AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

* PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS ON THE MARCH IN BAHRAIN

* CHRISTIAN LEADER CLAIMS CHRISTIAN DIVORCE RATE A MYTH

* JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI

* CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF IRELAND WASHES FEET OF ABUSED
VICTIMS

* PROTESTS IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

* TONY BLAIR SPEAKS OUT ON MATTERS OF
FAITH

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PRO-DEMOCRACY
DEMONSTRATORS ON THE MARCH IN BAHRAIN

Pro-democracy protesters are marching in the streets of Bahrain,
Libya, Yemen and Iran.   The governments of these nations have
responded with force.
BAHRAIN
Sunni and Shia Muslims have joined forces to call for
democracy in Bahrain, but security forces are using live ammunition
to crack down on demonstrations. Police opened fire on a protest at
the funeral of one of the demonstrators killed in last week’s
skirmishes. At least 25 people were injured and one man reportedly
died. Crown   Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa promised “a
national dialogue” once the protests ended..
LIBYA
More than 15 people were killed in Libya as thousands marched
in the streets of Benghazi. CNN released an unverified report that
200 were injured. Human Rights Watch put the number of dead in
protests across Libya at 24. Those rallying are calling for greater
freedoms, government reforms, and democracy. Latest reports indicate
that the Libyan Government is gradually overcoming the  opposition and
regaining control of the country at great human cost.
YEMEN
In the eighth day of pro-democracy/anti-government protests in
Yemen, a hand grenade was thrown into the crowd, killing at least one
person and injuring several others. Demonstrators were engaging  in
nationwide “Fridays of rage”  calling for President Ali Abdullah
Saleh  to step down from
office.

IRAN
After the opposition movement conducted “a boisterous and
scattered day of street protests” supporters of the Iranian
government staged their own rally. Thousands turned out to chant
slogans denouncing opposition leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Please pray for:
* the Lord’s plans to be fulfilled in North Africa and the Middle
East during this time of unrest. Pray for Him to use the protests and
turmoil in each nation to turn hearts away from Islam and draw them
into relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for demonstrators to find
favour with security forces. Pray for peaceful solutions to these
conflicts.
* an end to corruption in the governments. Pray for the salvation of
key leaders in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and Iran. Pray for Christians to
see and take advantage of this opportunity to share the Gospel. Pray
for the Lord to continue to use them to shine the Light of Christ
into this spiritually dark region. Pray that the Church would arise
and walk in the authority of the Word of God. Ask the Lord to give
them strength, courage and wisdom.
* intercessors around the world to be watchful and diligent in prayer
for Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Iran and the many other nations of the
10/40 Window.  Pray for a great harvest of souls in the Arab world as
the Kingdom of God comes with power and glory, signs, wonders, dreams
and visions.
Source: Windows International
Network
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CHRISTIAN LEADER
CLAIMS CHRISTIAN DIVORCE RATE A MYTH
“Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as the world!” is one of
the most quoted stats by Christian leaders today. And it’s perhaps
one of the most inaccurate. Based on the best data available, the
divorce rate among Christians is significantly lower than the general
population” according to  Glenn T. Stanton  director for family
formation studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs.   Here’s
the truth…. Many people who seriously practice a traditional
religious faith — be it Christian or other — have a divorce rate
markedly lower than the general population.
Couples who regularly  attend church nearly every week, read their
Bibles regularly; pray privately and together; enjoy significantly
lower divorce rates than mere church members, the general public and
unbelievers. Professor Bradley Wright, a sociologist at the
University of Connecticut, explains from his analysis of people who
identify as Christians but rarely attend church, that 60 percent of
these have been divorced. Of those who attend church regularly, 38
percent have been divorced.
W. Bradford Wilcox, a leading sociologist at the University of
Virginia and director of the National Marriage Project, finds from
his own analysis that “active conservative Protestants” who regularly
attend church are 35 percent less likely to divorce compared to those
who have no affiliation. Nominally attending conservative Protestants
are 20 percent more likely to divorce, compared to secular
Americans.
Professor Scott Stanley from the University of Denver, working with a
team of leading sociologists on the Oklahoma Marriage Study, explains
that couples with a vibrant religious faith had more and higher
levels of the qualities couples need to avoid divorce:   “Whether
young or old, male or female, low-income or not, those who said that
they were more religious reported higher average levels of commitment
to their partners, higher levels of marital satisfaction, less
thinking and talking about divorce and lower levels of negative
interaction.”
These positive factors translated into actual lowered risk of divorce
among active believers. “Those who say they are more religious are
less likely, not more, to have already experienced divorce. Likewise,
those who report more frequent attendance at religious services were
significantly less likely to have been divorced.”   The divorce rates
of Christian believers are not identical to the general population —
not even close. Being a committed, faithful believer makes a
measurable difference in marriage.
Saying you believe something or merely belonging to a church, does
little for marriage. But the more you are actively involved in the
practice of your faith, through submitting yourself to a serious body
of believers, learning regularly from Scripture, being in communion
with God though prayer individually and with your spouse and
children, and having friends and family around you who challenge you
to take you marriage’s seriously — the greater difference this makes
in strengthening both the quality and longevity of our
marriages.  Leading sociologists tell us that faith matters.
Source: Baptist
Press
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JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
AND TSUNAMI
A 9 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Friday, March 11, resulting
in  a 10 metre tsunami that has killed many  thousands of people.
Boats, cars, houses, and even  entire communities were swept out to
sea. It was one of the   largest earthquakes ever recorded. Damage is
extensive. The  tsunami that followed the quake slammed into the
eastern coast of Japan and reached as far as the Pacific coast of
North America.  The disaster left millions without power.  Fires
erupted and continue to burn, and areas near  leaking nuclear reactors
have been  evacuated.
“We don’t yet know the full extent of the damage,” a disaster
management  official said. “Roads were badly damaged and cut off as
the tsunami washed  away debris, cars and many other things.” Prime
Minister Naoto Kan stated at a news conference that the
earthquake  “caused major damage in a broad area in northern Japan.”

Please pray for:
* the Lord to comfort those who have lost homes, property, friends
and family  members in the quake and tsunami. Pray that recovery
efforts will be successful. Pray for the Japanese government to
respond swiftly to the needs of their people and for Christian
humanitarian agencies to minister to the physical and spiritual needs
of those who have been affected by this disaster.
* this time of distress to be used to awaken the people of Japan to
their need  for Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Pray for the
Gospel to be preached and demonstrated throughout this island nation
and for  a great harvest of souls in Japan as people ponder eternal
life in the midst of this disaster.
* those who are fighting the potential meltdown of the nuclear
reactors in Japan. Pray for the safety of the men risking their lives
to try and restore power to the cooling towers and to keep
temperatures down in the reactors themselves. Pray for wisdom for
those giving direction and leadership in this quite desperate
situation.
Source: Windows International
Network
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CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
OF IRELAND WASHES FEET OF ABUSED VICTIMS
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, washed the feet
of victims of clerical abuse in what was called “one of the most
visible acts of contrition for the systemic mistreatment of children
that has shattered the Irish Catholic Church.” Hundreds of people
were reportedly packed into Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral to witness the
event. Martin’s apology was considered to be “the most explicit
apology to date for the role of the Church hierarchy in enabling the
abuse.”
Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston was present as well. Both clerics
prostrated themselves in front of an empty stone altar when the
service began, and later invited five female and three male victims
of abuse to the altar. At that point, Martin and O’Malley knelt down
and washed their feet. “For covering up crimes of abuse, and by so
doing actually causing the sexual abuse of more children…we ask
God’s forgiveness,” the archbishop told the congregation. “The
archdiocese of Dublin will never be the same again. It will always
bear this wound within it.”
“Three of the victims held hands and sobbed as Martin poured water on
their feet and O’Malley dried them with a towel.” Said one of the
victims, Darren McGavin: “I’ve found it hard to forgive, but today I
found a small bit of closure.” Another said the day had been
liberating. Another was still bitter. Still, forgiveness is the only
way for change to truly move forward.
Source: The Daily
Mail
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PROTESTS IN NORTH
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
After protests in Tunisia and Egypt forced leaders from power,
demonstrations began breaking out across North Africa and the Middle
East. Yemen, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Djibouti, Jordan,
Algeria, Morocco and Iraq are among the nations where protests have
been staged.   The most deadly violence has been in Libya where
hundreds have been killed in clashes between Government security
forces and rebel militia. Libyan forces have engaged in a full-scale
crackdown with special units and mercenaries called in to shoot and
bomb demonstrators.
Residents in Tripoli say they have been afraid to even leave their
homes as trucks loaded with militiamen patrolled the streets and
opened fire on protesters. “It was an obscene amount of gunfire,” one
witness said. “They were strafing these people. People were running
in every direction.” Although no one is sure how many were killed,
several reports have put the number in the hundreds, making this
revolt the bloodiest in the Arab world since violence first erupted
in Tunisia.
Please pray for:
* the civil unrest spreading throughout North Africa and the Middle
East to be an open door for the Gospel to reach many Muslims. Pray
for the Lord to continue shaking this region, toppling spiritual
strongholds and setting the captives free.
* Christians to seize this opportunity to share the love of God with
their Muslim neighbours, friends and co-workers. Pray for them to be
bold, strong and courageous. and led by the Holy Spirit to build the
Church and give Christians wisdom in how to pray and what to do
during this time of turmoil. Pray that protesters will come to
realize Jesus Christ is the answer to their discontent. Pray for them
to put their faith in Him as Saviour and Lord.
* the salvation of leaders in all of the nations where demonstrations
are taking place. Pray for a great harvest of souls to result from
these events and for the Kingdom of God to come to North Africa, the
Middle East, and the entire Arab world with power, signs and wonders.

Source: Windows International
Network
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TONY BLAIR SPEAKS
OUT ON MATTERS OF FAITH
During his 10-year tenure as prime minister, Tony Blair exercised a
self-imposed silence on the subject of his faith.  However he is now
speaking out explaining just how much faith played a role in his life
during that time. “Precisely because all the fixed points of
reference seem unfixed and constantly in flux, today is more than
ever when we need to discover and rediscover our essential humility
before God,” Blair said. “I can’t prove that religious faith offers
something more than humanism. But I believe profoundly that it does.”

“One of the oddest questions I get asked in interviews is: Is faith
important to your politics? It’s like asking someone whether their
health is important to them or their family. If you are someone ‘of
faith,’ it is the focal point of belief in your life. There is no
conceivable way that it wouldn’t affect your politics,” Blair said.
Blair  told ITV1 that he had prayed while making his decision on
committing British forces to Iraq. “In the end, there is a judgment
about these things, and that judgment is made by other people, and if
you believe in God, it’s made by God as well,” he said.
“Faith,” said Blair, “is not something separate from our reason,  but
integral to it, giving the use of reason a purpose, and human beings
a sense of the divine. This is the life purpose that cannot be found
in constitutions or speeches.  It is a purpose uniquely centred around
kneeling before God. “Naturally, the former prime minister has been
criticized on both sides of the religious/political divide for things
he did or didn’t do while in office, but Christians hope that his
move to be more vocal in the marketplace  about his faith is a sign
that he is taking it more seriously than ever before.
Source: Los Angeles
Times

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