In our monthly Prayer Guide we include urgent prayers for countries that fall within the Interserve "footprint". Although we do not post the entire Prayer Guide online, from now on we will post these Country Prayers in the hope that it will encourage you to keep these nations and issues in prayer.
February 2012
North Korea
After Kim Jong-il died in December, he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un. There are various theories about how able or even stable the new regime is, but God’s word says that the hearts of the kings are like water in His hands. So let’s pray and commit the North Korean people to the Lord, that He may break the strangleholds of deception and domination, of exploitation and fear; and that a new dawn would break forth on the Korean Peninsula – a time of awakening and true, holistic transformation.
Arab world
It is a region still in upheaval and transition, with every country and situation different; some are in sharp deterioration (like Syria) whereas others have already held elections but are facing a very uncertain future under untested leadership. Keep praying for these peoples, their leaders (old and new), their direction and ambitions: may they encounter the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob this year; may the Isa ben Miriam whom they call a prophet (peace be upon His name) become more than a prophet, become their deliverer and the hope and salvation of their nations.
December 2011 & January 2012
Thailand
The recent floods have devastated large areas with 30% of provinces declared disaster zones, and huge impact on rice harvest and industry (including many foreign companies). Half of Bangkok was flooded, and the economic growth forecast has been halved. Please pray for help for those displaced, bereaved, and whose homes, businesses and livelihoods are damaged or destroyed. Pray that communities will have courage and creativity as they live with current reality, but also in facing an uncertain future. Pray for wisdom and integrity of leadership as planning for the future is shaped; and that those in power will not give in to temptations of corruption, and seeking their own good.
Libya
As the transition to ‘another era’ is in process keep praying for this nation (and the various Islamic nations in turmoil and strife). Pray for the new leaders to govern wisely and justly, with true concern for their people and the welfare of the whole nation. Intercede for openness and freedom, not another dictatorship of a different kind (Sharia law) to be superimposed on all those who fought for liberation. Pray for open doors to bring the love and grace of Jesus to these ravaged people, and for the church of Jesus to be built and demonstrated in compassionate service and true worship.
November 2011
Tibet
This landlocked nation is still a huge challenge for mission. God certainly hears the heart-cry of these people and their longing for freedom, and He sees the systems that enslave them. He longs to bring them out into a ‘wide and open space’, a place of belonging and Shalom, holistic peace. There are pockets of response and openness, a stirring in some places where much prayer and service has been invested; and the occasional turning from brokenness and pain into the ways of Christ. Please pray for the new wave of increasingly cross-culturally aware Chinese house church believers who are coming to various parts of Tibet – pray they will learn the languages well, and come with a servant heart. Pray also for expat workers who have found the going tough; for encouragement, and new creative and appropriate, meaningful open doors to serve. Pray that strongholds would be broken and the Son of God revealed and understood.
Mongolia
Another landlocked nation, and another Tibetan Buddhist population – yet a place where the church of Jesus has seen amazing breakthroughs over the last few decades. But there are still many who have not heard, nor seen the Good News in action: prayerfully stand against any forces that would deter Mongolians from the ways of Christ, and pray for revelation to flood Mongolia ‘as the waters cover the sea’. Ask for maturity and depth in the church, for the leadership to grow in their personal journey of faith, for Theological Education by Extension (a vital tool to grow believers), and for unity in the bond of love. Pray for more expat workers with relevant skills, and that they will be willing to release their own work (especially leadership) to local followers of Christ so that the church can grow strong and well. Speak His blessing over Mongolia!
October 2011
Sudan
There was hope that the independence of South Sudan would bring a more peaceful environment to both new nations, however, so far this has not really materialised. A proxy war is raging in a number of border regions (Abyei, the Nuba mountains, Blue Nile region, but also ongoing in Darfur) that officially have fallen to the North or are still disputed but where people do not want to be under the Khartoum government. Desperate poverty, and woefully lacking infrastructure and development, contrast with a huge reservoir of oil, but the political instability as well as corruption keep robbing the people of their inheritance and future. Please pray that peace, true Shalom from Jesus Christ, would come to the Sudanese regardless of their culture, ethnicity, or creed – and that the suffering of these people would result in a grace-response from God.
Turkey
The current political leadership wants their nation to have a leading voice both in the Islamic world and in the West. However, the secular nature of the state (as prescribed by the constitution) seems increasingly compromised, making way to Islamic values and a moderate form of Islamism. As Turkey asserts itself let us pray it will find its true soul – not driven by agendas of ethnicity, power, greed, even insecurity and cultural void – but that the nation would find its roots in the first century revelation of the early church, in Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord whom Paul proclaimed there so boldly, and as a nation that would act out the ambassadorship of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5) between peoples. Pray for many workers to be raised and sent, and the Turkish church to grow in leaps and bounds!
September 2011
Sumatra
God is at work on this huge Indonesian island, but it is within a context of severe repression and restriction. There are local congregations that have been there for generations, but have refrained from outreach to their non-Christian neighbours due to ethnic and other boundary lines – and often, quite simply, out of fear. Please pray that after this Ramadan season God’s Spirit would keep visiting people, stirring, revealing, opening eyes, touching and healing. Pray that this would happen along family and relational lines, and that as people share about a dream or revelation, others would chime in and share about similar events in their lives. Pray that the bondage of fear would be lifted, and Sumatra become a place where enquiry and seeking of God would be welcome regardless of religious context.
North Korea
As we pray for this nation, ask boldly, and believe for some radical, new things to happen. Pray for a thaw in the strict personality cult, and for civil liberties to be introduced. Pray for the many who we believe worship Jesus in secret, and often under threat of life and freedom, that their faith would be nurtured, encouraged, and emboldened. Pray for the nation to turn from ‘pariah’ to ‘accepted’, and for many and appropriate overseas Christian agencies and businesses to be ready to invest themselves there, but for those who would only create strife or conflict to be deviated. Pray for reconciliation with the South, and a gradual restoration of a united Korea, under God.
August 2011
Sudan
On July 9 the dreams and aspirations of the people of South Sudan became reality as their nation gained independence – a joyful day mingled with sorrow as many reflected on the difficult and violent road to nationhood. As well as praying for the South we need to pray for the people of the predominantly Muslim North. The northern leadership is still using violence and repression in Darfur, Abiye, South Kordofan and Blue Nile Region. Strict Sharia law is to be implemented, and Christians, many from Muslim backgrounds, can expect more hardship and suffering. Please pray for God to break through, for many to come to know Him in Spirit and Truth, and for all government leaders to be convicted in their wrongful ways and to love justice and mercy.
Nepal
Parliament is working on a new criminal code forbidding a person from one faith to “convert a person or abet him to change his religion.” If it becomes law, it will mean that a pastor of a Nepali church could be convicted to imprisonment after simply preaching a biblical sermon! Anybody humbly displaying the love of the Father could be accused of “inducing” someone to follow Jesus and the “inducer” could spend five years in prison! Please pray that this doesn’t become law but that the Nepali people will be free to seek and find Christ, and that their leaders would focus on the nation’s real problems – stable, just and fair government, the uplifting of the poor, the elimination of corruption, an endangered environment, and more.
July 2011
Middle East
Please keep praying for various Arab/Islamic nations where deep divisions between the ruling elites and protest movements create tremendous tension, bloodshed, heartbreak and societal breakdown. Syria, Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen seem to be the on-going flashpoints, with Egypt and Tunisia in transitional ‘birth pangs’ towards elections and hopefully more representative governance. Please keep praying for the churches of these nations, and their witness, encouragement, revival, and protection in the midst of much persecution and risk. Pray also for wise and righteous, godly leaders to emerge, and radical Islamists as well as other extreme political groupings to flounder and be sidelined. Pray that in the midst of all the upheaval hunger and thirst for truth and a personal Saviour would increase, and for true transformation of individuals and communities to happen.
Vietnam
This nation seems to be rushing into materialism and change without having properly worked through the brokenness of its past. A millennium of Chinese overlordship, followed by French then American colonialism, and insidious war with terrible atrocities and loss of life – those are scars that cannot be easily put aside. According to Vietnamese ancestral beliefs, the souls of those who were never properly farewelled or buried still roam the countryside and haunt the living. We may think of this as superstition but for the locals this is a spiritual reality and bondage. As Vietnamese Christians celebrate the 100th anniversary of the gospel in Vietnam, ask the Lord of the Harvest for much fruit, healing and deliverance, and freedom for the church to grow and be a voice for positive change.
