Sunday, please pray that God will work in Mexico where drug networks are increasing in size, wealth, and violence. “Mexican officials say the violence killed 6,290 people last year _ and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009. Warring drug cartels are blamed for more than 560 kidnappings in Phoenix in 2007 and the first half of 2008, and killings in Atlanta, and Birmingham, Ala.” Please pray for the church in Mexico. If it is effective, it will become a target as it is in Colombia, but if it is not filled with God’s power, the situation in Mexico will likely deteriorate as people are pulled into one side or the other. (NewsMax, me)
Monday, please pray for the growing Christian conversions in the Islamic country of Bahrain. “Pray that the Spirit of God would open the Bahraini believers' minds so that they would understand more fully the message of Christ. Pray that their fellowship would deepen with one another, developing into a mighty Church.” (Arab World Ministries)
Tuesday, please pray for Christians in China who are studying Arabic to take the Gospel into the Muslim world. “Pray for all Asian workers who face the challenges of learning both English and Arabic. Pray for their future employment that will provide long-term entry into the Arab world. Pray that these pioneers of the Chinese Church would blaze a trail for a movement of Chinese missionaries into the Arab World.” (Arab World Ministries)
Wednesday, please praise God for massive conversions in China. “First, China continues to change. Since the Olympics, our contacts on the ground tell us the church is growing like wildfire, experiencing increasing religious freedom. In fact, an estimated 10,000 people are coming to Christ each day!” Please pray for the church as persecution is on the increase again. “But in the midst of this growth and increasing freedom, we are getting reports that Christians are still being arrested and churches are being shut down in certain areas of the country. And we have evidence that the government continues to repress the distribution of Bibles.” (Open Doors)
Thursday, please pray for “Hector Aleem, a human rights activist, (who) remains in jail on trumped up charges of blasphemy and abetting. Last November, a Muslim scholar received a text message insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad . Authorities arrested and charged Aleem for the crime. Recently however the investigating officer ruled out the possibility of a blasphemy charge since evidence showed the text message came from an unlisted phone number that did not belong to Aleem. According to Compass Direct News the deputy secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Human Rights said Aleem may have been framed due to his social activism. Aleem is the director of a small Non-Governmental Organization that lobbies for the rights of Pakistani Christians in Islamabad.” Even if found not guilty, Aleem could become the target of radical Muslims. (Open Doors)
Friday, please pray for Sudan where foreign aid organizations are being ousted. “A moment of context: one of the reasons Sudan is widely considered the worst place on the planet for human trafficking is because five decades of war has left the entire country in an ancient state. The largest country in Africa and nearly one-quarter the size of the United States, SudanSouthern Sudan boasts less than three miles of pavement and has no bridges to deliver life-saving supplies. There is no governmental infrastructure to protect the orphans and, yes, Western Aid Agencies are being kicked out; they are accused of being foreign spies. All of these factors make Sudan the “perfect storm” for human trafficking.” (Make Way Partners) has an estimated 1,000,000 orphans who are vulnerable to slave raiders, wildlife and exposure from living alone and without shelter in the desert.
Saturday, please praise God that new Iranian Christian, 27-year-old Hossein Karimi is free after being detained in prison for 27 days. “Hossein, a new convert, had been arrested on charges of attending home churches, evangelizing, storing Bibles and converting to the Christian faith, FCNN reported. Hossein was arrested by Iranian secret police on Jan. 30 and was held for 27 days in an unknown location until his release. He’s now waiting for the courts to give him a scheduled date to appear to present his case.” (Voice of the Martyrs)
Labels: Arab world, Bahrain, China, Iran, Pakistan, Persecution, Sudan
