7 Days of Prayer: Sunday, 9 March 2025

By Justin Long

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Join us in beseeching (δέομαι) the Lord of the Harvest this week for…

9 March. We pray for Syria, where “over 1,000 were killed in two days of clashes between [pro-Assad] gunmen and [Syrian government] security forces linked to Syria’s new Islamist rulers and fighters” (Reuters). The casualties included over 700 civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights labeled this the worst violence in the 13-year-old civil conflict. There are reports that “Alawites and Christians have fled their homes, fearing for their lives.” Pray for a restoration of calm, for an end to the fighting, for justice to be done, and for the believers caught in the midst of the violence.

10th. Pray for the end of the developing conflict in DR Congo, where Rwanda-backed M23 fighters are challenging the government for control of the eastern regions. M23 has taken several cities in the east, and the DRC armies have fallen back in disarray. Nearly 100,000 civilians have fled the fighting, looting, and sexual violence. DR Congo is strongly Christian, and many church leaders are trying to mediate in the conflict, but there has been no success so far. At the same time, Uganda and Burundi have deployed troops, raising the risk of a wider conflict. Pray for the protection and wisdom of church leaders as they seek to mediate peace.

11th. Pray for the nearly 1.5 million displaced people in Amhara and Tigray, Ethiopia, who are living in dire situations–shelters are crumbling through prolonged use and overcrowding (Addis Standard). Pray for Kingdom workers to have wisdom and resources to meet the overwhelming needs.

12th. Pray for peace to settle in South Sudan between the various tribes. A major conflict is brewing between the Dinka and the Nuer, which may lead to a resurgence of the 2013-2018 civil war which killed half a million and displaced millions more. Government troops have surrounded the residence of the Vice President and arrested some of his allies; conflict has broken out in a strategic town. This is partly over political control and ethnic tensions, and partly over oil. Pray for some kind of political settlement or power-sharing arrangement to be worked out. Pray for believers to embody peace and reconciliation amid rising tensions.

13th. Pray for Turkey. The Kurdish PKK has abruptly (after decades of conflict) declared a cease-fire with the government, after its jailed leader called on fighters to lay down their arms and dissolve the group. Will this truly end the conflict? Will the cease-fire hold? Pray that through this whole process the Gospel will continue to expand in eastern Turkey and in Kurdish-held territories. While there are fewer Christians among the Kurds in Turkey, there are hundreds of thousands of Christians among the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, and there is some cross-border contact between the communities. A lasting ceasefire could bring new stability not only to Turkey but also to Kurdish regions in Syria and Iraq, where many Christians live.

14th. Pray for Balochistan, Pakistan. This article in the Diplomat describes how Pakistan’s government uses disinformation to slander and suppress grassroots movements in the province. Balochistan is one of the top 40 least-reached provinces in the world. Just finding out about the province is difficult; for example, no one knows how many Baloch live there because census data is deliberately suppressed amid insurgency. Pray for the Gospel to spread in this challenging region: remote terrain, threats of violence and instability, and lack of access all hinder evangelistic efforts.

15th. Pray for the Gospel to spread in Japan. A new article highlights how Japan is welcoming record numbers of tourists, with visitors accounting for half of all hotel stays in Tokyo and Kyoto in 2024. Additionally, Japan is actively seeking to attract more foreign workers to strengthen its economy. Pray that more believers will enter Japan through work and travel, bringing the Gospel to a nation where less than 1% of the population follows Christ..

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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.