North Korea: Answered prayer

Prayer Alert readers were asked to pray for John Short, an elderly Christian missionary, who was jailed for promoting Christianity in North Korea. He has been released after making a public confession. It is not clear whether the apology was genuine or had been made under duress, but he said, ‘I deeply apologize for what I have done by spreading my Bible tracts on February 16th the birthday of his Excellency Kim Jong Il.’ on March 1st. During his detention, Australian officials reportedly were in constant communication with the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which was apparently in contact with North Korean officials. While rights activists have welcomed his release, they point out that at least two other foreign missionaries are still held in North Korea. Please don’t forget American Kenneth Bae and South Korean Kim Jeong-wook who remain imprisoned in North Korea, and for the 100,000+ Christians trapped in the country’s notorious prison camps.

Praise:

God for John's release and pray that he and his wife Karen would know God’s healing after this ordeal.(Ps.25:15)

Miracles and faith under fire in Baghdad

A small film crew from SAT-7 Egypt filming on the streets of Baghdad heard some startling testimonies from people living with the constant threat of terror attacks. There are cement blocks in front of churches, schools, police stations, and hospitals to prevent car bombers from driving into them. Still, millions of Iraqi Christians remain in their homeland, known in the Bible as Babylon. During the 5-day trip, the film crew captured footage of street life in Baghdad, local Christians sharing testimony and a worship service at Unity Church. Their goal was to show how Iraqi Christians live in the midst of dire circumstances. Read the crew's story and learn how God is at work in a city which is enduring the horror of continuous terror attacks. Read report from Baghdad and the amazing testimonies on the ‘More’ link.

Praise:

God for the way He is still a God of miracles and loves to bless us. (Job.5:9)

Love Your Streets: #Do1NiceThing

A new campaign has been launched to encourage people all over the UK to take part in building community this Lent. Behind the initiative is Love Your Streets, an organisation committed to seeing community flourish and thrive through people working together and serving one another. The team hope to inspire people from all walks of life to connect with one another, and love their localities. The hashtag #Do1NiceThing is being used to promote the scheme, and Love Your Streets has put together a list of ideas of how people can get involved - starting with smiling more. Other suggestions include praying for your neighbourhood, picking up litter, buying flowers for a stranger, or going out of your way to thank those who work in the service industry. The heart behind the initiative is to see Christians put the call of Jesus to 'Love your neighbour' into action; serving those around us practically, and in a way that makes a real difference. The significance of promoting the initiative over Lent is that it is traditionally a time of giving up.

Pray:

for a huge response to #Do1NiceThing in the coming weeks of lent. (Ro.15:2)

Churches called to speak out on the need for more housing

The national Christian housing and homelessness organisation Housing Justice is calling for Churches to speak out about the need for more housing, in particular the critical national shortage of affordable housing. Alison Gelder of Housing Justice and David Orr of the National Housing Federation both called for an urgent national debate about ‘what sort of society we want to live in’. Alison Gelder said: ‘Christian solidarity means that the distress and deprivation suffered by our brothers and sisters who are unable to find decent affordable housing affects us all. We must shoulder the responsibility placed on us by our faith and speak up for the Common Good.’ David Orr said: ‘Before the mid-1970s housing was considered a critical public or social service. Since then, it has been considered a private good. None of the current initiatives addresses the underlying failure - to see that being well-housed is critical for the whole nation, our future economic success, and to our wellbeing.’

Pray:

for the homeless and those in unsuitable accommodation. Pray also for a more strategic approach to resolving the problem of affordable housing in the UK. (Isa.32:18)

Government provides no credible plan to end child poverty

Three major British Churches have attacked the Government's Child Poverty Strategy, saying that it fails to provide a credible plan to tackle child poverty. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, Methodist and United Reformed Churches welcome the Government's pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020, but argue that the strategy fails to provide a credible plan to achieve this aim. The Institute of Fiscal Studies predicts that by 2020 UK child poverty will have increased from 3.5 million to 4.7 million, and that the major drivers behind this increase are the tax and welfare changes introduced since 2010. ‘Child poverty is set to increase for the rest of the decade and beyond and this strategy will not stop this,’ said Paul Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser. ‘Perversely the strategy trumpets measures that will actually increase child poverty. The Benefit Cap and the Bedroom Tax are mentioned as poverty reduction strategies yet we know that already both measures are driving families into poverty.’

Pray:

for the Government to amend their policy to address growing child poverty identified in their own data. (Pr.31:8-9)

Gay role-play proposed for school sex education

Teachers should include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual role-plays in their teaching of sexual health, according to new sex education guidance. The non-binding advice has been drawn up by groups that want to make sex and relationship education (SRE) compulsory. A pro-family group criticised the guidance, saying it ‘reflects the agenda of a group of organisations at one end of a very broad spectrum of opinion on sex education and has no official status’. In a bid to make SRE ‘inclusive’, the guidance says teachers should ‘never assume that all intimate relationships are between opposite sexes. Boys and girls can explore topics from a different gender’s point of view, and a variety of activities – including practical tasks, discussions, group activities and competitions – can provide something for everyone.’ The guidance does, however, criticise pornography, saying it ‘does not reflect real life’ and that such images 'must never be shown to pupils’.

Pray:

that education will be pro-family based and the current emphasis on gay, bisexual and transsexual will be curtailed.

Engaging rural communities with the Gospel

Most of the country's population may live in cities and urban areas but there are still thousands of communities dotted across the British countryside and they present their own challenges for churches. A staggering 93 per cent of Britain is classed as 'rural', a much bigger figure than many might expect, although 80 per cent of the UK population live in towns and cities. This low population density in rural areas make these communities often among the hardest to reach in the UK. An estimated 900,000 people are living below the poverty line and isolation, a lack of affordable housing and the withdrawal of services and amenities make it incredibly difficult for local churches to share the Gospel. One approach to this problem is the appointment of Jessie Walrond, who has been employed as a Rural Evangelist to work across the county of Norfolk. A deep understanding of rural ways of life is needed to approach evangelism in this context, which is what Jessie hopes to bring to the role as she begins her new journey in Norfolk.

Pray:

for all those who are isolated in rural areas and for Jessie as she takes on her new role. (Heb.10:24-25)

Councils spending £3m on food poverty and food banks

Almost £3m of public money is being used to help tackle food poverty, BBC Panorama has discovered. A third of all councils in England and Wales said they had subsidised food banks. The government said local authorities were now responsible, and better placed, for providing emergency help. The Bishop of Manchester said the government needed to be ‘explicit whether food banks are to be part of the system’. The Right Reverend David Walker is one of 27 Anglican bishops who recently described food poverty as ‘a national crisis’. Panorama asked all 375 councils in England and Wales if they were funding food banks and, if so, how much money was involved. Of the 323 councils that responded, 140 said they were providing funding - more than a third of all councils. Panorama discovered that £2.9m of public money has been spent by councils over the last two years to help feed people.

Pray:

that ways would be found to deal with the root of the problem. (Pr.10:4)

Islamist plot to take over schools

The Sunday Times this week reported an alleged plot by Islamist fundamentalists in Birmingham to take over state schools and use them as centres of ‘Islamic education’. The supposed conspiracy is under investigation by Birmingham City Council, while the Sunday Times has obtained a copy of anonymous documents that detail a strategy to destabilise poorly-performing schools before moving in to transform them into academies and free schools with an Islamic ethos. It is not known whether the council is aware of who has written the documents, but the Sunday Times speculates that they are the work of ‘disaffected parents’ belonging to the Salafist branch of Islam, regarded by many as the most extreme and fundamentalist. The Sunday Times has already revealed that Park View Academy in Birmingham is being investigated by the Department for Education for allegedly side-lining non-Muslim staff and trying to teach Islamic studies, despite not being a ‘faith-based’ school.

Pray:

for the authorities that they will succeed in dealing with fundamentalists. (Ec.7:18b)

Ukraine: Report from a reliable Ukraine source

In his attempt to take control over Ukraine / part of it, Putin and his system portrays Ukraine to the world as divided and a generally peaceful revolution as a military coup. I can’t express my outrage at Russian propaganda and my deep sadness that so many people in Russia and the world believe it. Ukraine is united now more than ever before and the patriotic, not nationalistic, spirit is high and growing. Vast majorities of Ukrainian citizens and most Crimeans are against Russian invasion, calling it occupation. United churches have acknowledged Ukraine’s government, oppose Russia’s actions and made a stand for sovereignty and unity of Ukraine. Ukrainian Churches and religious organisations issued a statement confirming the above. Even the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine condemned Russia's actions and called to Putin and Kirril, the Patriarch, to remove Russian forces from Ukrainian soil. (this is very remarkable). Putin will try to do everything he can to divide and conquer the nation. He will not stop before anything as he already proved it, so I ask you to please pray for God to protect our nation and stop the plans of the devil from happening'.

Pray:

that God will lead Ukraine through this tremendous challenge and bring peace, unity, and freedom, also that the country will be without orphans. (Ep.4:3)

Nigeria: Insurgency continues - 150 people have been killed since Friday

‘Boko Haram has stepped up its violent campaign, with hardly a day going by without reports of a deadly attack by militants’, says BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross. Boko Haram gave a week’s warning that it would attack Mafa. Schools were shut and most residents fled to Maiduguri city (28 miles away). Military reinforcements were sent to Mafa, but soldiers lacked the firepower or numerical strength to confront the militants and when the attack took place on Monday they ran away with the villagers. There was no resistance. Also, two policemen were killed by a bomb on Monday morning and fourteen soldiers were missing. On Saturday night fighters destroyed the entire village of Mainok when gunmen attacked with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives, killing 47 people. Earlier on Saturday two bombs killed 50 in a densely populated area of Maiduguri - a city which Boko Haram has often targeted. On Friday 20 died in an army air raid on Daglun village. See also http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/03/04/militan ts-kill-11-people-in-their-homes-in-nigeria

Pray:

for more international support for Nigeria’s counter-terrorist mission. (Ps.22:11 & 46:1)

South Sudan: Pastor arrested as he preached Sunday sermon

Personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department entered the compound of Omdurman Evangelical Church and arrested the Rev. Yahya Abdelrahim Nalu as part of a government plan to take over properties of the church's denomination, the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC). Omdurman is opposite Khartoum on the River Nile. The Federal Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments seeks to replace Nalu, senior leader at the church and moderator of the SPEC Synod, with a government-appointed committee that favours turning SPEC properties over to the government. He was held at the police station for two days. Although government confiscation of church property is a civil matter, officials sent criminal investigators to arrest Nalu and treated him as a criminal. Authorities said if he didn’t relinquish his position he would ‘face justice’ in court. It was unclear if the threat of legal action to obtain church properties included concocting a criminal charge against the pastor.

Pray:

against the harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians that have intensified since secession; pray for Rev. Nalu and his family to know God’s protection, peace and provision. (Ps.9:13)

India: An emerging hotbed of anti-Christian violence

Church leaders in India are alarmed over a dramatic increase in attacks on Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where in recent weeks a pastor has been murdered, others beaten, and churches demolished. The All India Christian Council documented 72 incidents of anti-Christian violence and hostility in Andhra Pradesh in 2013, nearly double those recorded in 2012. Today the state, India’s fifth-most populous, has the country’s highest rate of anti-Christian incidents according to the All India Christian Council. It is believed the alarming growth of incidents against Christian minorities is the culmination of efforts by a right-wing political party wooing the majority of the ‘communal agenda’ in this year’s election. The Bharatiya Janta Party’s Communal promotes a vision of India’s roots in a Hindu world view. But there are laws frequently used to shut down churches or intimidate Christians who speak about their faith.

Pray:

for a peaceful run up to the elections being held from April 7th to May 12th (Ps.12:3-5)

Syria: Christians request our prayers

An extremist group in control of the town of Raqqah have enforced measures forcing Christians to pay a special tax and conduct religious rites behind closed doors and in ways that are not visible or audible to Muslims. No Christian symbols can be visible. In public they must abide by Islamic commercial dress code and dietary regulations and they are not allowed to restore or repair any damaged church buildings or monasteries. The rules were issued by the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) and a contract had to be signed by Christian community leaders. Afterwards the contract was posted on extremist websites. The rules formalised the system that has been operating informally since ISIS took control of the town. The contract gives the Christians the option to convert to Islam, abide by the stipulations of the contract or be considered enemies of Islam that need to be fought. Also conflict intensifies between extremist elements among the numerous armed groups opposing the government of President Assad.

Pray:

for Christians in Raqqah and other parts of Syria controlled by extremist groups to know the daily presence, protection and peace of Jesus. (Ps.140:1)

China: To declare war on pollution

It is not uncommon for air pollution in parts of China to breach levels considered by some experts to be hazardous. That has drawn much public anger and is a worry for the government, which fears any discontent that could compromise stability. ‘We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty,’ Premier Li Keqiang said in a wide-ranging address carried live on state television. ‘This is an acknowledgement at the highest level that there is a crisis,’ said an expert on Chinese environmental policy. China has published a series of policies and plans aimed at addressing environmental problems but it has long struggled to bring big polluting industries and growth-obsessed local governments to heel. We can pray that this time his efforts will succeed in reducing hazardous particulate matter and eliminate outdated energy producers and industrial plants, the source of much air pollution.

Pray:

for the global battle being waged against pollution to successfully grow. Pray for all governments to consider their obligation to care for God’s creation. (Gen.1:28-29)

Global: Freedom of press

In dictatorships and closed countries news providers and their families are exposed to ruthless reprisals. In democracies news providers have to cope with the media’s economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse. Reporters Without Borders has released its 2013 Press Freedom Index, and for the first time published an annual global ‘indicator’ of worldwide media freedom. This new analytic tool measures the overall level of freedom of information in the world and the performance of the world’s governments in their entirety as regards this key freedom. The ten worst countries to be in if you want to release accurate reports to the world are, Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Syria, Somalia, Iran, China, Vietnam, Cuba and Sudan. (The UK came 29th in the survey and considered to have less press freedom that other English -peaking countries such as America, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland).

Pray:

for reporters who are currently in prison because of their occupation, pray against restrictions on press freedom. (Ps.52:4-5)