Barnabas Prayer November December 2016

BARNABAS FUND – AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

barnabasprayer To help you pray for the persecuted Church

November/ December 2016 barnabasfund.org

Thank you for your prayers for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, which make such a difference to them. We sometimes have to change or omit their names for security reasons, and we have only limited space to share their stories. But the Lord knows the people and places we are praying about.

Thank you for your understanding.

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Please do not feel limited by the specific prayer requests, but pray as you feel led.

On each Sunday we have provided a set prayer; please feel free to use these in their current form, to adapt them as you prefer, or to use the information they contain to frame your own prayers.

November Tuesday 1 A new leader of Boko Haram, the West African militant Islamist group, was announced on 3 August. Immediately after his appointment, Abu Musab Al-Barnawi issued a threat to bomb churches and kill Christians, also stating that his group would cease attacking mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims (whom the group did not consider to be staunch enough in their religion).

Please pray for the protection of Christians in north-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring countries from those who seek their lives. (Psalm 35:4) Wednesday 2 Following the Boko Haram threat in August (see above), a Nigerian Muslim group called “Muslim Rights Concern” (MURIC) called on Muslims across the country “to demonstrate solidarity with their Christian neighbours by ensuring that Boko Haram elements are not allowed

to launch attacks on Christians in their neighbourhood”. The MURIC statement called Boko Haram’s threat “despicable” and expressed “total bewilderment at the depth of barbarism” vocalised by Boko Haram’s new leader Al-Barnawi.

Praise God for such a statement, pray for the protection of MURIC’s leader Ishaq Akintola, and that Nigerian Muslims will heed this call and act to protect Nigerian Christians.

Thursday 3 A Siberian pastor running a children’s camp near the Arctic Circle was the first known person to be charged under the Russian government’s new anti-terror laws, which have placed draconian restrictions on religious freedom. On 20 July, the very day the legislation came into force, the camp was raided and a couple of days afterwards he was charged with “conducting missionary activity” and later fined.

Soon afterwards a Ghanaian was charged because he baptised people in a sanatorium’s pool, a Russian was charged for speaking on stage at a local festival, and an American was charged for advertising that he was holding religious services in his home. Please pray that the Russian authorities will not enforce the new law so rigorously against believers but will use it only against terrorists. (Source: Forum 18) Friday 4 A senior church leader based in Siberia told Barnabas Fund that he anticipates the return of persecution to Christians in Russia, similar to the old days of the Soviet Union.

He considers that the new law (see above) “is all about control and fear”.

Pray that Russian Christians may face the future not with a spirit of

fear but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

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Sunday 6 Come, O Lord, and save Your suffering people. In their distress and anguish, rescue them. Bring them aid and deliverance by Your power.

Turn Your eyes upon them, enfold them in Your arms, keep them close to Your heart, and sustain them by Your presence. From Satan’s hand, keep them. From Satan’s conspiracies, save them. From Satan’s destructive powers,

Aasia Bibi

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Saturday 5 Barnabas Fund International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The Islamic State militant group issued a direct threat against Christians in Issue 15 of their online magazine Dabiq. An 18-page article entitled “Break the Cross” condemns Christianity, and says that “the true religion of Jesus Christ is a pure monotheistic submission – called Islam”. It finishes by calling on Christians to believe in Allah, warning that, if they continue to disbelieve, “Know well our fight will continue until you are defeated and submit to the rule of your Creator or until we achieve martyrdom.” It also offers them the option of avoiding death by paying jizya tax and accepting a list of regulations designed to restrict Christians as individuals, make Christianity invisible, but support and elevate Muslims. All of this is classical Islamic preparation for jihad. In the last sentence of the article, Muslims are encouraged to pray to Allah to curse Christians. Ask our Heavenly Father to protect our Christian brothers and sisters all around the world. Pray that Muslim readers of Dabiq will reject its teaching and will come to know and love the Lord Jesus.

deliver them. From Satan’s slanderous accusations, guard them. From Satan’s lies and deceit, enlighten them. O Lord, deliver them from the evil one. Give them faith to stand against the works of Satan. Protect them with the blood of the Lamb. Make them faithful in the word of their testimony. Give them grace to embrace a martyr’s death.

Embolden them with courage, and grant them victory over the power of evil. In Christ’s Name we pray.

Monday 7 Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the announcement of Aasia Bibi’s death sentence. She had been found guilty under Pakistan’s notorious “blasphemy law” after an argument with other women fieldlabourers when the Muslim women refused to drink water Aasia Bibi had fetched for them because they did not want to consume something touched by a Christian. At the time of writing, she is still on death row and waiting for her appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court in the second week of October.

If the appeal has been heard and turned down, her only remaining hope, humanly speaking, is a presidential pardon. But the hearing may have been

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postponed for fear of violent protests by Muslim extremists outraged at the idea of Aasia Bibi being let off. Whatever Aasia Bibi’s situation as you read this, pray that the Lord she trusts will keep her in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Tuesday 8 A one-man tribunal in Pakistan has recommended that changes be made to the country’s “blasphemy law” (sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code). The proposed changes would stop it being so easily misused to settle personal grudges (by giving the same draconian punishments for false accusations as for the offences themselves) and bring it into line with Article 25 of the Pakistani Constitution according to which all religions should be treated equally. The recommendations came as part of a report on terrible antiChristian rioting in Gojra in 2009 in which 60 houses were burnt down and eight Christians killed, because of an allegation that a Quran had been desecrated. Pray that appropriate new legislation will be passed to bring about these improvements.

Wednesday 9 Pakistani Christians feel dismayed and betrayed by the Archbishop of Canterbury welcoming to Lambeth Palace in July two extremist Islamic clerics from Pakistan who had come to preach in the UK. He even had them brief him on the situation in Pakistan. The two Muslims are well known for stirring up violence against Christians and anyone else who opposes Pakistan’s outrageous “blasphemy law”. Pray that the Most Rev. Justin Welby may understand that what he sees as positive moves for “faith relationships

in the UK” can devastatingly undermine vulnerable Christian minorities in other countries.

Thursday 10 A 14-year old Pakistani Christian girl called Mehwish was hired by a Muslim family to help at an evening party in March. She never returned.

Her father Tanveer went several times to the house to ask for her and eventually in May reported her disappearance to the police, naming three Muslims as her abductors. He then began to be harassed and intimidated by the family, but refused to withdraw his complaint. Then the Muslims told him they would settle the dispute privately if he withdrew the complaint. Tanveer did so and then set off to meet the Muslims on the agreed date. Two men shot him dead. Pray for his defenceless widow and the three younger daughters. Pray also for Mehwish herself, who is has probably been forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim. “I pray that my daughter will continue to place hope and faith in Jesus Christ,” said her mother.

Friday 11 Zimbabwe has seen increasing pressure on Christians. In April, Scripture Union was banned from meeting in schools. A new law in May required all school children to begin the day by reciting a pledge of loyalty to the government and President Mugabe. Churches objected on the basis that this was the first stage of a humanist indoctrination agenda. In the same month some churches were banned from meeting on government property, setting a precedent that could potentially affect thousands of rural congregations who normally gathered to worship in school buildings. In July

Pastor Evan Mawarire was arrested, in response to his “This Flag” movement calling on the government to restore justice. Thousands of Christians assembled outside the court to pray, and he was released and all charges dropped. Pray for President Mugabe (92) and the ruling ZANU-PF party that God will change their hearts, even now.

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Sunday 13 O Lord, we ask for your mercy on Zimbabwe, wracked by terrible drought, especially in the south. We pray to you for the millions of subsistence farmers who are facing starvation because of 95% or 100% crop failure. You know that the rains must start to fall this month if there is to be a good harvest next year. Please send those rains and let the earth produce its crops. Move the heart of President Mugabe to admit there is a problem and allow the import of foreign food aid.

Bless Barnabas Fund’s Project Joseph, working through the churches to distribute ground maize to thousands of the neediest. We pray in Jesus’ Name.

(James 5:18)

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Saturday 12 Zimbabwe has been known for years as a country ruled by fear. But, in response to the increasing pressure on churches in Zimbabwe (see above), Christians are becoming more united and more vocal in standing up to the government, with prayer marches and meetings. Some church groups issued statements in support of Pastor Evan Mawarire’s call for justice. They went on to call for President Mugabe to stand down and for the rule of law to be re-established.

Pray for continued courage, wisdom and unity for Zimbabwean church leaders in this fast-changing situation.

Monday 14 “People are praying day and night,” said a church leader in Aleppo, as Syria’s largest city endured intense bombardment this summer.

The situation, he said, is going beyond “that which can be endured”. Another said to Barnabas Fund, “Now we live by faith alone, 100% by faith.” Pray that the faith of our brothers and sisters in Aleppo will not fail in the face of constant danger and deprivation. Ask God to give them the gift of an eternal perspective, so that “though now for a little while [they] may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” they will know that “these have come so that the proven genuineness of [their] faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Barnabas Fund is feeding Christians in Aleppo Tuesday 15 Please pray for 92 Christian widows of martyrs and their 194 children, whom Barnabas Fund is assisting in Aleppo, Syria. Most of the women are aged 25 -40 and all of them lost their husbands in the current war. As well as help with practical needs such as food and clothes, there are regular meetings and occasional conferences to help them emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Praise God for His blessing on these meetings, which bring hope, peace and healing.

For example, a little girl of eight

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changed during a four-day conference from hiding in a corner and colouring her pictures black all over to interacting with the other children and using multiple bright colours in her artwork.

Wednesday 16 After the failed coup in Turkey in July, a State of Emergency across the whole country was announced, and, at the time of writing, is still in place. This reverses the balance of power between Parliament and the Council of Ministers (chaired by the president), and allows President Erdogan and his council to rule by decree instead of according to laws passed by Parliament. Turkish Christians fear that, under the State of Emergency, there could be a clampdown on church services, church buildings, Christian literature, electronic media, radio and TV. According to Article 120 of the Turkish constitution, the maximum period for a State of Emergency is six months, so it is due to expire by 21 January.

Whatever happens now or in the future, pray that Christians in Turkey may be salt and light in their society, which is going through a period of immense upheaval, as Islamist factions vie with each other.

Thursday 17 Islamic State (IS) have called on their Turkish supporters to target civilians in Europe and North America. The message came in their online Turkish magazine Konstantiniyye. Turkey has been demanding for months that all its citizens be given visa-free travel to the Schengen countries (i.e. most of the European Union) in return for stemming the flow of Middle Eastern migrants to Europe and €6 billion of aid from the

EU. At the time of writing, the deal is stalled because the EU are requiring Turkey to improve its human rights first, but if the deal is finalised Turkish IS supporters will be able to travel freely across most of Europe, making it easy for them to carry out IS’s instructions.

Ask the Lord to intervene and prevent this scenario becoming a reality.

Friday 18 At the time of writing, Islamic State (IS) has suffered a series of military defeats in Iraq and is losing territory. It may be that by the time you are reading this the Christian town of Qaraqosh is liberated and even the city of Mosul, where many Christians lived until IS seized it in 2014. Most of the Christian former inhabitants of this region are not far away, in Iraqi Kurdistan. But they are fearful of returning to their ancestral homeland, even if IS should be displaced from it.

Many of their Muslim neighbours, with whom they had lived harmoniously before, turned hostile during the conflict, and the Christians’ homes and property have been seized by IS and disposed of. Pray that each displaced Iraqi Christian family will be guided by God as to where they should go.

Saturday 19 When the church in the Egyptian village of Madamoud, east of Luxor, was discovered to be on fire in the early hours of 16 July, Muslims and Christians worked together to try to extinguish the blaze until firefighters arrived. Praise God for the actions of the Muslim villagers, so very unusual in a country where many resent and oppose (sometimes violently) the presence of Christian places of worship. Pray that more Egyptian Muslims will have the same attitude.

Sunday 20 O God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, we pray in His Name for our persecuted brothers and sisters and for ourselves. Please equip us with everything good for doing Your will in the different situations in which we live and the many challenges we face in following our great Shepherd, whether it is threats, intimidation and violence, or whether it is the slow and creeping advance of secular humanism. Please work in us what is pleasing to You and may our faithful Christ-like lives glorify His Name.

(Hebrews 13:20)

Thursday 24 “I have never had a Bible of my own. I read the one community Bible that we have for the whole church,” said N.H. from Myanmar (Burma). He was delighted to receive a free Bible in his own dialect, one of thousands

Barnabas Fund has helped deliver thousands of Bibles to Christians in Myanmar

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Tuesday 22 Father Jacques Hamel (86) was murdered on 26 July as he conducted worship in his church near Rouen, France. His two knifewielding attackers reportedly shouted “Daesh” (the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group) before they slit his throat. The Grand Muftis of Egypt and Australia were quick to condemn the attack, and in France itself the Rector of the Great Mosque of Paris called the attack a “blasphemous sacrilege which goes against all the teachings of our religion”. Pray that the words of such

Wednesday 23 An Indonesian Muslim attempted to detonate a suicide bomb in the middle of a church service in Medan, Sumatra, on 28 August.

When his bomb failed, he attacked the minister with an axe. The congregation restrained the Muslim and the minister escaped with minor injuries. According to the Indonesian police, the attacker, who was carrying a drawing of the Islamic State flag, had been inspired by the murder of the French priest (see above). Thank the Lord for preventing any serious injuries or loss of life. Pray for the would-be suicide bomber that he will discover what pleases the one true God and channel his zeal and commitment into serving Christ.

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Monday 21 The government of Hungary has set up a department to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Having covertly helped Christians and other persecuted minorities for some years by granting them visas and building a Christian school in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Hungarian government has now decided to publicise what they are doing, so as to set an example to other nations in Europe. Pray that other European governments will respond and follow the pattern of Hungary.

senior Islamic figures will be heeded

by Muslims around the world.

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distributed amongst poor Christians with funding from Barnabas.Pray that these needy believers, who have suffered much persecution, will be encouraged and uplifted as they read the Word of God so much more easily than before.

bill to parliament to amend the law in two ways: (1) specifying that such decisions should be made by the Federal Court (i.e. by the supreme civil court, not by the sharia courts) (2) allowing applications to go straight to the Federal Court, instead of forcing applicants through the tortuous lower courts first.

Pray that these suggestions will be implemented in law and in practice.

Friday 25 Three women from Sarawak, Malaysia, who renounced Islam, have been refused permission for official recognition that they are now Christians. The Sarawak Court of Appeal dismissed their application on 17 August, but gave them leave to try again through the sharia court. Although Malaysia’s Federal Constitution (Article 11) guarantees the right to profess and practise a religion of one’s choice, it is extremely rare that converts from Islam are able to get their choice accepted officially.

One issue is whether the question will be decided by the civil courts or the sharia courts. Often the civil courts appear to prefer to put on the sharia courts the responsibility of making the controversial decision.

But of course the converts are at a huge disadvantage in sharia courts because, according to sharia, they are apostates deserving death. The three women had all converted to Islam when they married Muslims but, after divorce or the death of their husbands, had been baptised as Christians. Pray that Jenny, Choo Ting and Salina may have their choice to follow Christ recognised officially.

Monday 28 Pastor Sunny Tyagi, a convert from Hinduism, was leading a prayer meeting in a believer’s home on the morning of Friday 26 August when ten Hindu militants burst in, threatened the Christians and started beating up the pastor, accusing him of trying to convert Hindus. The incident happened in Uttar Pradesh state, India, where the persecution of Christians has dramatically increased since last year. Pray that Indian Christians will be allowed to share their faith without false accusations and violence against them.

Saturday 26 A Malaysian MP, Zairil Khir Johan, commented after the court ruling described above that “religion should be a matter of individual faith, and not for bureaucracy to decide”. He offered to submit a private member’s

Tuesday 29 A Christian community near Peshawar, Pakistan, was targeted by four suicide bombers on 2 September. One Christian, Samuel Masih, was killed as he raised the alarm, but guards managed to prevent

Sunday 27 Heavenly Father, we pray today for Christians in North Korea who take such risks to follow You. Thank You for their faithfulness, love and endurance, their willingness to suffer for You in harsh labour camps on starvation rations, even to die for You. Please draw near to each one, sustain and encourage them, and by Your Holy Spirit continue to grow Your Church in North Korea. We ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wednesday 30 Eleven Iranian Christians from a Muslim background were arrested as they met for worship in a house-church in Isfahan on 12 August.

Another five converts were arrested while at a family gathering with their wives and children near Tehran on 23 August. Please pray that God will sustain and strengthen each one to withstand the rigours and pressure that will be put on them in prison. Pray that the Iranian authorities will grow tired of targeting Christians.

Friday 2 Many of the more senior church leaders in Iran have had to leave the country in the last few years. The government sends them a message that they will be put in prison for a long period unless they leave. Please pray for the spiritual needs of large numbers of ordinary Iranian Christians who remain. Ask that God will give His grace and wisdom to equip the junior leaders who pastor small groups of believers, now that they have no one senior and experienced to consult for help and guidance.

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Iranian Christians arrested on 23 August

Saturday 3 Three Sudanese Christians and a Czech aid worker are on trial in Sudan accused of a range of crimes, some of which could result in a death penalty. Arrested over a period of months, the four appeared in court together on 29 August. It seems that the real reason they have been accused of things such as espionage and war against the state is that they tried to publicise the persecution of Christians in Sudan, especially in the Nuba Mountains. Pray that the Sudanese government will cease oppressing the Christian minority and stifling the voices of those who speak up for them.

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Thursday 1 Three Iranian converts to Christianity face the possibility of being sentenced to 80 lashes, simply for drinking wine at a communion service. They have been charged with alcohol consumption, which is illegal in Iran for Muslims. Although all those charged are Christian believers, their conversion from Islam is not recognised by the Iranian authorities.

Please pray that the case against them will be dropped.

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any further civilian deaths. All four attackers died, either from their detonating their suicide jackets or from gunfire by the guards. According to Pakistani security forces, the terrorists had intended to target nearby military installations but finding these too well guarded they had turned on the Christian community instead. Ask the Lord to comfort Samuel’s grieving relatives and to protect His faithful people in Pakistan.

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Sunday 4 Lord Jesus, we long for Your return to set right the injustices of our world, to bring an end to violence, conflict and war, to vindicate Your people and establish Your Kingdom.

As we think of Christians around the world suffering for Your Name, waiting patiently for deliverance, we ask that You will fill them with hope and confidence in You. O God of Peace, we rejoice in Your promise that You will soon crush Satan under our feet.

We join with our persecuted brothers and sisters in looking for the day when sin and evil, death and destruction are no more and our enemy is defeated.

(Romans 16:20) Monday 5 Two failed rainy seasons followed by catastrophic flooding destroyed crops in large parts of Ethiopia, resulting in the worst famine for 50 years. Millions of cattle and other livestock perished and by August it was thought that up to ten million people were in danger of starvation.

The government had stored grain during the good years but it is not enough. Barnabas Fund’s Project Joseph is helping to feed some of the neediest through churches and church groups. Please ask for God’s mercy on the country of Ethiopia, that the right amount of rain will fall at the right time and crops will grow.

Tuesday 6 Since the overthrow of the Marxist government in 1991 there has been a creeping Islamisation process in Ethiopia, with sharia courts implicitly sanctioned in the 1994 constitution, then formally legalised in 1999. Huge numbers of mosques and Islamic schools are being built, many of them promoting radical Wahhabi

Islam. Ethiopia, whose population is now about one-third Muslim, has seen itself for centuries as a “Christian island in a Muslim ocean”. Pray that the light of the Gospel will continue to shine out from Ethiopia.

Wednesday 7 In the last eight years, more than 2,000 church buildings have been burnt or demolished in Ethiopia

by Islamic extremists, and over 5,000 Christians injured or killed. The Islamic State group (IS) killed 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya earlier in this year, captioning their video of the incident “worshippers of the cross belonging to the hostile Ethiopian church” and issued a warning that IS was now operating within Ethiopia. Pray for the protection of Ethiopian Christians and that they may respond to these attacks with faith and forgiveness.

Thursday 8 A message from a ministry in Uganda to Barnabas Fund asks prayer for the safety, protection and peace of recent converts from Islam to Christianity, including 30 former sheikhs and imams who are now living in safe houses. Other Muslim leaders are working hard to try and find them in order to capture them and force them to return to Islam or be killed if they refuse. Pray that they may rest in the shadow of the Almighty and know God as their refuge and fortress (Psalm 91:1-2).

Friday 9 Four Christians working in their fields near Kolofata, northern Cameroon, were kidnapped on 12 August by Boko Haram militants. Two female hostages were soon released so that they could raise a ransom for the remaining two, being the husband and

mother-in-law of one of these released.

The required ransom was paid but only the mother-in-law was released. Pray for Samuel, still in captivity at the time of writing. In the same month and the same town, a Christian called Gazawa Alphonse was killed when the town was attacked. Barnabas Fund has been told by a Cameroonian church leader that Gazawa was probably targeted deliberately by Boko Haram because six months earlier he had been given a medal and a reward by the government for his bravery in tackling a group of Boko Haram fighters. Pray for his widow and three children.

Saturday 10 On 27 August, Gabon in West Africa re-elected President Ali Bongo for another 7-year term. He and his father, both Muslims, have already ruled the country for 49 years between them. When the result was announced, protestors took to the streets of this country which has at least three times as many Christians as Muslims. The defeated candidate, Jean Ping, who lost by fewer than 6,000 votes, has complained of fraud, especially in one

Sunday 11 O God, Who knows our hearts and understands our innermost thoughts better than we do ourselves, we confess our lack of trust in you, and our lack of love and concern for our Christian family around the world.

While our brothers and sisters face injustice, violence, false arrests and imprisonment, even death for Christ, we often find our minds preoccupied with worries that are trivial in comparison.

Please enable us and them to stop being anxious but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, to present our requests to You. Thank You for the promise that Your peace, which transcends all understanding, will then guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, in Whose Name we pray.

(Philippians 4:7) Monday 12 It is reported from Nigeria that Pastor Luka Ubangari was ambushed and shot dead on Sunday 21 August as he returned home by motorcycle to Shawa village, Kaduna state, after a visit to evangelise in nearby Golkofa village. It is suspected that his attackers were Muslim Fulani herdsmen. Just five days earlier, the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had condemned the incessant killings by herdsmen and promised that the perpetrators would be arrested and punished. Pray that Christian victims will react with Christ-like forgiveness and that the Nigerian authorities will bring to justice the men of violence.

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Barnabas Fund supports Cameroonian Christian widows whose husbands have been killed by Boko Haram

province which claimed a turnout of 99.93% with 95% of the votes for Mr Bongo. Pray that the person of God’s choice will rule the oil-rich nation, and for peace and stability.

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Tuesday 13 Nigerian Christians were bitterly upset when US Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited their country in August and met only with politicians from the predominantly Muslim north, ignoring the mainly Christian south. They were also hurt that, when he spoke to condemn Boko Haram, he indicated that the terrorist group targeted educational places, women and girls, and Muslims. He completely left out their number one target: Christians. Pray that political leaders from the West may use the immense power and influence that God has allowed them to have in a fair and just way, not acting as if they are ashamed of their Christian heritage.

Wednesday 14 Thank the Lord for a courageous Nigerian Muslim called Tajudeen who intervened to protect a Christian student in Zamfara state who was being beaten by Muslim students because he had been accused of blasphemy against Islam and Muhammad. Tajudeen drove the Christian student to hospital to be treated for his injuries, but the Muslim mob then turned on Tajudeen himself and set fire to his house. Tragically, eight Muslims died in the blaze (but not Tajudeen or his wife). Pray for Tajudeen and all who mourn the dead in these revenge killings against someone whose only “crime” was to help a Christian under attack.

Thursday 15 Christians from Ivory Coast ask prayer for their country where the Muslim-Christian political tensions that erupted into violence in 2002 and 2011 are not healed, and the calm that prevails is an uneasy one. The cost of living has risen and

food especially is very expensive. For Christians there is the extra challenge of the advance of Islam and believers are uncertain whether things are as peaceful as they appear on the surface.

Pray that in this difficult situation the Church will rouse itself, will understand the times (1 Chronicles 12:32), that Christians will be united, and will act wisely. “Our eyes are fixed on the Lord,” wrote one Ivorian Christian leader to Barnabas Fund.

Friday 16 Since the presidential election in Chad in April, the population has been feeling uneasy. The economy has plunged, there are many strikes, and people have no money to spend.

Chad is making headway in the fight against terrorism in West Africa (their army is the most effective in the region), but there is therefore a fear of retaliation against Chadian targets by Boko Haram. Pray that the various presidents of nations in the region will cooperate together in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism so that their brutal violence can be ended, a violence which primarily targets Christians, Western-style educational institutions, and security personnel.

Saturday 17 Christians in Sierra Leone ask prayer for the security of their country, which has sent soldiers to fight in Somalia against the AlShabaab Islamist group. Sierra Leone expects in return to be targeted by Al-Shabaab terrorists. There is high unemployment and many young people, both Christians and Muslims, are being recruited for jobs in Saudi Arabia. Pray that the Christians will not waver in their faith, despite the immense pressures on Christians in

Saudi Arabia, where any public display of a non-Islamic religion is forbidden.

Monday 19 “It was like a miracle!” said Tanzilya, recalling how in December 2015 she had wept and pleaded with the Lord for help because her church building in Kyrgyzstan was so cold in the bitter winter weather that the Christians had had to abandon their rehearsal for a Christmas event. After praying she checked her emails and found a message from Barnabas Fund promising finance for two heaters, insulation and other improvements.

Praise God with us for the generosity of Barnabas supporters that enables us to respond to such needs. Pray that the various congregations who use this building, including many converts from Islam, will be able to celebrate their Saviour’s birth, not only in warmth and comfort this year, but also in safety from all persecution.

Tuesday 20 Christians in Kyrgyzstan have become less active in evangelism

Wednesday 21 Christians in Uzbekistan are severely restricted.

Even having Christian literature and CDs in the home is illegal and, if caught, Christians are fined for each copy of each book or disc. The architect of this repression was President Karimov, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for 27 years when his death was announced on 2 September. He was the only president that Uzbekistan had ever had since gaining independence from the USSR and died without having arranged a successor. Pray that the new president of Uzbekistan will rule with wisdom and righteousness and will cease to persecute Christians.

Thursday 22 Although life for Christians in Uzbekistan is very hard (see above), Central Asian believers consider it is even harsher in Turkmenistan, a country from which little news comes to the outside world.

But we have a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful. Pray to Him for our brothers and sisters in Turkmenistan, thanking Him that He knows each one and their needs. One challenge they face is President Berdymukhamedov, who has been in power for the last ten years and has created an exaggerated

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Sunday 18 Almighty Lord and God, we thank You for giving us a Prince of Peace who will establish and uphold His Kingdom with justice and righteousness. May this promise sustain and encourage Christians living today with violence, injustice and unrighteous treatment. May it strengthen their faith in You. May it give them grace to forgive their enemies and pray for their persecutors. May their lives display the values of Your Kingdom. We ask this in the Name of the child who was born, the Son who was given, our Lord Jesus Christ, on whose shoulders will be the government. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

in recent years, as a result of stricter religion laws being introduced in their country. Pray for them, remembering the words of the Apostle Paul: “Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel… pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

(Ephesians 6:18-20)

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personality cult just as his predecessor did – pray for Him that He may humble himself, repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday 23 Several families in a certain Muslim village in Central Asia became Christians. Gradually all moved away to the capital city, seeking work etc. except for one couple and their small children. The wife was very bold in sharing the Gospel. Several times her husband was invited to the mosque, but he would not go. Eventually, as he continued to keep away from the mosque, some Muslims came to punish him by beating up his wife in front of his eyes. She was badly hurt and had to be hospitalised. Her husband hanged himself because of the shame he felt.

Pray for his wife and children, that the Lord they love will comfort, protect and provide for them.

Saturday 24 The Christmas season is a time when extremists of other religions often choose to target Christians. Ask the Lord God Almighty to protect His people at this time from those who seek to harm them. Pray that His holy angels surround them to guard and keep them safe. Intercede also for those who right now are making plans to kill and destroy, thinking that this is pleasing to the god they seek to follow. Pray that their plans will come to nothing and that the hatred will be taken from their hearts.

Sunday 25 Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, we rejoice to remember today Your coming into the world as a vulnerable baby, born in poverty and soon to be forced to flee from a king who sought to kill You. We

lift to You all Christians around the world who live defenceless, despised, hated and persecuted. We pray for our brothers and sisters who have lost homes, homelands, livelihoods and possessions for the sake of Your Name. Fill them with the joy of this Christmas season, comfort them with the knowledge that You who were rich beyond all splendour became poor for us, and enable them to be a light for You wherever they are.

Monday 26 In January 2016 President al-Sisi of Egypt promised that within a year the Egyptian army would restore or rebuild all the churches damaged or destroyed in August 2013 by Muslim Brotherhood supporters angered by the ousting of President Morsi. By August they had rebuilt about 70% of the approximately 70 buildings needing attention. Praise God for this progress and pray that all will be completed on time.

Many church buildings in Egypt have been attacked in recent years Tuesday 27 Praise God for a landmark decision by Egypt’s parliament on 30 August to pass a new law which will make it much easier to construct church buildings. This has been a

major problem for Egyptian Christians for generations and there are not nearly enough places of worship for the community of at least 8 million Christians. Under the new law, requests for permission for a new church building are made to a local governor and must be processed within four months. Previously it was the president himself who had to give permission and the application process could take many years.

Thursday 29 Only God knows how many Saudi Muslims have decided to follow Christ. Most keep their faith secret because under Saudi law (which follows sharia) they could be executed as apostates from Islam. Pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to these isolated believers, bringing them comfort and counsel, and enabling them to grow in Christ. Pray also for encouragement for the many expatriate Christians who live and work in Saudi Arabia, often in atrocious conditions, and are not allowed to show their Christian faith publicly in any way, not even by Christmas decorations.

Saturday 31 The Western New Year is often a time when Christian minorities are attacked by extremists from other religions, who think that this is a Christian festival. Please pray that our vulnerable brothers and sisters may be protected by the blood of Jesus.

Pray also that as they look towards the coming year they may remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6-7) CORRECTION regarding prayer item for 11 August 2016 The new Islam curriculum for Spanish government schools is only for Muslim schoolchildren. It will not be taught to non-Muslims.

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Wednesday 28 “It is abhorrent to us, as a Muslim and a Jew, to see Christianity and Christians under such savage assault across our region … to lose Christianity from its birthplace would be to destroy the richness of the tapestry of the Middle East and a hammer blow to our shared heritage.”

This is the view expressed by Prince Hassan of Jordan and Ed Kessler in an article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

Pray that this view will become the norm across the Middle East and that Christians will be respected and their place in societies affirmed.

Friday 30 Christians in certain states of northern Nigeria continue to suffer frequent attacks by ethnic Fulani Muslim herdsmen, who are killing hundreds of people, burning churches and homes and destroying crops. The Christians are targeted both for their faith and for their land. The Nigerian authorities do little to protect the Christians or bring their attackers to justice. The federal government has proposed to create “grazing reserves” for the herdsmen but Christians see this as in effect rewarding the herdsmen for the atrocities they have carried out against Christians.

Pray that the promised ruler from Bethlehem will enable His people to live securely and that, whenever their lands are invaded, He will be their peace (Micah 5:4-5).

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Front cover: Barnabas Fund has rescued many Indian Christian children from poverty