Religious Liberty Prayer List – No. 141 – Wed 31 Oct 2001

—————————————— IDOP 2001: ‘THEN MANY WILL GIVE THANKS…’

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The apostle Paul had absolutely no doubt that intercessory prayer was powerful and effective. He reported to the church at Corinth the suffering and persecution he and Timothy had endured beyond their own ability, that had made them despair even of life. Paul then declares with assurance and faith that God ‘will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many.’ (2 Cor 1:8-11)

This faith in God’s willingness to hear and act upon intercessory prayer has also been beautifully expressed by Olusegun Obasanjo, the current democratically elected President of Nigeria. Obasanjo was imprisoned for three years in 1995 for allegedly plotting a coup to overthrow the military dictator, General Sani Abacha, but later said, ‘Prison isn’t such a bad place. I found God there.’ He wrote from prison, ‘The greatest weapon of humankind today is prayer… to bring about change in the human situation and the world situation at every level.’

Do we really want to see the world situation changed? Do we really trust God that he can and will do it?

Most people in this world do NOT have religious freedom, and while many nations enshrine it in their constitutions, they do not respect it in practice. There are millions of believers presently living with systematic discrimination, persecution and suffering. There are also multitudes denied religious freedom and from whom the Gospel is thus withheld, so they may never know the love of Jesus, the abundant life he offers, or find peace in assurance of salvation. Paul exhorts us to employ prayer as the weapon with ‘divine power’ if we want to ‘demolish strongholds.’ (2 Cor 10:4)

Communism maintains its oppressive grip on more than 1.35 billion people in Cuba and across Asia. Christians in Laos are forced through threats and torture to renounce their faith. Believers in China, Vietnam and Laos are imprisoned for their faith in cramped or solitary concrete cells, often shackled to the floor and sitting for days or weeks in their own waste. In China, evangelists are ‘re- educated’ in forced labour camps and in North Korea up to 100,000 believers are brutally treated in concentration camps. Only through the divine power of prayer will this stronghold be demolished.

Since the US started bombing Afghanistan, we have seen Muslims polarising. Some who were once ‘moderate’ have adopted the radical, militant stance in ‘defence of Islam’ and Muslim solidarity. In many places such as Indonesia, Northern Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and beyond, Islamic zeal has burgeoned and Muslim attacks on Christians have escalated dramatically in reprisal for what they portray as the ‘crusader attack on Islam’.

Conversely, other Muslims have started to question Islam and are turning to the Gospel for answers. In Pakistan, Islamic terrorists burst into a church service on Sunday 28 October, bolted the doors and sprayed the congregation with bullets, killing 16 and leaving some 35 wounded, many critically. Yet a Pakistani Christian reports that there is also ‘a keen interest’ in one city where they have recently sold ’87 Bibles, 122 New Testaments, 77 books of Proverbs and 73 books of Genesis…and we are still in need of Scriptures.’

This Christian leader in Pakistan, in reporting that ‘the Church (here) is in the strong grip of fear and anxiety’ also says, ‘Is there a way to fight evil except through war? Of course there is. As Christians we know that it is through the changing of the heart of man. If you believe that, then this is the time for the entire Church to pray.’

Pray boldly, persistently and in faith for the suffering Church and for those who persecute her, so that soon we may be able to ‘give thanks…for the gracious favour granted…in answer to the prayers of many.’ (2 Corinthians 1:11)

– Elizabeth Kendal (WEF RLP)

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* all believers who suffer under the oppressive grip of atheistic Communism; that those imprisoned in appalling conditions, separated from family and brutally treated, will be filled with an assurance of the presence and love of God, and know that their ‘labour for the Lord is not in vain’. (1 Cor 15:58)

* God to work in the hearts of those in authority in Communist lands – no one is beyond God’s reach.

* Christians living amidst a Muslim majority, where Islamic zeal and anti-Christian hostility is burgeoning due to the bombing of Afghanistan; for the safety, peace, wisdom and continued witness of believers who are in real danger of ‘reprisal attacks’.

* God to work in the hearts of those in authority in Muslim lands – no one is beyond God’s reach.

* Christians in India, Sri Lanka and many other nations, who are suffering under the rising post-colonial wave of non-Christian religious nationalism. Pray especially for Christian ministry to 100s of millions of Dalits (untouchables) of India (which is in the grip of Hindu nationalism) as courageously they are deserting the Hindu culture that has oppressed them for centuries.

* the continued ministry of the WEF RLC: John Langlois (chairman), Johan Candelin (director), Mark Albrecht (senior editor), those who prepare the RLPs, as well as all other religious liberty advocates; for God to grant wisdom, courage, grace, diplomacy and insight, and use them as effective servants and instruments to achieve his purposes.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE: ——————————————————————- IDOP 2001: ‘THEN MANY WILL GIVE THANKS…’

The apostle Paul was sure that intercessory prayer was a powerful weapon with ‘divine power to demolish strongholds.’ (2 Cor 1:8-11; 10:4). On the International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the Persecuted Church we tackle strongholds that seek to destroy the Church and withhold the Gospel from the lost. Over 1.35 billion people live under the oppression of atheistic Communism, and Christians, who have always suffered in most Muslims nations, are facing ‘reprisal’ attacks since the start of the US bombing campaign. In India, Sri Lanka and many other nations, Christians are being persecuted in a wave of post-colonial, non-Christian religious nationalism. Pray for the suffering Church as well as for those who persecute her, so that soon we will be able to ‘give thanks…for the gracious favour granted…in answer to the prayers of many.’ (2 Cor 1:11)

—————————————————- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> —————————————————-

The WEF Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEF RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.

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