Prayer Alert: UK. Europe, and Worldwide News

Dear Ron,

My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in Your deliverance. (1 Samuel 2:1)

We are pleased to enclose this week`s edition of Prayer Alert with apologies for the delayed delivery.

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Thank you again for standing with us in prayer over the nations.

David Fletcher – Editor

Nigeria: 82 Chibok girls released

On Sunday the Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) applauded the federal government and security agencies on the release of 82 more Chibok girls. Their release was negotiated through the combined efforts of security agencies, the military, the Swiss government, the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs. 21 girls had been set free last October, and the government committed to rescuing the 113 girls who are still captive. A spokesperson for the Young Women Political Forum urged the ministry of women’s affairs and the ministry of health to work together to provide the girls and their parents with adequate psychological counselling. Pray that communities will accept these victims of rape, who are now mothers with babies and no husbands. See also the Prayer Alert world article 3.

Praise:

God for the girls’ release. Pray for them as they receive counselling sessions before being reintegrated into their various communities. May the fatherless babies be accepted. (Psalm 10:14)

Sudan: prayers answered, two men released

Yesterday Hassan Abduraheem and Abdulmonem Abdumawla received a presidential pardon and were set free! Along with Kuwa Shamal and Petr Jasek, they were arrested in December 2015 and charged with espionage, inciting strife between communities, and other offences. In January they were each sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for espionage, and one year’s imprisonment for inciting strife between communities and spreading rumours undermining the authority of the state. Since then they have been serving their sentences in prison while their lawyers appealed against the verdict. Kuwa was acquitted on 2 January, and Petr was pardoned on 26 February. While rejoicing at their release, pray also that it will signal a change of heart in the government’s attitude towards Christians generally.

Praise:

God for the release of these two men, after much prayer. May they and their families know His restoration, peace and joy after their release from prison. (Acts 12:11a)

Friday Focus: reaching our young people

How amazing that the Lord chose Mary, possibly as young as 14 or 15 years old, to be the mother of Jesus. God in fragile human form in the hands of a teenager! In turn, Jesus himself mentored young people as his disciples. Amazing! We also must raise up young people as leaders, empowering them to fulfil their purpose in Christ. (Written by Phil Timson, HOPE Youth Director)

Pray:

Jesus, may we love, encourage and support our young people, not looking down on anybody because they are young, but mentoring them to set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Multiply our love so that we can invest in them, following your example. Amen. (1 Timothy 4:12)

Being alert in prayer for the election

Many believe this election is a key step in God’s plans for our nations, and are expecting a great move of God with a time of harvest. The election comes four days after Pentecost – the celebration of God’s Spirit breaking out. God is placing an opportunity in our hands to bless the UK. Please encourage your friends and church to pray. Just as the political parties stir people up to canvass and promote their issues, we should be encouraging people to pray. Every election is contested spiritually, and this is no exception, Satan will be resolute in resisting God’s sovereign purpose. God calls us to partner with Him to bless where we live locally and bless our nations. We need to pray for God’s sovereign will and purpose. Pray also for the Christians standing for election to know His peace, and walk close with Him in this busy and demanding time.

Pray:

for God to place the right people in authority at this time in our history. (I Timothy 2:1-4)

Archbishop’s tour of Israel

Justin Welby had a ‘profound sense of grief and sorrow’ after listening to Palestinian Christians’ testimonies of living with a concrete separation wall near Bethlehem. He said, ‘You cannot come and hear the testimonies I heard, you cannot hear from the people who live here, without your heart becoming heavier and heavier, more and more burdened, with that sense of people whose history has led them to a place where all they have known is disintegrating.’ He also commented on Donald Trump’s possible role when it comes to bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He said, ‘We know from history in this region that determined leadership by the president of the USA, together with patient working by lots of other people in the background, often unknown, can tip things very, very decisively – it has done so in the past.’ See also

Pray:

for God to give the Archbishop further significant Middle East avenues to walk, and a platform to say and do what will bring humanitarian help and eventual peace in the Holy Land. (Psalm 122:6,7)

Hezbollah flags on parade in London

An Al Quds Day march will be held in London on 18 June. This is a day chosen by the late Ayatollah Khomeini to call for Israel to be destroyed. Previous marches have seen displays of support for anti-Semitic Hezbollah, causing great distress to Jewish communities. A Friends of Israel group in North London is encouraging people to email the mayor of London and ask him to take action on this issue. The military wing of Hezbollah is a terrorist group, but the political wing is not. However it is widely recognised that they are one, controlled by a single command structure and sharing the same flag. Hezbollah operates terrorist cells in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and targets Israeli and Jewish communities around the world.

Pray:

for fears regarding the march to be heard and acted upon. Pray for peaceful marches, and for the police who in the past have had to recruit extra staff for such marches. (Job 11:18)

Welsh schools’ mental health scheme

A campaign to encourage conversation about mental health among children and young people will be piloted in three Welsh schools, with others to follow. It will raise mental health awareness through a programme (using lottery funding) which works with pupils, teachers and parents. One in ten young people experiences mental health problems, with the associated stigma and discrimination often making life even harder. The scheme will work closely with schools to help young people develop the confidence to talk more openly about mental health – at school, with friends, or at home. When Laura was seven or eight she realised that hearing voices was not something everyone experienced, so she kept it a secret and her mental health got worse. At the age of 15 she told her mum; she says that talking saved her. Now she has support from family and friends.

Pray:

for the success of this pilot scheme, and for mental health to be less of a taboo subject to talk about. (Proverbs 22:6)

UK urged to continue to work with UN

The Secretary General of the UN used a London platform to encourage the UK to continue to work with the organisation. Mr Guterres spoke as the United Nations Association (UNA-UK) launched its manifesto for the 2017 general election. The executive director of UNA-UK said, ‘What happens in other countries increasingly matters to our lives. It is time to put foreign policy at the heart of the election and put the UN at the heart of foreign policy. Peace and security, migration, human rights, the environment, the UN, Britain’s role in the world – these issues are bigger and more important than party politics. We need to build a cross-party consensus around them. Our manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to placing the UN at the centre of an outward-looking British foreign policy.’

Pray:

for British / UN relations at a time of growing global instability, with many losing confidence in political leaders and institutions. (Psalm 133:1)

NUT’s proposal to promote LGBT+ issues to toddlers

Voice for Justice hope to raise 20,000 signatures on a petition calling on the National Union of Teachers to withdraw its motion to promote teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) issues to children, starting at nursery. The first paragraph of the petition says, ‘The current campaign actively to promote LGBT+ issues starting at nursery is part of an ideological agenda to undermine and ultimately destroy the traditional values on which our society is based. While lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults may see the cultural and social normalisation of their sexual preferences as top priority, we maintain that to force such consciousness onto children, who by definition lack the emotional maturity to assimilate and process such behavioural “norms”, is a form of child abuse. This will inevitably encourage them to experiment with behaviours that wouldn’t normally occur at such an early age, but which carry the potential for enormous and long-lasting harm, both physical and mental.’ See also Prayer Alert world article 7, below.

Pray:

for safeguarding children to be foremost in all sex and relationship education, and for children of all ages to be protected from overly graphic and bewildering information. (Proverbs 2:10,11)

Germany: prayer and mission conference

A conference for prayer and mission leaders from across Europe is happening right now (4 to 14 May) in Herrnhut. They are evaluating the current position of mission to the unreached peoples of Europe and praying strategic, informed prophetic prayers for breakthrough. Pray for even more anointing of prophetic sensitivity on these leaders in the last few days of the conference. Pray for a mighty move of His Church moving forward with the gospel as a result of this event. May the prayers of God’s people pave the way for the gospel to be preached, with power and miracles following, in every European language and dialect. Pray for all the networking and connections that have happened through the course of this conference to be acted on with Holy Spirit anointing. It is crucial that these delegates connect more deeply and purposefully. May fruitful networking birth new initiatives this week through closer convergence of the prayer and mission movements.

Pray:

for strategic anointed prayers and action to continue long after the conference finishes. (Rev. 3:8)

Canopy of prayer: Poland

An intercessor writes: ‘The way that people can pray and support us in Spain is by expressing interest in our 365 Prayer Initiative, and praying for it. This is the 9th year of the churches in Spain praying day and night in a coordinated way. We are working to strengthen the stakes of our tent, and we appreciate every prayer and word of encouragement that we can get. We feel that if the Church is praying, the political and social issues will all fall into place. So please pray for this army of prayer warriors in Spain, and for us as we lead it. The rate of unemployment is 22%; among the young people under 25 years the rate is over 45%. Our GNP is at 3.2%, higher than the average in Europe. Nevertheless, the economy of Spain is in a gradual growth.’

Pray:

for God to continue blessing and anointing all Spanish prayer leaders and intercessors. (Psalm 64:10)

Global: preparing for Ramadan (27 May – 25 June)

Muslims are our neighbours, and Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matt. 22:39) Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. Over the last few years Christians have been praying for Muslims to meet Jesus during their search for a closer relationship to God; and we are now hearing encouraging stories about unprecedented numbers of Muslims coming to the Lord during Ramadan. Each year a new illustrated prayer guide is published in a number of languages and locations around the world. Pray and ask God to use you, your prayer group, and your church in this year’s 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus.

Pray:

for many to join the global millions participating in this ongoing international prayer focus. May our Muslim neighbours have supernatural encounters with Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:17)

Global: 20 million close to starvation

In February Prayer Alert readers were told of 1.4 million children at risk of starvation in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and northeast Nigeria. The crisis has worsened. Millions of people are caught in conflicts within their countries. Livelihoods are disrupted, and they cannot produce food. This is a God-sized situation that requires intercession and His intervention. The UN needs $4.4 billion by July to prevent famine in these countries. An official said the organisation is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since its creation. Without the funding and collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death. Yemen’s needs are the most critical: two-thirds of the population (19 million) need assistance. In South Sudan, 7.5 million need help. In Somalia and northeastern Nigeria there is also severe food insecurity because of violence and instability. See also

Pray:

for the funds to be allocated by governments and others around the world, for an end to the conflicts, and for the Gospel to triumph among the 20 million in adversity. (Psalm 67:1,2)

Nigeria: Chibok girls – what awaits the ones set free?

The ordeal of being kidnapped by Boko Haram does not end with their release. It is the start of a long struggle back into family and community life. The Chibok ‘children’ who have been freed are now young women. An already fraught transition from adolescence to womanhood has been complicated by their captivity. They will be reunited briefly with families over the coming days. There will be tearful reunions and a mixture of emotions, as both parents and daughters will have changed a great deal over the past three years. Then the young women will go through a process of reintegration or rehabilitation. This is either government care or government custody, depending on the need. Some families support the process; others are angry that they will not have their daughters back even after they have been released from Boko Haram.

Pray:

for these girls as they are given vocational training and school lessons over the coming months. Pray also for their eventual reintegration into community life. (1 Samuel 12:22,23b)

Hamas’ new leader

It was announced last Saturday that Ismail Haniyeh had won the movement’s internal elections, and that he is the new head of its political bureau. Haniyeh, who lives in Gaza, is widely popular among the Palestinians. A political science professor in Nablus said that Haniyeh has an ability to address the Palestinians; most importantly, he will bring the movement closer to Iran through efforts by senior Hamas leaders. He will revive reconciliation with Hezbollah and Syria, working on resolving the negativity that harmed Hamas’ relationship with these parties in the past. Difficult challenges await Haniyeh, such as achieving reconciliation with Fatah, restoring Hamas’ relations with countries such as Egypt and Iran, easing the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, and keeping the spectre of war out of Gaza.

Pray:

for a wiser and more cautious attitude from the new leadership at this new stage of developing Hamas’ network of local, regional and international relations. (Judges 5:31)

North Korea: danger zone

US citizen Kim Hak-Song, working at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, has been detained on suspicion of hostile acts against the Pyongyang regime. He is the fourth US citizen currently detained in North Korea: Kim Sang Duk has been arrested on the same charge, Otto Warmbier is serving fifteen years of hard labour for removing a political sign, and Kim Dong Chul ten years on espionage charges. Meanwhile North Korea slammed Donald Trump’s decision to dispatch a naval fleet to the Korean peninsula, vowing to reduce the White House to ashes. Also, Iran has attempted to launch a cruise missile from a ‘midget’ submarine based on a North Korean design – the same type that sank a South Korean warship in 2010. The current situation mirrors the disorder prior to the last Korean War. See also

Pray:

for God to give solution strategies to the USA, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China. (Proverbs 29:11)

Maldives: rising extremism

Behind the facade of a ‘tropical paradise’ are tragic realities: the highest divorce rate in the world, rising crime, widespread child abuse, pervasive drug use and over 200 young people joining IS. All citizens are required to be Muslim. There are no churches, and there is no official access to God’s Word. The Gospel of Luke and Acts are currently available in Dhivehi, but are not permitted to enter the country. No mission work or Christian literature has ever been legally allowed within the islands. Widespread traditional beliefs in spirits combined with Islam leave many almost entirely untouched by the Gospel, trapped in fear and without access to Jesus. Pray for miraculous opportunities for Maldivians to hear the Gospel, and that the government’s attempts to silence it may instead raise up a Maldivian church.

Pray:

for drugs, violence, terrorism, and the occult to be supernaturally replaced by the true miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ. (2 Samuel 22:3)

Canada: transgender school play

A Catholic school district in Ontario has cancelled a gender identity play, ‘Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures’ aimed at children aged 5 to 10. The play was booked for five elementary schools, but school officials raised concerns and cancelled the showings. The artistic director said the cancellations were based on misinformation, intolerance, transphobia, homophobia and misogyny. The play centres on an eight-year-old boy, Simon, who believes he’s a girl named Simone. Pope Francis expressed outrage, saying, ‘Today children – children! – are taught in school that everyone can choose his or her sex. And this is terrible!’ See also Prayer Alert British Isles article 7.

Pray:

for God to encourage Canadian parents who are safeguarding their children from gender confusion/identity before they are old enough to understand the issues presented. (Job 5:21)

USA: Trump disappoints religious conservatives

An executive order by President Trump last week fell short of what many had hoped for and drew widespread criticism. ‘The executive order on the whole looks to accomplish very little of substance, against the backdrop of a lot of show,’ said a professor of law and religion. Trump supporters argued that it was a first step in a multistep process that will lead to accomplishing all religious freedom objectives. Trump did nothing to address conflicts between gay rights advocates and Christian bakers or photographers who do not want to provide services for same-sex weddings.

Pray:

for God to direct Donald Trump as he takes the next steps in this process to address major threats to religious liberty and end hostility towards conservative Christian beliefs. (Psalm 25:5)