North Korea
North Korea is considered the world's most repressive nation. Christians are seen as refusing to accept the supreme authority of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader, and his son, Kim Jong Il. Please pray for Christians in North Korea who can be killed simply for owning a Bible. All Christian meetings, Christian literature and Bibles are banned so believers are forced to meet in secret. Ask God to protect North Korea's underground church and raise up strong leaders. Many Christians have been sent to death camps as political prisoners and subjected to brutal treatment in appalling conditions. Please pray for Christians in detention asking God to help them to endure and share Christ's love with their fellow inmates. Before the Communists came to power, there were 300,000 Christians in North Korea and the capital Pyongyang was known as 'Asia's Jerusalem'.
Pray: for revival to break out once again in the so-called 'hermit kingdom'. (Eph.2:22)
More: http://www.releaseinternational.org/javascript/prayers.htm
Israel: Pressure on Messianic Jews
Voice Of the Martyrs sources say Messianic Jews in Israel are facing increased pressure from groups opposed to freedom of religion. One group, Yad L’Achim, staged a demonstration against a Messianic congregation of 150 in Ashdod. ‘The speech against believers was slanderous and vicious,’ said a VOM source. An Israeli television station recently profiling Yad L’Achim described them as a militia that goes outside the law to carry out its agenda. Many Messianic Jews have had residency visas and even their citizenship revoked once their faith in Jesus was discovered. Others face constant harassment at their homes and businesses. ‘It is very important for you who pray for the Messianic body in Israel to understand the depth of the paranoia and the hatred for the name of the true Messiah of Israel,’ the Voice of the Martyrs source said. Pray: for God to strengthen and encourage the persecuted, blessing those proclaiming His truth. (Jn.17:3)
Iran: The battle for Iran
In recent months a campaign of threats and opposition against any faith contrary to Shiite, especially the Christian faith, has been under way by Shiite clerics and all media outlets connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Christian News Agency (MohabatNews) reported a meeting of cleric leaders speaking out against ‘the ever-increasing activities of ‘false Christians’ (Protestant and born-again Christians!), and ‘false Christianity’. Adding, ‘the Pope is actively atempting to spread Christianity inside Iran and such actions will result in exposing the Catholic Church for issues that would be very costly to the church’. Iran has the largest population of non-Christians in the 10/40 window. Violence and crime is rising. Iran has the highest drug per capita in the world with people turning to drugs and prostitution to escape pain and hopeless situations. But, praise God! Iranians are hungry for truth. There is an unprecedented openness to the gospel message (see praise item below)
Pray: protection for all Christian mission to Iranians so that many more will find hope, peace, and redemption through Christ. (Lk.24:47)
More: http://www.iranaliveministries.org/
Syria: Confrontation and confusion
Syrian state media reported ‘violence accounts were exaggerated propaganda’; however two government members resigned in protest to violent crackdowns. The Bishop of the Syriac Orthodox church, Philoxenos Mattias, said, ‘We are with the government and against movements opposing it, in Syria we don’t have problems like Christians in other countries. We have no problem with the president.’ See Meanwhile two Syrian bloggers recorded opposing views:- ‘The media is mistaken. I am Christian and Syrian and know that Syrian Christians are for the government. Sunni Muslims are trying to bring it down’ a different Syrian blogger wrote, ‘Christians are afraid they will lose the Allawites protection; the Allawites of losing their privileged position; the Asaads and Baath party of losing the millions of dollars from abusing their position and the Sunnis are sick of being second class citizens in a country where they are the majority.’ See Pray: the Lord will accomplish His plans and purposes, bringing a smooth transition of power to leaders under His authority. (Jude1:25)
Royal wedding threatened by Islamic terrorists
In Yemen the al-Qaeda cell run by Anwar al-Awlaki is working to launch a terror attack against the UK (this is the group behind the ink cartridge bombs discovered at East Midlands Airport at the end of last year). See Also on Tuesday an anonymous Scotland Yard source warned, 'Radical Islamic groups warned the British government they will make the Royal Wedding a literal nightmare.' The terrorist threat level in the United Kingdom is currently 'severe' which means that an attack is 'highly likely.' According to the Scotland Yard source the police commanders have issued warnings that British law enforcement will take pre-emptive action to counter suspected terrorists, including warnings to specific individuals and arrests. Police are confident they can maintain security along the route to and from Westminster Abbey. However, there is a potential for attacks to occur elsewhere in London or other parts of the British Isles.
Pray: that God's wisdom will direct the psychiatrists, psychologists and police officers working to counter threats and attacks. (1Tim.2:1-2)
Joy is still possible in a world of injustice
Delivering his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Rowan Williams affirmed that it was possible to experience joy and happiness in spite of difficult circumstances. He pointed to the examples of Christians who remain faithful despite facing threats and attacks in Pakistan and northern Nigeria. ‘Authentic happiness doesn’t take away the reality of threat or risk of suffering; it’s just there. This is one of the hardest things to get hold of here. How can I feel ‘happy’ in a world so full of atrocity and injustice? How can I know joy when I’m aware of my own failure, my own shabbiness, my own depression? There are no answers in theory because this isn’t a matter of theory. Joy’, he maintained, was ‘not feeling cheerful or simply pretending that things are not so bad after all and it’s a grim reproach that’s all too often what people half-expect from Christians, a glib and dishonest cheerfulness,’ he said. Pray: for people to find a lasting connection to joy through Jesus Christ. (Ps.19:8)
Christianity has made an ‘enormous contribution’ to Britain
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has spoken of the ‘enormous contribution Christianity has made’ to Britain. In an Easter message, he said that the season ‘reminds us all to follow our conscience and ask not what we are entitled to, but what we can do for others. It teaches us about charity, compassion, responsibility, and forgiveness. No matter what faiths we follow, these are values which speak to us all,’ Mr Cameron added. His words came ahead of a meeting on Wednesday with senior Christian leaders in Downing Street for an Easter celebration. Wednesday's No 10 meeting included representatives from various denominations and is being touted as an endorsement of Britain's Christian heritage and identity. It is the most explicit outreach to Christian groups by the British Government in recent times. Prior state-led engagement with religion has focused almost exclusively on Muslims and the Islamic faith.
Pray: that those in the public eye would continue to acknowledge our Christian heritage. (Mt.10:32)
More: http://www.ionainstitute.ie/index.php?id=1427
Lord Patten attacks 'intolerant' secularists
Lord Patten the new chairman of the BBC waded into the growing row over secularism, saying atheists are ‘intolerant’ of religion. Lord Patten a former Cabinet minister and practising Catholic said that he felt he was regarded as ’peculiar’ over his faith. His comments come amid a deepening battle over the freedom of religious belief in the British Isles. He will take control of the BBC Trust next month. He is the highest-profile political figure to enter the debate over what is seen as a creeping attempt to remove Christianity from public life. His comments angered secularists who expressed concern that his faith could affect his ability to remain objective in making decisions. Speaking last week at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward in Chiswick on the theme, ‘Faith and Public Service - Christian witness in the wider world’, he said he was dismayed by the attitude of secularists to the Pope's visit last year. Pray: that God would use Lord Patten in his role at the BBC and many other Christians in the media to be His vessels of hope in the face of secular values. (Ps.33:8) More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8469734/Lord-Patten-attacks-intolerant-secularists.htmll
Atheists should drop anti-religion campaigns
Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, has called on anti-religion campaigners to abandon their tactics and strive for ‘peaceful coexistence’ with mainstream religious groups. Rees, one of the country's most senior scientists, criticised those who pit science against religion and urged atheists to embrace the moderate strands of faith in opposing fundamentalism. Rees was among the first generation of scientists to contemplate the big bang. In subsequent work he has asked how large is physical reality. Rees, who does not believe in God, described himself as an ‘accommodationist’ and ‘tribal Christian’ who was happy to attend church services. ‘Campaigning against religion can be socially counter-productive. If teachers take the uncompromising line that God and Darwinism are irreconcilable, many young people raised in a faith-based culture will stick with their religion and be lost to science. Moreover, we need all the allies we can muster against fundamentalism – a palpable, perhaps growing concern,’ he wrote.
Pray: for a wider recognition that, as many scientists affirm, belief in God and the study of science are fully compatible. (Je.31:35)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/apr/24/martin-rees-atheists-drop-campaigns
Scottish Cardinal condemns ‘aggressive secularism’
In his Easter Sunday homily, delivered in St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien stressed the ‘common ancestry’ of all Christians as he paid tribute to friends in the Church of Scotland and reiterated the Catholic Church’s commitment to finding full unity. ‘Together in the face of aggressive secularism to maintain our Christian heritage and culture in our great country,’ he said. Pope Benedict XVI warned of aggressive secularism during his visit to Britain last September, when he told Catholics that they must recognise the challenges that confront them on the path of Christian unity as well as in their task of proclaiming Christ today. Cardinal O’Brien said he had been contacted recently by a Presbyterian minister in the Church of Scotland who had contrasted the British Government’s promise to act against the persecution of Christians in other countries while apparently ignoring the increasing marginalisation of Christians in the UK. Pray: that the Church denominations would continue to work together in promoting the Gospel . (Ps.133) More:http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/scottish.cardinal.condemns.aggressive.secularism/27878.htm