Prayer Alert News: UK, Europe, and Worldwide

In 1975 Billy Graham gave a prophetic word about Native Americans being the ‘sleeping giant’ that, when awakened, would help win America back to Christ. Craig Nicholia and his wife Rose are seeing that word fulfilled in Alaska. ‘God is pouring out His Spirit here. It’s a harvest field that hasn’t really been tapped into as far as souls are concerned. On a weekly basis, we’re seeing signs, wonders and miracles – for Jesus’ glory.’ In Fairbanks he is seeing the same power that healed his good friend Heidi Baker of multiple sclerosis over twenty years ago. He expects more of the same in June during a ten-day annual international Prophetic Fire conference which is expected to draw people from around the world to Fairbanks. ‘This is a move of God, not of man,’ Nicholia added.

Praise: God for ‘waking the sleeping giant’ of Alaska with signs and wonders. (Romans 15:19)
More: www.charismanews.com/us/75703-miracles-signs-and-wonders-happen-in-same-place-heidi-baker-was-healed-of-ms

Due to the influx of roughly 10,000 Chinese-owned companies into Africa, up to one million Chinese are hearing the gospel from African Christians and bringing their newfound religion home. While new religion regulations are in place in China to ‘block extremism’, African churches are reaching out to Chinese workers by incorporating Mandarin into services; the Chinese have welcomed the sense of community and belonging that Christian churches offer. Also, missionaries from Taiwan are targeting Chinese nationals in Africa, preaching with a freedom they would never be allowed in the People’s Republic. When evangelised Chinese Christians return home, they bring their new faith with them. There are an estimated 93 to 115 million Protestants currently in China. If current growth rates continue, the nation will soon have more Christians than any other country in the world.

Praise: God for African Christians and their zeal for evangelism. (Colossians 1:28)
More: www.gospelherald.com/articles/71935/20190220/chinese-citizens-hear-gospel-working-africa-bring-faith-home-china.htm

Christians throughout the countryside will be celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus this Easter. Pray that the God of hope will fill them with all joy and peace as they delight in Him, so that they may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray also that many people will be drawn into the celebration through various services and activities held across this special time, and that they too might come to know the hope of the good news about Christ (Luke 9:6). As Brexit grinds on, rural affairs are not high on the political agenda; nevertheless they continue to present deep-seated policy challenges, prompting recent calls for a new post-Brexit comprehensive rural strategy to address issues such as infrastructure, labour shortage, housing and health care. Pray for wisdom for those in government and NGOs who are shaping policies and programmes for rural renewal.

Pray: for rural Christians to trust in God as they work through post-Brexit policies. (Romans 15:13)
More: www.worldprayer.org.uk/images/PDF/Countryside/Seeds_of_Prayer_April_2019.pdf

The Conservative 2017 manifesto said, ‘The United Kingdom is leaving the EU and we will no longer be members of the single market or customs union’. Labour’s manifesto said, ‘Labour accepts the referendum result’. Psalm 15 says the ones who speak the truth from their heart; who keep an oath even when it hurts, and do not change their mind, will dwell with God. Currently the two parties are ‘talking’ of ways to bring about Brexit despite a paralysed parliament. Nextdoor, in the House of Lords, Bishop Donald Allister called on MPs to sacrifice some of their principles and unite for a Brexit solution. Outside, MPs are being intimidated by the public, and the police have 10,000 officers ready to deploy should no-deal violence in the streets erupt. The police chiefs’ chairman said people should think carefully to avoid inciting others to violence.

Pray: for there to be righteous and willing minds making honourable agreements. (1 Chronicles 28:9)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47806365

After receiving 430 letters of concern over proposed new regulations for Relationships and Sex Education, the House of Lords will now publicly debate the issue first, rather than just voting. The House of Commons voted to pass the new regulations on 27 March, but the Lords still have the power to prevent them from becoming law. The date of the debate has not yet been set. Pray that as the Lords debate the proposals, they will recognise the concerns of Christians and many other parents about the steady erosion of parents’ freedom to determine how to teach their children about morals, sexuality and gender ‘in conformity with their religious and philosophical convictions’. This freedom is guaranteed by the first protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Pray: for sufficient members of the House of Lords to vote down the proposed regulations. (Psalm 9:4)
More: barnabasfund.org/en/news/answer-to-prayer-as-house-of-lords-committee-calls-on-house-to-debate-relationships-and-sex-education-law

There are more slaves today in the world than at any other point in history. Right now, over forty million people are trapped and exploited in slavery. Over 25% of these are children. IJM invites you to join them, standing in the gap and going into deeper intercession for the survivors who have been rescued and crying out for those who are still trapped; praying for the teams going into the darkest corners of the world. Come in May to London or Glasgow,  prepared for a day of storytelling, inspired intercession, and worship. Join guest speaker Benson Shamala (IJM Kenya’s deputy director), Dr Amy Orr-Ewing, and singer-songwriter Lucy Grimble in London, or with 24-7 Prayer Scotland’s Crystal Cryer and worship group Ps & Gs Music in Glasgow. Pray for justice and courage to equip you to raise your voice against the strongholds of violence and be part of ending slavery for ever.

Pray: for informed increased intercession that ends the horrors of slavery. (Psalm 7:9)
More: www.ijmuk.org/pray-for-justice

Theresa May has hosted an emergency summit, to tackle the epidemic of knife crime and youth violence. The Government plans to see teachers, nurses and police officers held to account if they fail to ‘spot warning signs’ of violent crime among young people. Over 100 experts will explore the scope and potential impact of new ideas, while kick-starting a further programme of action. Pray for Met police commissioner Cressida Dick, home secretary Sajid Javid, Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust, and Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, as they explore ways of supporting young people. Pray for good communication between the various strands of new systems to be implemented in the NHS, social services, probation services, police, and schools, so that warning signs are spotted when a young person is in danger.

Pray: for the Home Office to make communities safe through multi-agency approaches. (Proverbs 3:23)
More: www.itv.com/news/2019-04-01/teachers-and-nurses-could-face-rap-over-youth-violence-failures/

The Inspectorate of Constabulary has said ‘inconsistent’ approaches to policing fraud in England and Wales leaves people at high risk of scams. One officer told its inquiry that a crime was not a priority if it didn’t ‘bang, bleed or shout’. Police said ‘significant’ work was under way to address the problems. By 2017 identity theft had reached epidemic levels. Recent police statistics show that over £190,000 a day is being lost in the UK by victims of cyber-crime, with people in their 30s the most-targeted group. The elderly are ‘under siege’ from scammers. Inspectors visited 11 police forces and other agencies that tackle fraud. One force filed 96% of the cases it received from a national intelligence bureau without further investigation, despite inspectors finding a good deal of evidence, including names of suspects, in some of the cases. Another force had only two dedicated fraud investigators.

Pray: for fraud victims to have the same level of service as child abuse and gun crime victims. (Psalm 103:6)
More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47781981

Professor Martin Siegert from the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London said that the last time CO2 levels were as high as they are now, there were trees at the South Pole, sea levels were 20 metres higher than they are now, and global temperatures were 3C-4C warmer. If we keep carbon emissions going at the current rate, by the end of the century we will have 1,000ppm, compared to the low 280ppm level of CO2 prior to the industrial revolution. The Bible says God created the light, land, sea, vegetation, fish, birds and every living creature and ‘saw that it was good’. The earth and everything on it reflect the wonder of God; our concern for creation should be rooted in our worship of the God who made it all.

Pray: for more people to grasp how much climate change affects God’s creation. (Deuteronomy 32:29)
More: www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/03/south-pole-tree-fossils-indicate-impact-of-climate-change

Priests at a Catholic parish in northern Poland have burnt books, including the Harry Potter series, and other items that their owners said had evil forces. Images from the burning at Gdansk’s Mother of Church parish on Sunday were posted on Facebook by a Catholic foundation that uses unconventional ways of religious work. In the pictures, flames are consuming an African wooden mask, figurines of elephants, and books on personality and magic, as well as those by J K Rowling, all brought in by parishioners. A priest and altar boys watched the book-burning. The foundation said the book-burning was intended to alert parishioners to bad influences which it says come from magic and the occult. Comments under the post condemned the action, recalling that it also happened in Nazi Germany before World War II.

Pray: for Deuteronomy 18:10-11 to be considered in ongoing debates on Harry Potter. (Galatians 5:20)
More: www.citynews1130.com/2019/04/01/harry-potter-books-burned-at-catholic-parish-in-poland/

Archbishop Charles Scicluna delivered the message at the mass on George Vella’s swearing-in as Malta’s tenth president. Scicluna made the point that ‘the economic prosperity of a country is on solid foundations when its leaders embrace wisdom and righteousness’. He said the reputation of Malta’s strength and growth depends on whether the values of integrity, justice and solidarity are made a political priority. ‘If the first or only thing we seek is gain or profits, democracy becomes a kerdocracy – a society based on a rush for profit – and from there on it is easy to slide into a kleptocracy, a society where power is concentrated in the hands of the greediest.’ On the same day, the Council of Europe published its report on the effectiveness of Malta’s prevention of corruption, and called for more robust action in the government and police. See https://theshiftnews.com/2019/04/03/council-of-europe-calls-for-robust-action-against-government-corruption-in-malta/

Pray: for Malta’s government to learn to oversee privatisations, energy supplies, land sales and awarding contracts and public positions with honesty. (Job 5:13)
More: www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/94086/george_vella_to_be_sworn_in_as_president_today#.XKX7m5hKiM8

International Prayer Connect write: ‘As worship and prayer have begun to rise across the Middle East, an unprecedented harvest is taking place among Muslim peoples. We hear the same testimony in multiple nations. “As soon as we started the House of Prayer, we saw more salvations, healings and deliverance than ever before.” “We have been doing 50- and 100-hour prayer and worship gatherings in Turkey and north Iraq.” In 2018 many Middle East nations joined our symphony of prayer and worship for 50 hours. From 11 to 13 April, Christians in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Egypt will be praying for five promises that the Lord has been speaking to us over recent years. We invite you to join our intercessions for children/youth revival across the region, for the rebuilding of devastated Syrian cities, for joy and strength for pastors, leaders, and indigenous church planting movements, and for a great harvest among unreached peoples.’

Pray: for all to experience God releasing prayer, baptisms of fire, and gospel assignments. (Acts 2:43)
More: www.ipcprayer.org/ipc-connections/item/11636-middle-east-special-prayer-effort-april-11-13.html

Journalist and church deacon of Early Rain Covenant Church, Zhang Guoqing, was missing for several days before it was discovered he was being held in police custody for ‘provoking trouble’. He had published a story of how the pastor’s mother, Chen Yaxue, had been beaten up by a policeman, and how one officer had grabbed her hair and kicked her. Also, eight Christian families from the same church were evicted from their homes and two fired from their jobs, after police pressured landlords and employers. Twelve Christians are currently being held in criminal detention, and one is missing. Pray for them all, asking the LORD to be a shield of protection around them (Psalm 3:3). Pray for the Lord’s provision for those who have lost their homes and jobs. Ask also for mental and physical healing for Chen Yaxue, after the cruel police assault.

Pray: for the Early Rain Church to be protected from further attacks by the Chinese authorities. (Job 5:21)
More: mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/FMfcgxwBWSzsvxmlflWKzBkNkHZwLfDz

Stoning to death and amputation as punishments – including for children – are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam sharia penal code that came into force on 3 April, according to a discreet notice on the attorney general’s website. ‘To legalise such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential “offences” should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender’,said a researcher at Amnesty International. These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when first discussed five years ago. Amnesty expressed grave concerns: ‘This penal code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights. As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.’

Pray: for the international community to condemn Brunei’s move to allow torture and other cruel punishments. (Psalm 102:20)
More: www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/brunei-darussalam-heinous-punishments-to-become-law-next-week/

Before Cyclone Idai devastated 1.7 million lives, Mozambique was known as the ‘Land of Smiles’. Now there is no electricity, no running water, homelessness, cholera and many still awaiting aid. But the greatest tragedy is that many of these souls were unprepared to face eternity that day. In fact, many in Mozambique have yet to even be reached with the Gospel of Jesus. In recent years spiritual responsiveness has increased, and many are turning to Jesus. But the urgency remains. Rampant disease, natural disasters, and widespread poverty were there before Idai. The time for people to hear about Jesus is now. Pray for true freedom for those in bondage to poverty, disease, witchcraft, and animism. Pray for the Church in Mozambique and neighbouring nations, for its leaders to grow in spiritual maturity and Biblical understanding. It is believed that 40% of the world’s unmined rubies are in this poverty-stricken country. Pray for honest investment into underdeveloped resources to strengthen the fragile economy.

Pray: for evangelical missionaries to be part of Mozambique’s restoration work teams. (Psalm 51:12)
More: prayercast.com/mozambique.html

Esther refused to deny her faith when she was abducted by Boko Haram as a teenager. She was forced to marry one of the militants and faced horrific abuse at his hands. Soon she became pregnant. When she finally escaped and returned to her village, her community mocked her for being a ‘Boko Haram woman’. Even her own relatives called her daughter ‘Boko’, not Rebecca. There are thousands of women like Esther, who are doubly at risk of persecution, both because of their gender and because of their faith in Jesus. We, the global church, cannot allow the persecution facing our sisters to go unseen and ignored. We can pray for an increase in resources to be available for those who are giving them support and hope for the future God has prepared for them.

Pray: for God’s healing for all those with mental and physical scars. (Psalm 71:20)
More: www.opendoorsuk.org/act/donate/1903-4-womens-campaign/?

Over sixty people have died following floods across Iran. 78 intercity roads are blocked, 2,199 rural roads and 84 bridges have been washed away. 141 rivers burst their banks, and 400 landslides were reported. Floods have damaged nearly 7,500 miles of roads (36% of the country’s network). Government and aid agencies came under severe criticism for their efforts being too small in scale and unable to cope with the acute needs of tens of thousands of flood victims. Emergency services sent four helicopters to Pol-e Dokhtar because land routes to the city are cut off. Many people are in tents. A parliament member warned President Rouhani, ‘People facing a tragedy urgently need food, drinking water, medicine and warm clothes’.The lack of order and planning is widespread. Pray for the thousands sheltering in the open with little food, clean water or warm clothes in often rainy weather.

Pray: for co-ordinated action by the Red Crescent; may humanitarian needs be met. (Psalm 85:4)
More: www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/04/iran-floods-death-toll-reaches-62

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extended condolences to the victims of the floods in Iran, and said his country was prepared to help. But in a sign that the offer may have been less than serious, he did so in a statement blaming Iranian mismanagement for the flooding, and without explaining how assistance could be directed to Iran without violating US sanctions. Pompeo rejected a claim by Iran that the sanctions were preventing donations to its Red Crescent. He said the USA was ready to contribute to international charities which could then forward the money to the Red Crescent for relief.

Pray: for the offer of assistance and aid to be actioned and lead to better relations between the two countries. (Philippians 2:4, 5)
More: www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/04/iran-flooding-pompeo-aid-humanitarian-response.html?