On 3 June, while liberating western Mosul, Iraqi troops discovered a huge underground prison with dozens of detainees from Anbar province. The detainees were treated medically and then transferred to another place to check their identities. The UN estimates the number of civilians stranded at the battlefield in the old city at 200,000. They will be suffering severe shortages in food and medicine.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on 7 June, killing at least 13 people. IS claimed responsibility, and threatened more attacks against Iran’s majority Shi'ite population. Iran's Revolutionary Guards blame their regional rival Saudi Arabia. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks, but the assault further fuels tensions between Riyadh and Tehran as they vie for control of the Gulf and influence in the wider Islamic world. The attack happened one week after the meeting between Donald Trump and the Saudi leaders (who support terrorists). Trump said that he prayed for the attack victims but added, ‘States that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.’

A Christian agency in Israel said, ‘We see a great deal of fear among vulnerable members of our Eritrean community,’ after a new law, known as the Deposit Law, was implemented by the government. It deducts 20% from the earnings of African asylum-seekers, and their employers must also make monthly payments equivalent to 16% of the person’s salary. This law impacts the 40,000 Eritreans (mainly Christians) who fled to Israel hoping to find freedom and security in a country where they could worship without fear. The funds - from employee and employer - will be set aside by the Israeli government and released to the individual asylum-seeker when they agree to leave the country permanently. No Eritreans wish to return to the brutal communist regime which hounds Christians, imprisoning them for years in atrocious conditions just for meeting together to pray. Eritreans trying to go to Uganda or Rwanda have sometimes ended in the hands of human traffickers or been killed by IS.

Pentecost Sunday is when many celebrate both the power of the Spirit and the birthday of the Church. The Spirit’s power and the life of the Church are always intertwined. On the day of the Spirit’s spectacular arrival among the disciples, 120 Jesus-followers became a church of over 3,000 (over 2,500% growth in one day)! It is because Pentecost is the Church’s birthday that many congregations include church-belonging rituals (confirmations, first communions, baptisms and dedications) in their celebrations. When a congregation commits to celebrating Pentecost, they are declaring that ‘the church is God’s plan A for the world - and there’s no plan B.’ Our individual journeys matter, but they are always part of the larger story God is telling through the people gathering in His name. Pentecost is the birthplace of global missions.

‘I had scrounged a lift on the third-from-last plane out of Biafra at the end of the Nigerian civil war. My lift was on a clapped-out old DC-4 flown by an Afrikaner, heading for Libreville, Gabon. The fuselage was overloaded with dying Biafran children and Irish nuns. Somewhere over the Niger delta the port outer engine coughed and gave up. We struggled on three engines and turned east towards Gabon; the starboard outer began to splutter. It was clear the old rust-bucket wouldn’t fly, and we sank towards the sea. Hymn-singing began in Afrikaans. I prayed quietly, convinced it was all over. The moon on the water came closer as we nearly skimmed the ocean. Fortunately, the French had built Libreville airport close to the shore. The dangling wheels almost clipped the sand dunes, then we were over concrete. At that moment the engine stopped and the crippled aircraft dropped onto the tarmac. The Afrikaner stopped singing and began to thank the Almighty. It would have been churlish not to follow suit.’

When we pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit’ we don't immediately think of Mary! Yet, when we reflect on Luke 1:35 it reminds us that praying ‘Come Holy Spirit’ will bring all sorts of changes and disruption into our lives! It is through Mary's welcoming of God's Spirit that transformation on a global, even cosmic scale was enacted.

(written by Lynn Green, general secretary, Baptist Union)

With an election on 8 June and police more visible on our streets, we need to keep steadfastly focussed upon God. When we unwaveringly ‘know’ His presence, we have renewed strength to intercede for our lands with heaven-inspired love, confidence and power. Now is the time for us to call on God with boldness to raise up the wise leaders and political advisors that the nation needs - men and women of common sense who are able to keep pace with the fast-moving changes in public affairs and European negotiations that are to come. Also, more than ever, we need to pray for our police and all those working in the front line to keep us safe. They need reliable astute support from their line managers and those in consultative roles. May God raise up and anoint trustworthy people to step into key leadership positions at the helm of the UK. (written by Linda Digby - Prayer Alert team)

On 30 May ‘Forever Beta’ created a party election broadcast for the CBA party. The acronym stands for Campaign to Banish Apathy. It’s a fake group representing the 15.9 million people who didn’t vote in the last election. This subversive campaign wants to get the population to the polls on 8 June, and notes that if the number of people who didn’t vote formed one party, it would be the biggest in the UK. The three-minute spot uses humour to highlight the absurdity of this fact. Their website informs the electorate why they should vote and where they can vote. We can pray for voters to be shaken out of apathy, and for Christian voters to put down their own preferences and listen to God’s Holy Spirit for direction.

It is half-term, but Tanbridge House School (in West Sussex) is open and teachers have come in to hold revision classes for pupils who will soon take their GCSEs. Another group is on a trip to Berlin, and last week pupils were taken to the West End to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This state secondary school, specialising in science, maths, and computing, is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, and its results place it in the top 5% of schools across the country. However, the head teacher warns that it may have to go down to a four-day week because he can no longer afford to employ enough teachers, due to funding cuts. They have had to lay off three teachers and five support staff, and increase class sizes.

The UK will hold a general election on 8 June, which will put in place a new government. Barnabas Fund is calling on all political parties to make specific commitments to help persecuted Christians. It has launched a manifesto, endorsed by church leaders and peers from across the political spectrum, which calls on the next government to take specific actions to address the genocide of Christians in the Middle East. We are called to pray and ask that the Lord - who is God of kings and governments (Daniel 2:47) - to establish in authority those who will act justly. Pray that the Government will give priority to responding to the persecution of Christians, instead of focusing on ‘equality’ issues which see anti-Christian discrimination sidelined.