One in four people remain without reasonable access to the gospel. Although there may be a few believers or even a few churches, there are many people groups with no or few resources to evangelise their communities. What can we do to change this? Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:1-3, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ Jesus’ solution to the dilemma of the plentiful harvest with few workers was prayer. Prayer changes things! We can pray for the hearts among every least-reached people group to be ready to hear and respond to the Gospel; for the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers among these peoples;and for the Body of Christ to labour together in the unity of the Spirit to bring good news where it has never been heard before.

At least 1,634 people were executed in 25 countries in 2015: this is the highest number of executions recorded since 1989. Most took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the USA - in that order. The true extent of the use of the death penalty in China is unknown as this is a state secret; so the figure of 1,634 excludes the thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in that country. 90% of all recorded executions took place in just three countries: Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The methods of killing used by governments are: beheading, hanging, lethal injection and shooting. In many countries where people were executed, the proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards: in some cases ‘confessions’ were extracted through torture in Bahrain, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International could not confirm if executions had taken place in Syria.

Saudi Arabia has claimed to the UN Human Rights Council that it ‘fights torture’ and guarantees fair trials - despite the planned execution of three juveniles who were tortured into ‘confessions’ after being arrested for attending protests. In remarks made to the Council, which met in Geneva for its final session, the country's minister of culture and information Bandar al-Ali claimed his government respects human rights and ‘fights torture in all its physical and moral manifestations’. ‘Saudi Arabia was one of the very first countries which promoted human rights’, he asserted.

A school district in Colorado decided that free literature provided for students by the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) needed to be censored. The Christian Examiner reported that FFRF decided to provide materials on atheism after it learned that Gideons International provided students in the Delta school district with Bibles. An attorney for the district informed the FFRF that they might only provide literature to students to avoid discrimination. However, some of the materials the group provided were deemed pornographic in nature. FFRF is becoming more active in the USA and is currently highlighting the following on its website: students will be getting satanic books soon; freethinkers; atheist group to question college’s prayer spaces. See also:

‘I am a maths teacher with twenty years’ experience, but no Syrian schools in Istanbul will hire me.’ Ali arrived from Syria with $6,000. Unable to find a teaching job in Turkey, he now works 11-hour days, six days a week, for 1,000 Turkish lira. He pays 800 lira rent, and 200 lira utilities. To get by, his two sons, 12 and 14, work 11-hour days in a sweatshop where they earn 500 Turkish lira each per month. ‘I don’t want to be rich,’ he said, ‘but I’ve lost hope.’ All that is left of Ali’s life savings is 50 Turkish lira. 85% of Syrians in Turkey living outside refugee camps try to join the unofficial workforce due to lack of work permits. Turkish employers take advantage of low-cost refugee labourers who earn half the normal wages. ‘The salary is not enough but it’s better than nothing.’ Ali said.

Pop idol Justin Bieber, who is a Christian, is currently travelling with his ‘Purpose’ tour and has incorporated a noteworthy shirt into the collection of clothes he wears onstage. Bieber can be seen wearing a shirt with the words ‘Bigger Than Satan’ on the back. The shirt comes from designer Jerry Lorenzo, whose brand ‘Fear of God’ aims to express a different side of Christianity. Bieber has recently become open about his Christian faith, after years of making headlines for breaking laws. The pop star said, ‘I just want to honestly live like Jesus. Not be Jesus - I could never - I don’t want that to come across weird. He created a pretty awesome template of how to love people and how to be gracious and kind. If you believe it, he died for our sins.’

On 22 March the European Parliament raised its terror alert level in Brussels to orange and heightened security in close cooperation with the Belgian authorities, following the bombing attacks there. France has heightened its measures to monitor suspected personnel, and David Cameron has held meetings to discuss new measures of security in the British Isles. Across the nations a wave of apprehension, coupled with the determination to thwart terror attacks, appears to be taking hold. As well as praying for the victims, their families and friends, we can pray for the cities across Europe to stand strong against the hatred which is emerging at this time.

In AD 849 King Alfred the Great wrote, ‘There is only one way to build my kingdom and that is on the sure and certain foundation of faith in Jesus Christ crucified.’ Although Alfred was never king of England as we now know it, his achievements made him the true founder of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the 10th and 11th centuries, before the Norman invasion. We can thank God for every aspect of Godly inheritance that He put within our land and for the kingdom foundations within our government, justice systems, and many aspects of our society. We can declare in prayer His purpose over this nation and for Him to display His kingdom and His kingship for our future.

Brian Mills was asked by Andy Page from Prayer Alert what was on his heart for the Middle East and what burning issues we could be praying about. He said that, thinking about Easter and beyond, people everywhere can pray for the Muslim nations at this crucial time. The Middle East is the place where the passion of the cross took place, and at the cross Christ Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’. Forgiveness is the primary element of the cross, and forgiveness needs to be in and with the people of this region. Wherever you look in the Middle East you see people in conflict. That needs to be recognised as we pray for the area, particularly Jerusalem. Forgiveness is very hard to find. Brian said that he was in Jerusalem recently and noticed that attitudes have hardened compared to when he was there a few years ago. He said that wherever you go in the Middle East you will see people at war with words and with weapons: we need to seek the Holy Spirit to touch and change lives.

Brian also mentioned that he had visited the United Arab Emirates recently, to attend a prayer gathering for the Middle East. Isaiah 19:23,24 was claimed for such a time as this, a time when God’s promise will be fulfilled and He will bring about a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The scripture says, ‘The Assyrians will come to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. On that day, Israel will be the third along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing at the centre of the world.’ Brian commented, ‘Now is the time to pray for the areas of those nations to be together living in forgiveness: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel and beyond. Pray for Arab nations currently torn apart by strife to be united.’

Brian also pointed to the prayer needs of Turkey. Pray for the people fleeing to Europe, pray for the borders of Turkey that are fraught with conflict, pray for the people confined by closed borders. It’s another country in a region where people are looking for answers, living in places torn apart by conflict. We have to pray that people will find physical and spiritual refuge in the safety of belonging to Jesus. We can also thank God for the way that Lebanon and Iraq are planting churches and seeing people born again of God’s Spirit. We can praise Him for the response to the gospel that mission and aid agencies are seeing in the Middle East.

To view the full Brian Mills interview, click the ‘more’ button.

The stakes are high for Donald Trump, who is attempting to present himself as a pro-Israel candidate for presidency. The real estate mogul has repeatedly said he would be ‘the best thing that could ever happen to Israel,’ but some of his other statements have sown considerable doubt. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights-human relations organisation, announced that it was redirecting all of Trump’s donations ($56,000), citing the ‘stereotyping and scapegoating that have been injected into this political season.’ This week Hilary Clinton promised she would stand unwaveringly with Israel while accusing her potential rival, Mr Trump, of being an unreliable partner for one of America’s closest allies. ‘We need steady hands,’ she said, ‘not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who-knows-what on Wednesday.’

Recently Prayer Alert asked John Robb, the chairman of the International Prayer Council, how we could pray for the United States of America. John said that over the past 25 years he has facilitated 61 prayer initiatives across the nations; God has broken through over and over again in response to the prayers of the people who humbled themselves and sought his face in prayer. 2016 is a pivotal year for them, as the result of the USA’s national election in November will affect the world. We are invited to join Americans in the coming months as they embark on two forty-day prayer and fasting initiatives for their nation. Christians will be prayer-walking everywhere across the USA, humbling themselves and ‘getting right with God.’ There will also be a Prayer Assembly at the end of October just before elections. Christian prayer networks, churches and organisations will unite to pray for the new leadership of the USA. John also mentioned a wonderful international youth prayer assembly in South Korea in July. For prayer assembly information read the article below. To watch a video of John Rob’s comments go to