7 Days of Prayer: Sunday, 17 March 2024
By Justin Long
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Join us in beseeching (δέομαι) the Lord of the Harvest this week for…
| Special note: on April 2, Beyond (our mission organization) will host a night of prayer for the Muslim World, from 8 to 9 pm CST. It will be facilitated by Beyond field workers who will share ways God is working among Muslims as well as some challenges and obstacles, and we’ll pray together using strategic prayer prompts. You can register today for this event. 1 Pray for the children who are increasingly taking migration paths on their own. This report tells of about 1,500 unaccompanied child migrants stuck in Tunisia. UNICEF estimates over 50 million children are “on the move” today. UNHCR tells how an increasing number are “fleeing unaccompanied.” Between January and August of 2023, 12% of arrivals in Italy from Tunisia were unaccompanied children. Pray for workers who will diligently work to help, minister to, and rescue children in these situations, so many of whom fall prey to trafficking, enslavement and abuse. 2 Continue to pray for peace in Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, the Sahel, and Myanmar. Let’s pray especially this week for those who are hungry because of the wars. Save the Children estimates a quarter of a million children could die from hunger within months in Sudan; others report near-famine conditions in Gaza. While there is now peace in Tigray, as a result of the crisis more than 91% of Tigray’s population are “exposed to the risk of starvation and death.” Let’s pray for organizations to find innovative ways to deliver aid to those suffering in the midst of the violence. 3 Pray for Syria, where the frozen civil war has entered its 14th year. The conflict continues to involve multiple players, and the situation was worsened by the 2023 earthquake. Violence is on the rise, in the worst wave since 2020. The war has killed nearly half a million and displaced over 12 million. The World Food Program will stop its main assistance program in 2024, and what will happen then in terms of food aid? Syria seems likely to endure continued violence and instability, and continued challenges to providing aid. Pray for the various Kingdom agencies and workers who are trying to help them. 4 Pray for the 50,000+ people effectively given life sentences in the Al-Hol prison camp in Syria. They recently “popped up” on the news again in this article in the New Yorker. Some of the detainees had joined ISIS. Others had been married to ISIS fighters, often by force. More than half are children, most under the age of 12, with dozens of babies being born each month. These have no affiliation with ISIS but are in danger and some being radicalized. What is the solution? Only God knows, but he loves each of the 50,000. 5 Pray for the church in India. A new piece of legislation in Assam is attempting to criminalize praying for the sick. Much of the expansion of the church happens in the context of prayers for those who are physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually sick or oppressed. If the legislation passes, it will likely be challenged in court, but it could also potentially lead to numerous acts of persecution (as the blasphemy laws in Pakistan do). Pray for boldness and wisdom on the part of believers in India. 6 Pray for those reaching out to the Fula, Tuareg, and Moura populations in Africa, especially in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. This article describes how, supported by Turkish arms and Wagner mercenaries, these peoples are being indiscriminately targeted and attacked. There are significant levels of conflict in the area, which obviously makes ministry work challenging. 7. We continue to pray for Haiti, devastated by violence and near anarchy and civil war. It has been pushed to the brink, and armed rebel groups (“gangs”, but really worse than that). The Prime Minister has committed to resigning, but the plans that had been negotiated were rejected by local groups. Port-au-Prince is now described as an “open air prison”: “there is no way to get out, land, air or sea.” There is some semblance of peace on the ground but the political future and governance of the island is uncertain. Pray for peace, justice, and a resolution to the crisis. |
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Where do these prayer requests come from? This is a weekly guide to beseeching (δέομαι/deomai, Matthew 9) the Lord of the Harvest for the unreached peoples and places of the world. It is based on the events listed in my Weekly Roundup, as well as on information received from disciple-making movements and other sources around the world. If you’re interested in my Weekly Roundup (out each Friday), you can see a sample and sign up for it here.
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