Several hundred South Korean church leaders, along with international intercessors and prayer leaders, will gather near the DMZ, the border between North and South Korea, to pray for the Lord’s deliverance and transformation of North Korea, probably the most oppressive and evil situation on earth. It has been called a vast prison camp in which the most awful suffering is being experienced by the great majority of the population. Government officials like Kim Jong Il live the luxurious life while millions starve.
Please pray with us for His anointing, guidance and unity in the Spirit for this crucial initiative. May we will all have His heart for North Korea and pray out His prayers together for breakthrough.
New Prayer Documentary Video on North Korea a “Must See”!
Here is the link for the just completed prayer video on North Korea that we are using in conjunction with PINK, Prayer Initiative for North Korea, Sept. 18-22, that will happen in South Korea shortly. This hard-hitting, heart-stirring video was produced by Ken An and SohMyoung Lee, Korean film producers with the Pan Pacific Film Festival in Los Angeles. Please see it, let your heart be broken, and pray fervently with us for the liberation of North Korea and reintegration with its southern sister of South Korea. Share the video with intercessors and prayer leaders you are in touch with. We want to use it to build united prayer throughout the world for a change in NK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv6E2ReEbGI&feature=youtu.be
Live-in couples more likely to divorce
Couples who live together before marriage are at significantly greater risk of divorce, a recent report says. ‘Those couples who have lived with each other are noticeably (around 15 percent) more likely to divorce; couples who have previously lived with a different partner before getting married are around 45 percent more likely to divorce,’ report authors Dr. John Hayward and Dr. Guy Brandon in ‘Cohabitation: An Alternative to Marriage?’ released by the Jubilee Centre, About 55 percent of cohabitations now lead to marriage, while 45 percent end in separation, they said, adding that even those couples who do separate and go on to other live-in arrangements, later marrying their second (or subsequent) partner, are far more likely to divorce. Since the early 1980s, cohabitation overtook marriage as the most common form of first live-in relationship. Marriage remains by far the most common family form of choice overall, the report concluded.
Pray: that this report will raise awareness and the importance of marriage in relationships. (Heb.13:4)
Fears that change to ONS figures sidelines marriage
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has changed the frequency with which figures are published concerning children born outside of wedlock. Critics say that the changes are part of continued efforts to marginalise marriage as an institution. Figures for children born to unmarried mothers and those born to parents in ‘legal partnerships’ will now be released on an annual, as opposed to quarterly, basis. An ONS spokesperson said that the adjustments were due to spending cuts. There are fears that changing the publication of data in this way will make it harder to demonstrate the benefits of marriage for children. Patricia Morgan, of the think-tank Civitas, said: ‘This is a way of crossing marriage out of the public consciousness. It has been done one step at a time. The evidence that marriage is better for families and children is overwhelming, but if you don’t have the evidence you can no longer prove it’.
Pray: that despite these changes marriage will not be sidelined but the truth will out. (Ps.103:2)
Pre-abortion counselling could cut abortions
Members of the British Parliament are looking at a plan to require that all women in England considering an abortion undergo pre-abortion counselling - a move they say could stop as many as 60,000 abortions annually. Abortion counselling is currently only offered by abortion businesses, which have a financial incentive to ensure they do not talk women out of having an abortion by emphasizing the numerous alternatives available to them or offering any non-abortion pregnancy assistance. However, the proposed legal changes would have abortion businesses following laws similar to those in the United States that require them to mention other options. Such laws have proven to reduce abortions. Tory MP Nadine Dorries will file the amendment to the Health Bill later this week that would put the abortion counselling rules in place. ‘Abortion has become a factory-efficient process that denies women the right to independent, professional counselling,’ she said.
Pray: that this proposal will be successful and lead to many lives being saved. (Job.12:13)
Commission wavers over Christian cases in Europe
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has changed its mind over how it will intervene in the four cases of discrimination against Christians that will be heard in Europe soon. (See Prayer Alert 23-2011 & 34-2011) The EHRC said in July that it would intervene on behalf of Nadia Eweida, Shirley Chaplin, Gary McFarlane and Lillian Ladele in the European Court. It also said that the British courts had got it wrong in these cases, stating in a press release that ‘Judges have interpreted the law too narrowly in religion or belief discrimination claims’ and that the courts had given ‘insufficient’ protection to those manifesting religious beliefs. However, in a subsequent consultation document, the EHRC has said that it will now act to support Chaplin and Eweida (relating to the right to wear a cross) but will oppose Ladele and McFarlane (relating to providing certain services to homosexual couples), stating that the ‘domestic courts came to the correct conclusions’ in these two cases.
Pray: God for this initial success but now pray that the EHRC will reconsider Ladele and McFarlane’s judgement. (Ps.9:19)
Parliamentary inquiry to assess Christian freedoms
Are Christians being marginalised in public life? Is it becoming more difficult to speak freely or be authentically Christian in the workplace? What does the law actually have to say about these issues? These are just some of the questions a cross-party group of Christian MPs and Peers are attempting to address as part of Clearing the Ground - a parliamentary inquiry to see how the law treats Christians. The All Party Parliamentary Group 'Christians in Parliament' has launched the inquiry to seek clarity regarding what Christians can and cannot do within the law. It will cut through the claims made in the media and by opposing campaign groups to consider whether Christians are finding their freedoms eroded. Gary Streeter MP, who is chairing the inquiry, said: ‘There has never been a more significant time for Christians to make a positive contribution to our society.’
Pray: for God’s wisdom to prevail leading to positive contributions and clear understanding. (Col.2:2)
Estonia: Spirituality in the world's 'least religious' country
Estonians were recently asked whether religion played an important part in their life, only 20% said yes. Suggesting the Baltic country is, statistically, the least religious country in the world. Spires decorate the old town, bells ring out Sundays as visitors walk in and out. A closer look reveals that many of these visitors are tourists. Tallinn's large Lutheran Church almost all of the 70 congregants turned out to have travelled from the Netherlands. A handful of people standing at the back - 15 at the most - were the sum total of regular Estonian church-goers. As the dean of the church, Arho Tuhkru, explains: ‘People believe, but they do not want to belong to the Church.’ The Lutheran Church accounts for only 13% of the population. Fewer than one in five Estonians say religion plays an important part in their lives. In schools religion does not feature on the curriculum.
Pray: for people of Estonia that God would send His Holy Spirit to reveal the fullness of the Gospel. (Eph.3:19)
Estonia: Spirituality in the world's 'least religious' country
Estonians were recently asked whether religion played an important part in their life, only 20% said yes. Suggesting the Baltic country is, statistically, the least religious country in the world. Spires decorate the old town, bells ring out Sundays as visitors walk in and out. A closer look reveals that many of these visitors are tourists. Tallinn's large Lutheran Church almost all of the 70 congregants turned out to have travelled from the Netherlands. A handful of people standing at the back - 15 at the most - were the sum total of regular Estonian church-goers. As the dean of the church, Arho Tuhkru, explains: ‘People believe, but they do not want to belong to the Church.’ The Lutheran Church accounts for only 13% of the population. Fewer than one in five Estonians say religion plays an important part in their lives. In schools religion does not feature on the curriculum.
Pray: for people of Estonia that God would send His Holy Spirit to reveal the fullness of the Gospel. (Eph.3:19)
Norway: Christian convert attacked with boiling water
An ex-Muslim Convert to Christianity was attacked with boiling water and acid by Muslims at an 'asylum reception centre' in Norway last Friday, reports the Iranian Christian news agency (Mohabat News). An Asylum seeker in an immigration centre in Jaeren, Norway, had boiling water poured over him after he converted to Christianity and would not comply with Ramadan fasting rules. He and the other converts at the centre now fear for their lives. ‘If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you’ was the message from the other asylum seekers at the Asylum Reception in Hå, in the Jaeren region of Norway. He refuses to disclose his real name for fear of further reprisals from them. If Afghan authorities found out about the incident and he were to be subsequently deported he risks being sentenced to death by stoning, he claims. He survived the incident, but has been left with a severely disfigured back.
Pray: that such attacks on believers would cease, for their protection and that God would hold the hand of the enemy. (Ps.5:11)
Norway: Christian convert attacked with boiling water
An ex-Muslim Convert to Christianity was attacked with boiling water and acid by Muslims at an 'asylum reception centre' in Norway last Friday, reports the Iranian Christian news agency (Mohabat News). An Asylum seeker in an immigration centre in Jaeren, Norway, had boiling water poured over him after he converted to Christianity and would not comply with Ramadan fasting rules. He and the other converts at the centre now fear for their lives. ‘If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you’ was the message from the other asylum seekers at the Asylum Reception in Hå, in the Jaeren region of Norway. He refuses to disclose his real name for fear of further reprisals from them. If Afghan authorities found out about the incident and he were to be subsequently deported he risks being sentenced to death by stoning, he claims. He survived the incident, but has been left with a severely disfigured back.
Pray: that such attacks on believers would cease, for their protection and that God would hold the hand of the enemy. (Ps.5:11)