslims around the world. Never before has the Muslim world needed more prayer. Check out a few sample pages and order this full-color, 56-page guide at www.waymakers.org/pray/30-days. A single copy is $3 with discounts as great as 60%. The booklets will be available the first week of May. Order today.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 205 | Wed 10 Apr 2013

EGYPT: EVIL THRIVES IN LAWLESS SINAI

by Elizabeth Kendal

It was in the Sinai desert that the nation of Israel received God's law. Consequently we tend to think of the Sinai as a place of law-giving. Today, however, under Egyptian control, the Sinai (particularly the north-east) is absolutely lawless - a place of law-breaking. Not only has al-Qaeda established a presence, but Bedouin criminal gangs and human traffickers operate with impunity. The Egyptian government knows that the clusters of concrete buildings dotting the Sinai desert are being used as torture chambers by human traffickers. The traffickers relay their victims' agony to family members or diaspora groups via mobile phone to facilitate payment of ransom. Even when ransom is paid it is not uncommon to find that victims are subsequently sold on to other traffickers who repeat the process. Failure to pay will result in death by torture, including through the extraction of saleable organs. New York Times (NYT) estimates that some 7000 refugees have been abused this way in the past four years and that 4000 of them may have died.

The victims, mostly Eritrean (99 percent), Somali and Sudanese refugees, include many Christians who have fled persecution in their homelands (see RLPBs 185 and 187, November 2012). Most of the victims have been kidnapped from the Shagarab refugee camps in eastern Sudan, home to tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees, and then transferred to the Sinai where they are sold to criminals. Eritrean opposition groups are demanding that Sudan improve security at the camps. Chairman of the Ethiopia-based Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), Tewelde Gebresilase, says human trafficking is carried out by a highly organised network that stretches from Eritrea to the refugee camps in Sudan and to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It is a highly lucrative business, not only for the Bedouin, but for the Eritrean, Sudanese and Egyptian officials who are involved either directly or indirectly through taking bribes. According to intelligence sources, it is a major form of revenue for the corrupt and wicked regime ruling Eritrea.

On 1 April Amnesty International (AI) released a report entitled 'EGYPT/SUDAN: refugees and asylum seekers face brutal treatment, kidnapping for ransom, and human trafficking'. (Index: AFR 04/001/2013). AI is appealing that Egypt and Sudan should 'make urgent and concerted efforts to stop asylum-seekers and refugees being kidnapped from camps in Sudan, forcibly transported to Egypt, and being severely abused in the Sinai desert'. Reporting on a typical case, AI writes, 'On 22 January 2013, two Eritrean women living in the Shagarab camps set out to go to church, but did not arrive at their destination. Camp residents believe they were kidnapped.'

Recently five Eritreans escaped from their captors during a fierce night storm. Whilst two perished en route, three made it to safety. Mhretab (27) is frail and heavily scarred. 'We had barely anything to eat or drink,' he explains. 'And we weren't allowed to sleep. If we did, they burned us. They scorched the skin on our arms or backs with burning plastic, or they burned us directly with lighters. They hung us from our feet and hit us. If we cried, they called our families and we had to beg them over the phone to pay for us.' By selling everything they owned and taking up a collection at church, Mhretab's family raised the ransom. But instead of releasing Mhretab, his kidnappers sold him on to other human traffickers. Lemlem (15) is totally traumatised. Wearing only a sweater, she asks the home owner if there is any underwear she can put on.

In another case, Ahlam (8) saw her 'parents' brutalised and other hostages murdered. On 12 March her captors put her on the phone to Swedish-Eritrean radio journalist Meron Estefanos. After recalling the horrors she had witnessed, Ahlam confirmed that the traffickers were threatening to take her from her 'parents' and sell her on to another gang. Fortunately for this family, they were released alive in late March after payment of ransom. Ahlam's uncle Adem, who had posed as Ahlam's father so he could stay with the women of the family to afford them some protection, has been hospitalised with serious torture injuries. Ahlam's father negotiated their release from Canada while claiming to be 'a distant relative in Saudi Arabia'. Ms Estefanos told NYT last year that Eritrean relatives sell land and possessions to raise ransoms. 'They borrow money from people, go from church to church,' she said.

This evil thrives because nobody is prepared to act against it. Egyptian President Morsi would say it is not in his interests to pick a fight with criminals who are hurting only non-Arabs and mostly non-Muslims anyway, posing no threat to him personally or politically. The Arab-supremacist, Islamist President Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan, would say the same. As for the Eritrean regime at the source of the problem, it is certainly not in its interests to see its refugees protected or its human trafficking revenues cut off. The whole situation would be totally hopeless were it not for the reality of the Lord of Hosts.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS -

* who demands 'Let my people go,' will shake the Sinai and break the arm (the mechanism of action) of the wicked (Psalm 10:15), that his people might be delivered and law and order restored to the desert.

* will send his forces to guard the mostly Eritrean refugees - many of whom are Christians - in Sudan's Shagarab camps. 'The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.' (Psalm 34:7 ESV); may all the refugees look to him and put their hope in him.

* will intervene in Eritrea, the source of the problem, to liberate it from its corrupt, repressive and wicked regime.

Please pray Psalm 10 over Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt, '. . . so that man, who is of the earth, may strike terror no more' (v18b ESV).


SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

EVIL THRIVES IN LAWLESS SINAI

Political and religious refugees fleeing repression and persecution in Eritrea often end up in eastern Sudan's Shagarab refugee camps. These camps are grossly insecure and refugees are routinely kidnapped and sold to Bedouin criminals in Egypt's lawless Sinai desert. Here they are tortured until ransom is paid. Some are released alive, but many traffickers take the ransom and then sell their victims on to other traffickers. It is estimated some 7000, mostly Eritrean refugees, have been abused this way in the last four years and that around 4000 may have died. Amongst the victims are many Christians who have fled persecution. Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt have no interest in stopping what is for them a very lucrative business. Please pray for the Lord of Hosts to intervene.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com


We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today' (Deror Books, Dec. 2012)

http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html 

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email to

<join-rlpb@hub.xc.org>.

Developing a yearly rhythm for church prayer

PALATINE, Ill. (BP) -- Nine years into my pastorate of a small, suburban congregation all heaven broke loose. On a Sunday in December 1989, like the Berlin Wall that had recently crumbled half-way across the globe, a wall came crashing down in our church. Our creative but comfortable evangelical congregation suddenly went from singing three short choruses each Sunday to worshipping for 30 minutes or more. Our theology of the Holy Spirit went from belief to experience. We began a journey that took us into realms of prayer we had never imagined.

Looking back on that experience more than a decade later, I realized the Holy Spirit had led us into a rhythm of praying. The rhythm of our praying allowed all of us, not just individuals, but the church as a whole, to move closer to the Apostle Paul's command to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Hardly realizing how it had happened, we had developed an approach to praying that was daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally and annually. With a variety of prayer opportunities, we involved more than just the praying core of the congregation in different forms of significant and strategic prayer. 

Here is a sample of some of the things our congregation did as we developed a rhythmic pattern for prayer:

Daily. My goal was for prayer to permeate the life of every member of our congregation every day. Sometimes I asked everyone to follow the same daily prayer guide such as Seek God for the City (www.waymakers.org) so that we all were praying toward the same needs or issues on the same day. Regularly, I reinforced the prayer habit in my sermons and teachings as well as by distributing prayer-focused resources (articles, books and so on) to various leaders and members to stir up their interest for daily prayer. 

Weekly. We usually held an all-church meeting devoted to prayer once a week. In addition, small groups transformed into places of prayer, and leaders were trained in how to facilitate Spirit-led prayer. 

Monthly. Some of our members who were unsure about coming to a weekly gathering were willing to try a monthly prayer time. These times allowed people who were hesitant to jump into (what they thought was) the deep end of the pool get in more gradually, wading in at their own pace. These gatherings often were focused on Christ as together we celebrated the Lord's Supper, and shared songs, Scriptures and spoken prayers of thanksgiving. 

Seasonally. Often holidays or other special days provided the opportunity to call the church to prayer. These special events varied in theme (such as the National Day of Prayer) or focus (e.g. spiritual warfare on Halloween). We also held prayer workshops several times a year that combined teaching and modeling as a way to help members take another step into the ministry of prayer.

Annually. Soon after our Berlin Wall experience, I had begun attending a Pastors' Prayer Group (http://nppn.org/PPG.htm) in which we actually spent more time praying than talking! At least once a year we would get away for an extended time of prayer. Those one-day retreats were life-transforming for me personally, but also led me to change our congregation's yearly planning retreats. As the leaders of the church came aside to plan I made certain we also set aside substantial time to pray. We learned that the unity we needed in order to discern and decide future plans was the fruit of spending significant time praising, seeking and listening to the Lord before and during our planning sessions. Because of the prayerful focus of the few, the entire congregation was blessed with God's agenda for the coming year. 

The possibilities are endless when a pastor, prayer leader or church leadership team champions a rhythmic perspective on the prayer life of the congregation. If you would like to begin a rhythm of prayer in your church, ask yourself these questions as you prayerfully consider the next 12 months:

Daily: What resources can you provide to your church members to challenge and equip them to pray meaningfully every day? Scripture-based prayer cards (http://www.navpress.com/catalog/57/Prayer-Cards-Spiritual-Growth) are one possibility. 

Weekly: Is there a weekly doorway into a place of prayer that is appropriate for everyone in your congregation? Is there substantial time given to prayer when men's or women's groups meet? Do the Sunday School classes or fellowship group have a segment devoted to prayer? Is there a prayer room available for members to visit any time? Do worshippers have an opportunity to participate in prayer during the weekend services?

Monthly: Can you provide training workshops incorporating a focus on a specific aspect of prayer (such as intercession, missions-focused groups, prayer walking or healing prayer)? Could you invite the members to the Lord's Table with a different prayer emphasis each month?

Seasonally: Which holidays can you capitalize upon to create a special prayer event each month? For example, Valentine's Day (marriages), Thanksgiving, or the beginning of the new school year? 

Annually: Could you provide your members with a 24- to 48-hour prayer summit experience? (Go to www.prayersummits.net for information.)

Think about it: If you can start motivating your congregation to become actively involved in church-wide prayer, walls may come down and all heaven might break loose!
--30--
Phil Miglioratti is state prayer consultant for the Illinois Baptist State Association. Initial articles about the Call to Prayer that Frank Page issued to Southern Baptists for 2013 can be read here and here. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Lord, I start so strong

    saying "Anywhere!"

And I try to war and to defend you

    with sharpness and steel.

But Lord, I merely maim and wound;

    You alone can heal.

And then, bewildered in the mess,

    I start denying, all confused.

But Lord, that crowing in the night

    has jerked my spirit to attention.

And now I know—You knew it then—

    I'm weak,

    inept,

    cowardly,

    betraying,

    dust,

    guilty—just like him.*

O Lord, compassionate and healing,

    You prayed then.

And now I turn

    in humble weakness and

       in faith

    to worship You—and then to strengthen them.

Hallowed by Thy name!

*The high priest's servant, if read from Peter's point of view; Peter,if read from a personal point of view. From Luke 22:31-62

Carolyn Roper

“Sending prayers your way.”  I’m noticing this comment more and more, especially on Facebook and other social media. I know what the sender intends to say.  At least, I sincerely hope they are not actually sending the prayers toward the person in need. If so, they should not expect an answer to their prayer.  Only God answers prayer and then likely only prayer offered directly to Him.  The direction of our prayer must always be God-ward, not man-ward.  The Bible instructs us to “pray for one another” (James 5:16), but to address our prayer to God alone.  Prior to Jesus teaching His disciples to pray, in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” He said, “When you pray . . . pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). Paul modeled prayer addressed to the Lord, when he wrote, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord . . .  (2 Corinthians 12:8).  I know, some will say that I’m just a picky professor of prayer, attacking something that is no more than a word game.  But prayer is a serious matter, and we will practice it best when we think and speak of it correctly.  So today, I’m sending prayer TO God, FOR you, my readers.

To read more from Dr. Dan go to www.discipleallnations.org/blog.

What Does National Repentance Look Like (Jonah 3:1-10)

For some time I have been personally praying for there to be a Third Great Awakening in America. Today I am going to give you seven principles that lead to a Great Awakening. They are not original with me. The come straight out of Jonah 3. 

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was [a]an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the [b]ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let [c]men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in[d]his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Principle # 1 Obedience gives a righteous person’s message power.

Here is the picture: Jonah is laying soaking wet and sick on a beach a long way from Nineveh. God comes to Jonah a second time and says, Jonah go over to Nineveh and tell them what I am going to tell you to say.

So Jonah got up and traveled a long ways to get to Nineveh. The Bible records that it was a 3 day walk across the city. Jonah only walked one day into the city. He stood up in various places as he walked that one day and yelled out message of God. 

Principle # 2 A message proclaimed as God gives it is simple and compelling.

He said that in 40 days that Nineveh would be overthrown. This is a simple message. It is like what you would hear at a sports or political rally. (e.g. Four more years …) The Message says it really well: In 40 days Nineveh will be smashed. (Sounds a little like a football coaches last words to his team before the game.)

Principle # 3 When people hear a true message from God they respond.

Get this picture: Here he was a bedraggled, wild looking, smelly foreign man whom they hated telling them the message that God was about to destroy them in 40 days. But with the multiple times of telling on his one day journey the word got around. They simply believed this simple easy to remember warning. They believed that Jonah was indeed talking for God.

Principle # 4 When the majority of the people in a nation speaks and acts on something, leadership follows.

Look at what happened next. The PEOPLE called a fast and they put on sackcloth. (Sackcloth is like burlap.) EVERYONE from the lowest beggar to the most prosperous merchant started a fast and put on sackcloth.

Leadership did indeed listen. When the king heard about what was happening he understood that this fasting uprising was a real desire for the people. When the king heard the message for himself he got his nobles together and drafted a proclamation. He and his nobles saw this as a real emergency. The king then got up off his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

He then had a proclamation read as law to all the inhabitants of the city and the nation to do the following things:

● You are not to taste a thing.
● You are not to eat or drink.
● You will make sure that you and any animal in your household does not eat or drink and has sackcloth on. Yes even the animals.
● Everyone is to pray earnestly (a highly focused prayer to God over a protracted period of time).
● Everyone is to be on your face before God.
● Every one of you is to repent of your wicked ways and stop being violent.

Principle # 5 Repentance from wicked ways is paramount for salvation.

The king ends his decree with the idea that if we turn and repent maybe God will withdraw His fiery anger at us. 

Principle # 6 Ceasing all forms of violent acts is a prerequisite for forgiveness. 

The king also talked about their habit of solving everything with violence. He tells them to stop them because it might lead to God not punishing them. At this time in Nineveh the littlest slight would get you beat up. The word for violence has more than just physical violence in mind. It refers to violence in all its forms. Here are a few:

He says that we should stop our physical violence. This is when one person injures or kills another person for a real or imagined thing that they didn’t like. This is usually based on personal preference.

It is also talking about verbal violence. This is when with words a person is injured on purpose for the littlest little thing.

It also refers to emotional violence. This is when a person damages another person by actions or words so that they feel they are less of a person. They are God’s creation so let God judge them.

Another violent act is absentee violence. This happens when someone criticizes a leader or another person when they aren’t there. The purpose is to cause them be diminished in front of others.

One more act of violence is creative violence. This is when people plot together to demoralize, demonize, debilitate or defeat another person with their collusion.

Principle # 7 God changes His mind about when He sees genuine repentance and a changed lifestyle. (righteousness)

When God sees national leaders leading in repentance He pays attention. When the leaders and the people turn form their wicked and violent ways God relents.

Today I would like to suggest that instead of criticizing or critiquing leaders or anyone pray for them instead.

Let God do the judging and you pray with desperation on your face before Him about all that you see that hurts the heart of God.

The only way to overcome national shame is national repentance.

Would you purpose in your heart today to pray deeply for the longest time you have ever prayed for there to be a Great Awakening in America? We need it desperately.