Taylor was attending the concert at the Mandalay Bay casino when a gunman killed 59 and wounded 527. He said that prior to the shooting he was an agnostic but, ‘In a fight or flight situation you just take it to God and hope that you can make it,’ In the midst of tragedy and fear, not knowing where to flee to, with bodies everywhere, his faith was renewed. The National Day of Prayer president said, ‘The massacre has more to do with the fallenness of mankind than where God is. God is with the people of Las Vegas. He is with everyone who has suffered. We must trust Him, even when we see things like this occur and we have no idea why someone would do it. We are living in days like none before and being called back to God through every terrible event we are observing around the world. The Church must call out to God together.’ See

In the South, the rifle-bearing eagle insignia of the National Rifle Association is seen everywhere, and support of the Second Amendment is as common a topic in country music as sweet tea and tailgates. The bond between the NRA and country music spurred the formation of an entire branch of the gun lobbying group, prompting a series of concerts and events sponsored by the organisation and headlined by country stars to bring the two entities together formally . But the Las Vegas mass shooting at a country music festival has rocked some of the most ardent supporters of gun rights. Country guitarist Caleb Keeter, who performed at the festival, wrote on Twitter, ‘I've been a proponent of the Second Amendment my entire life, until the events of last night. Now I cannot express how wrong I was.’

The ruling military changed Burma’s name to Myanmar in 1989. At that time thousands were killed when a popular uprising was suppressed. The military still hold the upper hand. Ethnic Rohingya people in Myanmar face genocide. Violation of human rights is part of a pattern of religious-based persecution in south and south-eastern Asia. There are eight officially recognised ethnic races in Myanmar, speaking four different languages. While the majority of citizens are at least nominally Buddhist, some of these ethnic groups are predominantly Christian. Minorities in Myanmar experience discrimination, forced conversions and violence. Christian communities are targeted with abuse, even though on paper they are citizens and entitled to live there. The Rohingya are not registered citizens, and the government is making them leave. Prior to the recent military crackdown, almost one million had already fled in the past few decades. Some who reached places like Thailand were held for ransom, caught in sex trafficking, or murdered.

Every October, Window International Network intensifies prayer for the 10/40 Window, and profiles a different country each day. On 6 October the focus is on the peaceful country of Guinea where people live on less than $1 a day, despite the country’s wealthy resources. At least half a million Guineans protested against government corruption last year, denouncing supposed economic mismanagement by their president. Ethnic tensions increased, with the country divided along equal-sized tribal lines. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone have added to the strain. Low incomes and a poor economy create a challenge for those seeking help from a poorly-equipped health care system. Christians are not persecuted in this mainly Muslim country, but believers are starting to lose the religious freedom they once had, especially in major cities. Also, pray for a Godly transformation of the media and entertainment industries, which are highly influential but lack wholesome messages.

Despite being susceptible to devastating weather, the island of Dominica has a thriving banana industry that drives much of the economy, but not one tree, village, street, or person was spared the terrifying effects of Hurricane Maria. One of several devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean in September, Maria blasted the tiny island as a Category 5 storm. Communications are down. Drinking water is scarce. Over fifteen were killed and many more injured. Many say the devastation on this island is worse than a war zone. Dominica does not possess the means or infrastructure to rebuild after such a catastrophe. Though the majority claim Christianity (primarily Catholicism), nominalism is rampant, yet we praise God that evangelicals have experienced great growth, from 2% of the population in 1970 to 17% in 2010!

A two-year study by Pew Research of 199 countries and self-administering territories found Islam to be the world's most common state religion, and listed ten non-religious nations that are hostile toward Christianity and other religions. Most countries do not have an official or preferred religion: of the 43 nations which do, 27 follow Islam. Thirteen states have Christianity as their official religion, two have Buddhism, and one has Judaism. The study said that there are nine officially Christian countries in Europe, including the UK, Denmark, Monaco, and Iceland. The others are Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Tuvalu (in the Asia-Pacific region). Only Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa is officially Christian.

On 6 October, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will meet India's prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a human rights group, urges the EU leaders not to 'turn a blind eye' to the rising persecution of Christians and Muslims in India. 'How many more victims of government-condoned violence against Muslims and Christians will the EU tolerate before it puts the issue on the agenda with Prime Minister Modi?’ No person should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs. The persecution of religious minorities in India has become worse under the government of the BJP, which is the political arm of the nationalist Hindutva movement. The party has been accused of inciting hatred and riots against religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims.

Dr John Sentamu said it has never been so important to support young people as he launched a major fundraising drive to extend the reach of his youth trust almost a decade after it launched. The Youth Trust seeks to ‘change our world for the better’, and has supported more than 50,000 pupils in 450 schools since 2008. It has now embarked on a drive to raise £375,000 to extend leadership courses for those living in the top 20% of the most deprived areas across the north of England. That means reaching an additional 15,000 youth from disadvantaged communities, in 300 primary and secondary schools, in the next eighteen months.

About 500,000 public school students, from all fifty US states, will join the Focus on the Family's Bring Your Bible to School day on 5 October. This is the fourth such annual student-led religious freedom event. Many Christian students feel there is unspoken pressure on them to stay silent about their faith. Others report overt efforts to silence them from presenting their Bible-based viewpoints in class discussions or assignments, even though the First Amendment recognises the rights of students to talk about their faith and read their Bibles outside classroom time. This day gives Christians the chance to show how their faith is an important part of who they are. 356,000 students participated last year, with Alliance Defending Freedom offering students free legal representation if their rights were violated at school.

Jesus encourages us to love the people around us: our neighbour, a stranger on the bus, a shop assistant. This weekend - the National Prayer Weekend - provides an opportunity to show God’s love to people in our communities by asking if they have anything they want us to pray for.

(Emily Owen, National Prayer Weekend)