Bringing Hope to the People of Iran

Calling all followers of Jesus Christ around the world!

On November 4, 2018, join Heart4Iran, multiple ministry partners, and thousands of Christian brothers and sisters worldwide to pray for Iran and bring hope to her people.

God is moving mightily in and through Iran, reaching millions of Persians with His love and truth. Together, we can continue sharing the Gospel with Muslims throughout this nation.

For years, the growing Christian movement in Iran has been largely ignored in the mainstream media, and Iran is consistently vilified by the Western world. But God is moving mightily in and through Iran, reaching millions of Persians with His life-changing, heart-transforming love and truth!

November 4, 2018, marks, to the day, the 39thanniversary of the hostage crisis in Iran with the U.S. Embassy. This is a critical time to come before the Lord in prayer alongside Iranian Christians and for the nation of Iran.

On the International Day of Prayer, a brand-new prayer program in Farsi will air on our partner stations, Mohabat TV, SAT-7 PARS, and Shabakeh 7. This insightful, heartfelt call to prayer will share why prayer is so important for the people of Iran, as well as specific prayer needs.

We will also be broadcasting the JESUS film and two other transformational videos. Our hope is that these moving productions will draw Iranians who don’t yet know Jesus Christ to seek Him. Please pray these four broadcasts will accomplish this goal – and that everyone who watches will be impacted by the truth of the Gospel.

Our ultimate goal is that thousands of men, women, and children will join us in prayer on this special day. Please visit roozedoa.com to learn more about the International Day of Prayer and discover prayer needs unique to Iran. Plus, you’ll be able to let us know you are praying and encouraging our Iranian brothers and sisters.

Ultimately, the mission of the International Day of Prayer is to pray diligently for and with the people of Iran and continue seeing lives impacted by the eternal Gospel throughout this nation.

Again, for additional information please visit: www.roozedoa.com.

International Day of Prayer: Pray for Iran November 4, 2018

Bringing Hope to the People of Iran Prayer Points

• Pray for peace across the nation of Iran and in her relationships with other nations.
• Pray for the Western world to see the people of Iran for who they really are as children of God, replacing any prejudices with Christ’s love and compassion.
• Pray that God would raise up and equip strong Christian leaders in Iran to help lead the house church movement. Pray for these leaders to walk together in unity.
• Pray that every Iranian follower of Jesus Christ will discover a house church where he or she can build relationships, study God’s Word, and grow in the faith.
• Pray for persecution of Christians to cease immediately.
• Pray for Christians to be brave and full of faith as they share the Gospel.
• Pray for God to open the hearts and minds of Muslims, preparing them to hear the Gospel and respond.
• Pray for Iran’s leaders and her people to experience the life-changing, heart- transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Pray for thousands – even millions – of Iranians to watch the broadcasts of the prayer program, JESUS film, and other transformational videos. Also pray they will hear and understand the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ and respond to it.
• Pray that every person in Iran will have access to a printed, digital, or audio Bible in their own mother tongue.
• Pray for God to hear us on this special International Day of Prayer, according to His will.

“Earlier this year we sent out a newsletter entitled "A Special China Issue," which told of the massive and brutal persecution of Christians underway in China. Many people were shocked by what we shared, and some even doubted if it was true, as other sources weren't reporting the trouble.

In the following months it became clear that God's people in China are not merely going through a regular season of hardship, but a major effort is underway to completely control the Church, backed by new technology that creates challenges to the Body of Christ that have never been encountered before. In this newsletter we will update you on the crisis in China, while attempting to answer some of the common questions people have asked.

What's the Latest News from China?

In recent months the government has markedly increased the pressure on Christians throughout the country. We received an unconfirmed report from a long-term China missionary stating that 314 house church Christians have been killed in recent months, and hundreds more are missing. Most house church leaders have gone into hiding and have disconnected their phones and other devices because of the incredible surveillance capabilities of the state.

Thousands of house churches (which are considered illegal in China) have been closed. Reflecting the actions of Mao's Red Guards in the 1960s, religious symbols such as crosses and Scripture posters have been torn down and replaced by flags of China or portraits of President Xi Jinping.

Note: Our website version of this newsletter includes several important links to articles and videos to help people understand what's going on in China and how best to pray. Please visit www.asiaharvest.org for more detailed information.

Links to articles:
Updated: Large Beijing house church banned as China continues Christian persecution
Inmates initiate hunger strike amid mass incarceration crackdown
China Uighurs: Xinjiang legalises 're-education' camps
Leave no dark corner

Some congregations have been ordered to sing the national anthem or other patriotic songs at the start of their services. Others have been ordered to install government facial-recognition surveillance cameras inside their worship halls, and those that have refused to comply have been forced to shut down.

Landlords who rent buildings to Christians are being heavily fined by the government, with new laws allowing fines of between 20,000 to 200,000 Yuan (almost US$30,000). This has created a climate of fear and suspicion, and thousands of fellowships have been forced out of the premises they were renting. On the streets, the police have the power to stop and search anyone they wish and to check their phones and other devices for content they deem a threat to society. These threats may include the presence of a Bible app or visits to Christian websites, or any communication considered unpatriotic.

The most severe persecution is occurring in the vast Xinjiang region in northwest China. In recent years a promising church movement had emerged among the Uyghur, Kazakh and Kirghiz people groups, but most of the church leaders have been arrested and taken to concentration camps in the desert. Reputable news organizations estimate at least one million people are being detained and tortured in those camps right now. Many suburbs in cities like Urumqi, Hami and Kashgar are now depopulated and countless buildings have been boarded up. Although this initiative was designed to target Muslims in border areas, almost all Uygur and Kazakh church leaders have also been taken away. The government doesn't care whether someone is a Muslim or Christian. It's all the same to them.

Spiritual Forces Behind the Persecution

While there are human reasons for the dramatic persecution, we should never lose sight of the fact that Satan and his fallen hosts hate God's people, and they never rest in trying to destroy them. We recently updated our Christian stats for all 2,866 cities and counties in China, and the end result was a marked increase since the last time we reviewed our figures. Currently, we estimate a total of 129.7 million professing Christians in China, of which 109 million are Evangelical believers. The Chinese government is fully aware of the explosive growth of the Church in China, and they are determined to stop it. They don't want China taking over from South Korea as the number one Evangelical country in Asia.

Political Ambitions

If you have read our Asia Harvest newsletters for some time you will know we don't usually mention politics at all, as our call is to equip the Church in Asia and not to be entangled by civilian affairs (2 Timothy 2:4). Our goal is not to favor one political system over another, but to see all people groups of Asia hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If one quote sums up what we think about politics, it would be this famous one from an economist in the last century: "Under Communism man oppresses man. Under capitalism it's the other way around."

To understand the human reasons of why China is so determined to destroy the Church, however, it's helpful to grasp the historical background behind China's geopolitical ambitions. Starting in the 1800s, China was dominated by foreign powers that carved up various parts of the country and exploited their natural resources. The Chinese consider this the darkest period in their history, and have labelled it "The century of humiliation." Chinese resentment and desire to revenge their "loss of face" runs deep. Japan was one of the foreign nations that dominated China during this period, inflicting shameful cruelties on the Chinese people. A few years ago a survey in China found that 82 percent of respondents said China should launch a war with Japan before the end of this decade.

In a bid to try to erase the painful memories of the past, China believes they have an opportunity to be the new world super-power, replacing the United States and the West. To achieve this lofty goal, President Xi Jinping has stopped at nothing to implement his "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which would result in China having the most powerful economy and military on earth. To help him succeed, earlier this year Xi was appointed ‘President for life'. Whereas often in the West we think in terms of months and years, the Chinese think in terms of decades and even centuries. They are not in a rush, and are determined to gradually work their way toward becoming the undisputed world power.

The Communist leaders trying so desperately to implement their global vision are God-hating atheists, and they are determined not to let anyone or anything stand in their way. They want absolute power over what people do, say and think, and Christians, Muslims, or anyone else who may pose a threat to their goals are being subdued, controlled, or eradicated. These are the reasons behind the current campaign to wipe out the Church in China. Mao tried to do this from the 1950s to 1970s, and Xi Jinping seems determined to finish the job that Mao failed to do….

Read the PDF Version of this Newsletter

www.asiaharvest.org

Let’s continue to pray for a change of policy by the Chinese government that will permit religious freedom. Pray for the encouragement and strengthening of our brothers and sisters in Christ and that the Lord will use the persecution of His people to greatly expand the ministry of the Church and the turning to Christ even more huge numbers of this most populous nation.

Please join in praying that the crucial U.S. elections next week will bring to power those who have strong Christian values and “bring down the wicked” as the psalmist prayed. Lawless, leftist, socialist groups want to reshape the country into a totalitarian state to become part of a globalist New World Order that diminishes national sovereignty and human freedoms. Surveys reveal that about half of the Millennial generation, who are largely ignorant of history and political science, now believe in socialism even though that form of government has never resulted in any good for the nations that have tried it. Venezuela is a recent example of a once prosperous land that has been brought down to poverty and despotism by that delusion.

In this battle between Americanism and socialism, pray that the American people, especially the Christians, large numbers of which do not even vote, will not succumb to such deception, and rise up to vote for their Christian values. May the Leftist/socialist forces, often financially supported by George Soros (called “the most wicked man in the world”), be decisively defeated at the polls and may America’s traditional values that come from the U.S. Constitution and the Bible be reaffirmed and upheld for the blessing of the coming generations.

 “A PRAYER FOR RAIN…THE NEED IS BECOMING SERIOUS.

On Shmini-Atzzeret—the last day of the fall festival of Sukkot (1 October this year), it is traditional to pray for rain. For the “former rains”, which in Israel begin in the fall.  The “latter rains” fall roughly from Passover in the spring, until around middle May.  Afterwards, there is usually no measurable rain in Israel for five months—we are dependent upon the former and latter rains. 

We have often mentioned in these prayer updates the need of rain in Israel.  but during the past five months acuteness of this need has become more evident.  Israel recently completed her fifth year of an officially-declared drought.  On August 26^th, an article in The Times of Israel was entitled, “Israel enters 6^th year of worst-in-a-century drought, girds for even worse.”   The article points out how “Many of Israel’s lakes, riverbeds and aquifers are at unprecedented 100-year lows, with the Sea of Galilee [the nation’s largest natural water source] dangerously close to its “black line,” the level below the intake pipes of the water pumps that send the lake’s water to nearby towns.”  Many of the springs in the north, whose streams supply much of the waters to the Sea of Galilee, have slowed to a trickle.  In May, the Water Authority launched a public awareness campaign to make Israelis aware of the shortage and to encourage them to conserve their water usage.  

But with the construction in recent years of five large desalinization plants (which now effectively provide drinking water from the Mediterranean for the country’s most populated regions along the coast), Israelis have tended to put away concern about water.  After all, Israel invented “drip irrigation” (virtually all her produce is now economically watered that way); 86% of her wastewater is purified and used for agriculture.  And now redeeming water from the Mediterranean Sea seems to be taking care of our needs.  Except that it isn’t—even with the two new plants which are being built, there will not be enough for crops necessary to feed this population.  And if the Sea of Galilee continues to sink, it will mean an ecological disaster there, down the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.  Israel is planning to pump desalinated water into the lake—but that is really a stop-gap measure. And the de-salinized water is lacking in many nutrients, and is even being presently studied in Israel as a possible contributor to heart disease.  

Israel—and our neighbors—are desperately in need of rain water.  The scientists are pointing towards Global Warming as being the most probable cause of the drought.  Yet, the Scriptures often connect the coming or withholding of rains in Israel with the favor and mercy of her God (the Creator of the “globe” which is warming!), and with the humility of His people in acknowledging awareness of their need of that mercy:  

 PLEASE PRAY:

• That God will in mercy send abundant rains on His Covenant Land this year…a land which was meant from the beginning to, “drink water from the rain from heaven, a land for which the LORD God cares; the eyes of the LORD God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year”  (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).
  
• That Israel will awaken to her need for water—and an awareness that her God is the source of that water—as He was for our Fathers in ancient times,  when they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them around the desert…and that rock was Messiah! I Corinthians 10:4).
• That believers in the Land will ourselves take this need seriously, will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from evil ways—cry out to Him for this need,  that He may hear from Heaven and heal our land.

Martin and Norma Sarvis

 ‘The man asked him, “What is your name?” … “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel”.’ — Genesis 32:27–28a

 “Jacob was one of many people recorded in the Bible as being given a new name by God. Jacob was the second–born of twins, who were said to have ‘jostled’ during their mother’s pregnancy. Jacob was named as such as he was born holding the heel of his brother, who was born first. Commentators have associated this name, figuratively speaking, with deception by this act of trying to come first. In Jacob’s life, he continued to seek the importance of the first–born status and fully achieved this when he deceitfully received his father’s blessing instead of his older brother. But that is not his lasting inheritance: God changes Jacob’s name to Israel when, in later life, Jacob shows his dependence is on God. The names we give can reflect our appreciation of a person, but God gives names that reveal his heart for a person.

“The thing that causes me pain very much is when my mum's younger sister started calling me a witch. Often, when I sleep I wet the bed at night, or I speak to myself, and they started calling me a witch.” Naomi told her pastor of the accusations and she says that “the pastor came to our house. He made my parents sit down, and told them not to call me a witch.” Naomi, 15 years old, D.R.Congo

THE NATIONS WILL SEE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL KINGS YOUR GLORY. YOU WILL BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME THAT THE MOUTH OF THE LORD WILL BESTOW. — ISAIAH 62:2

Things to thank God for…

• Give thanks that God has created all of us in his image. None are excluded from receiving his love and grace.
• God knows us intimately and names us with purpose. Even when we have been known by our past actions and behaviours, we are not bound to that reputation throughout our lives.

Please Pray

• Many accusations of witchcraft against children can start from or be influenced by a family member or a community or church leader. Please pray that families will cease calling their children ‘witches’. Please pray that, before this name is given to a child, people will consider the devastating and awful consequences of such a label.
• Please pray for reconciliation in families and acceptance of children who are living with wider family members.
• Please pray for all children who are living on the streets because of witchcraft accusations. Pray for their protection today and healing from the trauma and rejection they have experienced. Pray for a welcoming home, a place of safety and the opportunity to begin to hope.

https://www.stop-cwa.org/posts/prayer-campaign-12

We are building a Human Prayer Chain for Germany and the European Continent

Hand in Hand praying for our country / our countries!

Come and join us in prayer on 09. November 2018 at 11am and 3pm. MEZ / CET at 100 locations along the German border!

The time is NOW!, there is a need to act! We have seen a dramatic change in Germany and in other European countries in the last few years. Prayer is urgent, because we all need God's encounter in our country and on this former Christian continent!

Our aim is to build teams of German believers and believers from other countries as well. Denominations do not matter, only living faith in our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Two times Christians were praying in unity for Germany and Europe along the German border, in October 2015 and during Pentecost 2016. We have been obedient according to the call of God and we have another opportunity this year. That's why we are planning to do it a third time to pray and proclaim intensely and in unity along the border to our European neighbours. 

Friday 9 November 2018 is a very historic day for Germany. We will come together at 11am. and 3pm. MEZ / CET again to pray at exactly 100 locations (you will find them under "locations" on this page). We will go to the German border again - the common border with nine European nations - to plead to God the Father in the name of HIS Son Jesus Christ for HIS encounter for Germany and Europe. 

Be one of the living stones, Jesus Christ can use to rebuild the spiritual wall around Germany and the other European countries. Pray with us for God's protection and a spiritual breakthrough. We need HIS encounter NOW! It is time for the body of Christ to arise and to take responsibility for our nations! 

We call the believers of The Netherlands, Denmark, Great-Britain, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, France, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Finland, Sweden, …" Come and join us!" 

Brothers and sisters from other continents, from the USA and Canada or South America and Australia as well as Asia for instance - you are also invited! We will be glad when you join us on those days. If you cannot join us in prayer here in Germany, then please consider supporting financially or / and come together in your church or prayer group just where you are and pray on the same day and the same time with us together. We will be one in the spirit!

We don't want to wait for a better time and there may not be a better time than this. The time is NOW! We are standing up and taking responsibility for Europe. These are OUR countries! 

Many have been working before us. We now step into their foot steps. Let us pray for the Salvation and Future of our countries and our nations!   

IT' S TIME FOR THE REIGN OF GOD.

Your Save Europe Team

Heidi Mund & Save Europe Team

E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Webpage: www.SaveEurope.de

The Vision: https://youtu.be/jLVqVCprPR4

What you can do

to support the call for the salvation and rescue of Europe?

• Forward the video https://youtu.be/jLVqVCprPR4  , the webpage www.SaveEurope.de , the vision and flyers in eight languages to all of your friends. Ask them to do the same and to forward the information about the „Human Prayer Chain - Save Europe 2018“ to all of their friends, so that they will know too.  
• Everyone, who is a believer in Jesus Christ and also those, who stand for Christian values in Germany and abroad as well are invited to come to the common boarder of Germany with 9 European nations and to pray together with us at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. CET / MEZ for a spiritual breakthrough in Germany and Europe. We urgently need God’s encounter, we need a miracle to save our nations and to rescue the continent. 
• If you cannot be with us on that day in Europe, please organize prayer, just where you are; on Friday 09 November at the same time together in your church or home group. 
• Support others, so that they can come to stand with us as „The Human Prayer Chain“ (Bank Account you will find on the webpage www.SaveEurope.de under „Spenden“ 
• Pray, that our heavenly Father opens the hearts of the people, that we can come together in unity, because He gives His blessings to those who are united.

To find out the time change: https://www.timeanddate.de/uhrzeit/ 

The flyer in English, you will find flyers in 8 languages also under download on the webpage www.SaveEurope.de.

Dear Friend, colleague, Prayer Mobilizer,

I am attaching below the PDF copy of this year’s (second annual) 15 Days Hindu World Prayer Guide (booklet) for your information.

Please consider participating or letting others know about this prayer focus (starts Oct 28). Feel free to pass the PDF on to people who you know or think have an interest in mobilizing and educating the/their church about our world’s Hindu neighbors. 

Please also direct them to 15DaysPrayer.com to read more about it and to order printed or PDF copies of the booklet for themselves or their audience, supporters or ministries.

Thank you,

Paul Filidis

WorldChristian.com
PO Box 9208
Colorado Springs, CO 80932; USA

Awesome new book on prayer and mission by an IPC leader

“Dr. Leslie Keegel’s new book is full of signs and wonders and reads like the book of Acts!”-

John Robb, IPC Chairman

UPRISING Global: Jakarta, Indonesia - January 23-26, 2019 (WYPA)

World Generation

Jakarta, Indonesia, January 23-26, 2019

Please pray for and consider taking part in this world youth prayer assembly in January. Here is a video and details to register. You will want to forward this to younger generation  believers but anyone is welcome.

https://youtu.be/3xrEl4UdsTE 

Prayer Points Suggested for GO-2020:

1. Pray that as the call to GO-2020 goes out, every believer wakes up to fully seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, realizing the time is short. (Rom. 13:11-14; Luke 19:13; Psalm 90:12)
2. Pray that every follower of Jesus is BEING a disciple who fully follows Jesus in loving God, loving others and making disciples that make disciples. (Acts 1:8; Matt. 22:37; Prov. 11:30; Matt. 28:18-20)
3. Pray that believers see the hearts of those the Holy Spirit has prepared to hear and that they share in a way that can be understood and responded to. (John 4:36; John 6:44; 2 Tim. 4:2)
4. Pray for every people group with little gospel witness to be adopted for prayer and outreach then engaged with a Kingdom multiplication strategy, so that there will be no place left without gospel witness in every tongue, tribe and nation. Currently ¼ to 1/3 of the world has little to no gospel witness (Unreached people groups) and 401 people groups over 500,000 in population have less than .1% Christians among them (these represent 88% of the remaining task. (Matt. 9:37-38; 2 Cor. 10:16; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev. 7:9) 
5. Pray for access to the entire Word of God in every language since at present only 7% of the world’s languages have a full Bible and only 1 in 5 Bible Translation Projects focus on translating the Old Testament. (Matt. 9:37-38; Heb. 4:12; Rom. 10:17-21)

Pray for the Body of Christ to recognize our call to see His Kingdom coming and His will being done (not building our own kingdoms) and that we work together in the unity of the Spirit keeping the bond of peace for His glory among the nations. (Matt. 6:10; Eph. 4:3; Matt. 12:22-26)

“God’s glory is the perfect harmony of all his attributes into one infinitely beautiful and personal being.”- John Piper

Everything God does is for his glory, which includes missions. It is humbling to know that God has calledus to partner with Him to ensure that his glory covers the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. Andone way we can achieve this is through prayer. God’s ultimate desire is that “the earth will be filled withthe knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV)

For this goal to be achieved, two things must be done. First, we must “Go” to the nations. The more wesend committed men and women to go in the name of the Lord, the more the knowledge of God’s gloryincreases and extends all over the earth. Secondly, we must pray for God to send out the men andresources needed to “Go” to the nations. Prayer must precede the “going” before God’s ultimate goal,which is, to see his glory cover the whole earth will be achieved. Prayer paves the spiritual highway forthe going into the nations.

Prayer is necessary to actualize the goal of missions because in prayer we tap into God’s omnipotencefor wisdom and strength to achieve his purpose on the earth. When we pray for missions, we submitourselves to God who owns the work of missions. As Piper wrote, “Prayer is the essential activity ofwaiting for God — acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking Hiscounsel. Since His purpose in the world is to be exalted for His mercy, it is evident why prayer is so oftencommanded by God. Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence, which opposes God’s goalof getting glory by working for those who wait for Him…God is not looking for people to work for Him,so much as He is looking for people who will let Him work for them. The gospel commands us to give upand hang out a help-wanted sign (this is the basic meaning of prayer). Then the gospel promises thatGod will work for us if we do. He will not surrender the glory of being the Giver.”

THE ROLE OF MAN

Some have asked, does man have a role to play in the extension of the glory of God on the earth? Isn’tGod sovereign? Is he not omnipotent? Does he need the help of a fragile creature like man, to make hisglory known on the earth? The answer to this question is a big “yes”. God needs a person. God hascommitted himself to work with a person in the advancement of his purpose on the earth. Prophet Isaiahaddresses this issue in Isaiah 66:18-20, he said, “I can see what they are doing, and I know what they arethinking. So, I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform asign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, tothe Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyondthe sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to thenations.” (Isaiah 66:18-19 NLT)

Another text that supports the involvement of man in the task of making the glory of God known in thenations is Psalm 72. This Psalm is about the universal reign of an earthly king believed to be Solomon. Itis also believed that this earthly king under reference prefigured Jesus Christ whose glory would coverthe whole earth. The kingly Psalm ends with these words, “This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.”(Psalms 72:20 NLT). But what were the prayers David made for the reign of Solomon? They include hisenduring reign and the spread of his glory. David’s prayers are contained in the whole Psalm, especiallyin verses 17-19, “May the king’s name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May allnations be blessed through him and bring him praise. Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alonedoes such wonderful things. Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with hisglory. Amen and amen!” (Psalms 72:17-19 NLT)

Thus, from the above two texts, we see that man shares in the responsibility of making the glory of Godknown to the nations. As earlier stated, one means of achieving this is through prayer. David prayed forthe glory of the king to be felt among the nations.

NEED FOR PRAYER

Unfortunately, among all the activities needed to actualize God’s ultimate goal, prayer is the least done.We do not lack in ideas, we do not lack in vision and strategy, we do not lack in mission programs, whatwe lack is a fervent, effective and sustained prayer for missions. Wesley Duewel once said, “The greatestlack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer.”

STATISTICS

It is said that there are about 12,000 people groups on earth, some of which have heard the Gospeland developed movements to Christ; others have still not had that opportunity. About 5500 UnreachedPeople Groups still do not have an indigenous movement of believers with numbers and resources toreach their groups (less than 5% Christian). An even needier subset- 4700 “frontier” or least reachedpeople groups are less than 0.1% Christian. Effective prayer is indispensable if we are to complete such a vast task of reaching the remaining unreached peoples with the gospel.

WE MUST BE STRATEGIC IN OUR PRAYERS

To extend God’s glory to the ends of the earth, our prayer must be intense, consistent and sustained.Our prayer must also be strategic. Strategically, we must target the unseen powers that have held swayover the lives in each Unreached People Group.We must strategically target the barriers that inhibit the efforts to reach the remaining unreachedpeoples in our prayers. These barriers include cultural and spiritual strongholds; the physical barriers;

the communication barriers; the geographical barriers; the religious barriers; the economic barriers; andthe political barriers.

Prophet Isaiah reveals what would happen when we intentionally pray to break down these barriers. Hesays the veil that is over the nations would be broken. “And He will destroy on this mountain the surfaceof the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.” (Isaiah 25:7 NKJV)There is no question that the remaining UPG are all locked up behind spiritual barriers that keep themaway from the light of the gospel. Paul, like Isaiah, agrees that these veils or strongholds could bebroken off the minds of people so that they can embrace the light of the gospel. “Casting downarguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thoughtinto captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (II Corinthians 10:5 NKJV). May the Spirit of prayer be pouredout on the Church so that we would be able to complete the remaining task among the UnreachedPeoples of the earth.

Austen C. Ukachi
IPC West African Regional Co-ordinator.
Co-ordinator, Strategic Prayer Network Co-ordinator, MANI