Exloring Life Eternal

From April/May 2005 and May/June 2005 Prayer Force Alert by Open Doors

MIDDLE EAST GENERAL: Thank the Lord for the small church that has come into being in the past couple of years in a closed Muslim country. Pray that the spirit of fear that holds so much power over the Christians in this country will crumble down. Pray that they will find the courage to get in touch with other believers. Pray that they will find ways to share their faith with their compatriots. (2 Timothy 1:7) [Also pray for fitting spouses for young Christian males from Muslim backgrounds throughout the region who are seeking like-minded brides. May the Lord guard their hearts & keep them pure.]

IRAQ: In spite of bombings of churches and violence to both clerics and laymen, the churches in Iraq have continued sharing God's message of hope. Pray that the Holy Spirit will console the hearts of these suffering people, comforting those who have experienced the untimely loss of loved ones and healing people's hurts and wounds. (Psalm 147:3) Pastor Heytham became paralyzed from the waist down when assailants shot him as he was driving to his new church in Nineveh some 5 months ago. God has already brought about healing to some parts of his body. Pray that God would continue to heal Pastor Heytham so that he will be able to walk out of the hospital to his home where his wife and 3-year-old son are waiting for him. (Matthew 11:4-5) Pray that during this Easter season the church in Iraq will help more Iraqis than ever before understand what it really meant for Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Ask God to help the Iraqis experience how they can come back to life through the power of that cross, and how sins, sicknesses, and worries can be nailed to that cross once and for all. (1 Corinthians 1:18). Three months ago, the headmistress of a Christian school went to be with the Lord. During her years with the school she did a fantastic job, and her final accomplishment was acquiring a large piece of property for a new school complex that she arranged to receive free from the government. Please remember her family in your prayers. Pray also for the person who has taken over leadership of the school. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

LEBANON: Praise God for the many open doors for the Word of God in this country! Many churches and church organizations use Lebanon as a home base. Christian TV and radio broadcasts reach tens of thousands of Lebanese daily, and these programs are also received in other Arabic-speaking countries. Pray that we would not take these freedoms in Lebanon for granted but that we would praise and thank God for them. (Psalm 147:1)

SAUDI ARABIA: On November 2, 2004, seven months and seven days after he was arrested, tortured, and jailed in Saudi Arabia for spreading Christianity, Brian O'Connor was deported back to his home in India. Please pray that God would comfort Brian and direct him to new areas of ministry. (Psalm 73:24)

SYRIA: There are wonderful men of God leading several Syrian churches. Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will use these men, as well as the Scriptures and spiritual books that have been distributed over the years, to bring about a wonderful harvest. (Luke 10:2) Syria has been a bastion of security for people for many years. Many Lebanese families found refuge here during the 15-year civil war, and since 2000, thousands of Iraqis have found job opportunities, an affordable place to live, and schools that have welcomedd their children. Praise God for this!! Also pray that the Word of God will continue to go out in ever-widening circles to speak to the hearts of people through God's Holy Spirit. (Psalm 57:9-10)

YEMEN: Yemen is closed to the Gospel, but the Lord is opening doors there. Pray that doors will stay open and that many Christian books and literature will enter the country. (Romans 15:20)

Sunday, May 1, 2005

Praise the Lord for the many Muslims from our country and the neighboring country that have purchased Arabic Bibles and Christian books from the shop in our country. Pray that Arabic Christian employees would join the firm and spread the Gospel in our unique situation.

Pray for the single tentmakers in the remote area of our country. Pray for close relationships with their teams and for great opportunities to use their free-time to be a light for the Gospel in their areas.

Pray for the single tentmaking worker whose wife passed away last year. Praise the Lord that the many PTAP prayers for his children have been answered as a committed Christian woman has come to the field to care for his children.

Pray for the two young, expatriate MBBs that are under scrutiny from their families. One has been threatened with the loss of his life due to his new faith in Christ. Pray for wisdom and divine opportunities for the caregivers involved in these men’s lives.

Please pray for A, a new believer who had an amazing encounter with God. May his new faith develop and grow. Give him boldness to meet with other believers. May he not be snatched back into darkness.

Please pray for some workers here who experiencing some family problems, they need wisdom. Pray for the children of workers that they will be protected from the attacks of the enemy.

Pray for the work of the Bible Society - for the Word of God to be spread widely in this country - amongst all nationalities. Pray especially for the poor Asian workers - that they would inherit the riches of heaven by coming to know Christ during their time here.

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Pray for continued improvement of the PTAP website.
www.pray-ap.info

May 10/40 Window Prayer Focus:
Unprecedented Protests Rock Arab World's Largest Country

The Arab world's largest country, which has a long history of oppressing and persecuting Christians, has slipped into a state of political uncertainty recently, with unprecedented street protests and demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

In the past few months, there have been a series of consistent demonstrations by various Egyptian groups denouncing a fifth term for Mubarak or any attempt to pass the reigns of power to his eldest son, the Associated Press reported. Gamal Mubarak, 41, heads a powerful policy-making committee in his father's National Democratic Party (NDP).

Despite efforts by security forces to prevent the protests, thousands of protesters, most of them supporters of the Islamic movement, have demanded political and economic reforms and the lifting of the state of emergency imposed after the assassination of Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, 24 years ago. Mubarak, who turns 77 this month, has been the country's leader since 1981.

Street protests and strikes are officially banned in Egypt, but the Muslim Brotherhood and the Kefaya (Enough) movements have mobilized supporters against Mubarak's regime. Security forces have recently arrested hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members at protests and in raids designed to prevent demonstrations.

Earlier this year, Mubarak announced that rival candidates, for the first time, would be able to stand in a presidential election due this September. Previously, voters were only given the opportunity to say yes or no to a single candidate nominated by parliament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Mubarak's ruling NDP.

Opposition groups and outside experts called it a limited step that still would not allow truly free elections. They said it was virtually certain Mubarak would stay in power, Reuters reported. Mubarak has left vacant the job of vice-president, leaving Egyptians wondering about his successor.

It is uncertain how the political unrest in Egypt will impact the nation's Christian minority.

Islam is the official state religion of Egypt, the most populous Arab nation with 72 million people and a close U.S. ally since the mid-1970s.

According to the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, tension between its Christian and Muslim communities dates back to 642 A.D. when Egypt fell to the invading Muslim armies of Abu Bakr, the first caliph and successor to Muhammed. Egypt had been predominantly Christian for the previous six centuries.

Ancient discriminatory laws have been used to prevent even basic maintenance to church properties and the building of new churches. Through systematic discrimination in education and employment, Christians have been forced into crippling poverty.

Many emigrate, many stay and suffer, and a very few convert to Islam. Militant Islamists have murdered and massacred Christians and the government has often treated the perpetrators of this violence with impunity, thus unofficially sanctioning it and giving permission for more. According to the U.S. State Department 2004 Human Rights Report, discrimination against religious minorities, including Christians is common.

Nevertheless, Christian leaders say God is moving mightily in Egypt. Recently, more than 10,000 Believers took part in a weekend of fasting and prayer in Alexandria, Egypt, with an additional 100,000 participating over the Internet. The Egypt prayer conference was held in Agamy, Alexandria on March 17-20.

The largest Christian conference held in Egypt was organized by the Fellowship of Evangelicals, which is under the Protestant Churches of Egypt, but all the main denominations were represented.

"Seven years ago, when the Fellowship of Evangelicals in Egypt held its first prayer and fasting conference, between 50 and 60 people gathered to pray," P.S., of Strategic Resource Group http://www.srginc.org/ , wrote WINDOW INTERNATIONAL NETWORK ... last month.

"By 2004, numbers had grown to five thousand," P.S. added. "This year eleven thousand people gathered in the tent each day, and ten times as many people participated over the Internet. They were there to praise the Lord and to seek His blessing on the land of Egypt and the nations around. And the motto of the conference was from Matthew 28:19-20: 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.'"

While the vast majority of the conference participants were Egyptian, other Arab and African nations were represented. Included among the guests were a group of Iraqis, who had been specially invited, and a number of Sudanese residents in Egypt. Other nations represented included Korea, Brazil, the United States and several European countries.

Pastor M.K. of Uganda told those in attendance that God is reawakening a holy priesthood in the nation of Egypt. He added that God is looking for a people who will "stand on the walls," and will let Him intervene in their lives and in the affairs of their nation.

P.S. noted that "There was also an expectation that God is going to use Egypt to bless other nations, especially in the Arab world. That this has already started to happen was evident from the joy on the faces of the Iraqis, Syrians and other Arab Believers as they shared in the conference."

PRAY FOR:

- Peace to engulf the tenuous situation in Egypt. Ask God to bring religious, economic and political reform through the current political situation.

- Wisdom and guidance for President Hosni Mubarak in handling the protests against his regime. Pray for President Mubarak and others in authority to come to know Christ.

- God to raise up voices of moderation in places of authority, so that in all realms of society from the local school classroom to the nation's parliament, there might be people who can speak for Copts and other Christians. Pray for religious freedom in Egypt, including the right for Muslims to convert and tolerance of Copts.

- The Copts, who are Christian and the indigenous people of Egypt. Pray that Christians in Egypt would gain equality, as opposed to systematic, crippling discrimination. Ask God to give them security and justice, as opposed to the present system of impunity for persecutors. Pray for peace and fairness for the Copts.

- Wise, sensitive and strong leadership in the Egyptian churches, enabling Christians to stay focused on Jesus Christ while their leaders pursue justice graciously. Pray for Egyptian Christians to be able to freely share the Gospel.

- The Spirit of God to comfort and heal the hearts of Egyptian Christians who have lived for generations with discrimination, persecution and the resentment and fear that they breed.

- A spiritual awakening for Egyptian Muslims to turn from darkness to Jesus, the light of the world.

Sources: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, Capitol Hill Prayer Partners and Intercessors for America.

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