Student Volunteer Movement II is a global movement focusing on mobilizing 100,000 new workers to the harvest among least-reached peoples from the student generation. The SVM2 Alliance is getting excited about the upcoming “21 Days for Global Harvest” prayer campaign to pursue God for spiritual awakening and global harvest. This campaign will take place from September 30 – October 20, 2012, with the theme “Let My People Go!” based on Exodus 8. Small groups of young adults from student ministries related to campus ministry organizations, Christian colleges/Bible schools and local churches will participate from many nations.
Very few prayer campaigns exist connecting the emerging generation of believers together with one purpose. “21 Days for Global Harvest” targets this age group with a united prayer emphasis for awakening across the student generation and becoming ignited with passion for global harvest.
It is important to have as many student ministries from as many nations involved in this prayer campaign. It is our hope to see 1,000 prayer groups praying for 387 unengaged, unreached people groups during the 21 days.
Would you and your organization or church commit to participating with this prayer campaign as a stakeholder network? This would include the following action steps:
1. Promotion – Among your constituency (Both Para-Church ministries as well as Local Churches and Denominations – the goal is to see prayer groups involved across the spectrum of the body of Christ)
2. Participation – Schedule it on the GDOP Annual Ministry Calendar
3. Partnership – Partner to Make the Prayer Campaign a Success
The “21 Days for Global Harvest” website will include your group as a stakeholder network with the prayer campaign.
An informational graphic email is available to help with promotion. This could be sent on to the group constituency as a means of promoting the campaign. In that email it will also state clearly where to obtain hard copy prayer guides and promotional posters for local churches, student ministries, etc.
To date, other stakeholder networks include International Prayer Council (IPC), IFES-Carribean, International Center for Evangelism, Church Planting & Prayer (ICECAP), Mission-Net Europe, Malaysian Center for Global Missions (MCGM), Latin Link, Moving In Action (MIA)-SA, ForMission-Niger, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Japan Antioch Mission (JAM), World Mission Prayer League.
I look forward to hearing from you about the possibility of organization or church serving in this important role as a stakeholder network for the “21 Days for Global Harvest” prayer campaign.
Over the last two years, Pakistan has had something of a respite from dramatic attacks such as those that plagued the country from 2007 to 2010. During those years, a series of high-profile and highly disruptive attacks against police, army, and intelligence targets challenged the government’s ability to control the country. The attacks occurred in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, in cities such as Lahore, and in the capital, Islamabad.
While suicide bombings and attacks in Pakistan’s troubled northwest (along the border with Afghanistan) have continued apace since 2010, major attacks in Pakistan’s Punjab-Sindh core have essentially ceased. The sole instance of dramatic violence involving government targets outside of the northwest since 2010 was an attack on a naval station near Karachi following the death of Osama bin Laden. Despite the break from violence in Pakistan’s major cities, many of the same conditions present during the wave of attacks from 2007 to 2010 remain. Another escalation in violence is very possible, especially in Pakistan’s volatile climate and with elections coming up.
Timing of the Attacks
The two attacks (along with numerous other attacks and an attempted assassination) came the week after Pakistan formally reopened NATO supply routes through the country to Afghanistan. The supply routes had been closed for more than seven months after a deadly cross-border attack by U.S. forces in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The day the routs reopened, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan told journalists it would attack trucks carrying NATO supplies in protest.
Bur rather than an impetus for attacks, the reopening of the supply line is more likely a political opportunity for the Pakistani Taliban militants to promote anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. The NATO supply line is one of the most visible products of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and some political opposition groups have criticized the Pakistani government for helping Washington while the U.S. military conducted strikes killing mostly Pakistanis along the border with Afghanistan. By opposing the NATO supply line, the Pakistani Taliban militants are able to generate popular support across Pakistan…
Right now, Pakistan’s military presence in the country’s northwest is backed only by a feeble government. The lead-up to Pakistan’s elections is an opportunity for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to make its case against internal military deployments. Should Islamabad’s political will shift and the military lose its advantage in the northwest, the militants could continue their campaign in Pakistan’s core, returning to high-profile, disruptive attacks.”
Please pray for the dissolution of the Tehrik-i-Taliban and the end of their terrorist attacks in Pakistan and for God’s peace to reign in the nation.
Iranian Christians thank us for our continued prayer for pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned since October 2009. In September, 2010, the Revolutionary Tribunal of Gilan Province found him guilty of apostasy and sentenced him to death - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in July, 2011.
It is understood that pastor Yousef was verbally informed on 4th July that he would face a new trial in September on different charges. This has not been confirmed in writing, and Yousef has not been told of what any new charges would be. If new charges are brought, it is expected (based on the experience of most cases against Christians in Iran in recent months and years) that these would be non-specific political charges, such as "activities against the state" or against state security, rather than religious charges. Yousef has only limited legal support within Iran after a sentence given to his principal lawyer in July, 2011, was upheld in April.
We regret to report that another believer, Farshid, has had a six-year jail sentence confirmed by an appeal court. Farshid was arrested on 26th December, 2010, and formally convicted in April, 2012. In a video released on YouTube in May, a prominent dissident who was held in the same cell as Farshid for some time gave positive testimony about Farshid's attitude, conduct, and service in prison, and the esteem in which he is held by fellow prisoners.
Other believers remain detained in Iran because of their Christian faith and activities. These include several arrested in raids on fellowships in late May (Hadi and Alireza in Neishabour, Vahid in Mashhad, Mehrdad in Tehran) and several arrested during similar raids in February (including a group of five in Shiraz and at least three in Kermanshah).
Iranian Christians rejoice that Yousef’s life has been spared thus far. They request our continued intercession that:
1. Yousef’s death sentence will be revoked, his conviction overturned, and any further charges against him dropped
2. Yousef, his wife, Fatemeh, and their two sons will know the comfort, presence, and hope of Jesus, and that the family will be reunited soon
3. All believers in Iran facing trials because of their faith will know the Spirit’s guiding wisdom
4. Farshid and other believers serving jail sentences will know the presence and peace of Jesus, remain strong in their faith, and clear in their testimony and witness
5. Christians throughout Iran will not be intimidated but will know the Lord’s enabling and guidance
6. All officials involved will love mercy, act justly, learn about Jesus, and choose to follow Him
“Syrian Christians have requested our prayers concerning the continuing violence in their country. Thousands of Syrians, including large numbers of Christians, have fled from their homes, especially in the Homs and Hama governorates and more recently Damascus and Aleppo. There have been reports of the targeting of Christians by both government and opposition sides.
Several prominent Syrian Christians have been killed recently, including Defence Minister General Dawoud Rajha (assassinated in an attack on the National Security Offices in Damascus on 18th July) and Brigader-General Nabil Zougheib (assassinated along with his wife and son at their home in a Christian neighbourhood of Damascus on 21st July).
Most Church leaders point out that any such targeting is not religiously motivated but is either politically motivated or is criminal activity for economic gain. Many Christians fear that radical Islamist groups are becoming more influential, and that this may lead to increased hostility towards Christians and other minorities. They fear that they may become more vulnerable to criminal activity, including kidnapping-for-ransom incidents.
Throughout the ongoing unrest, Syrian Christians have faced a dilemma of allegiance. They regard the current regime as having been a protector for many years and fear that any replacement regime is likely to prove more hostile. Yet along with others in Syria, they know that open allegiance to either the government or to the opposition could bring retaliation from the other side.
Syrian Christians request our prayers that:
a. Christians will know the protection of the Father, the inner peace of Jesus, and the daily guidance of the Spirit
b. Church leaders will know the Spirit’s guidance concerning public worship and private pastoral support of their congregations
c. The bereaved, wounded, and traumatized will know the comfort, presence, and healing touch of Jesus
d. There will be an end to violence by all parties and that a just resolution and constructive reform will follow
e. Many will know the love and forgiveness of Jesus
f. In the long term, there will be greater religious freedom for all citizens.”
“The head of Britain’s intelligence service, M16, said this week that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon by 2014 at the latest and predicted Israel will likely strike before the Iranians acquire “all the technologies they need.” Sir John Sawers said it is “equally clear that Israel and the United States would face huge dangers if Iran were to become a nuclear weapon state.
With the U.S. increasing its military forces in the Persian Gulf and Iran’s foreign minister opening warning that if sanctions are fully enforced, his nation will close the Strait of Hormuz and choke one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, many are asking, “Is a war with Iran imminent?”
Some experts believe the Israeli military may strike Iran soon and that the “window” is closing for Israel to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
The threat of an escalation is real. And if Iran is struck, what would this do to the price of oil, the world economy, and the stock market?
And would Iran retaliate against Israel and the U.S.? In the past few days, the New York Times reported: “The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.”
Iran continues to secretly enrich uranium amid reports that It is pushing forward with its nuclear weapons program, while diplomatic talks to thwart Iran’s program and stop pre-emptive Israeli airstrikes have so far failed.
Please keep this volatile situation in your prayers and pray that Iran will back down in the face of possible attack on their nuclear installations.
‘Arise, Shine, for your light has come’ Isaiah 60:1
The More than Gold website now has an interactive map showing different mission and prayer events hosted all over the UK - so check it out or add your event: www.morethangold.org.uk/your-church
So as we continue through this amazing summer, the Paralympics next in line soon, it will be the National Day of Praise and Prayer at Wembley on 29.9.12 www.ndopwembley.com. Wembley has given Global Day of Prayer London and its partners full access to the whole stadium to hold a Prayer Gathering for the whole church. http://vimeo.com/ndopwembley/cometowembley
Inspired by Psalm 50:1-6, the National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force along with other national prayer ministries has called a Solemn Assembly in Washington, D.C. to pray for all institutions of government in our nation’s capital. Groups will gather for worship and prayer near the steps of the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. They will meet with congressional leaders, travel to the Pentagon, the Supreme Court, and many other key locations to PRAY. The urgency of the moment and the prompting of God have paved the way for this event. We invite you to join with us and hundreds of like-minded believers this October 3-7 as we pray for our nation.
Please visit www.summons2012.com to learn more.
During a recent conference call with some from the U.S. National Prayer Committee, Chairman Dave Butts made this comment concerning this decisive time in American history:
“If the Church does not respond in prayer, we won’t recognize our nation. The only hope is for God to step in.”
“The 2012 United States elections will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The 57th quadrennial presidential election will be held on this date, coinciding with Senate elections where 33 races will occur, as well as House of Representatives elections to elect the members for the 113th Congress. This election year will also encompass thirteen state and territorial governors' races, many state and territorial legislature races, special elections, and various other state, territorial, and local races.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,_2012
We believe there is a narrow window of time for us to get on the Lord’s wavelength and pray out God-inspired, history-shaping prayers between now and the upcoming election on November 6. This election has been called the most important one in our lifetimes by Christians and secularists alike. Many who walk with the Lord feel that the long-term fate of the USA is very much at stake in the coming months.
Special prayer resources are available at www.ifa.org that will help your praying for the U.S. In addition, the National Prayer Committee has developed a 40-day prayer initiative to unite us from September 28 through Election Day, November 6. More information and an election prayer guide are available at www.40daysofprayer.net
One exciting initiative that has developed is called David’s Tent, 40 days of 24/7 worship that will happen close to the White House in Washington, September 28 - November 6. Praying and worshiping people from all 50 states and from other countries are warmly invited to come and take part for a few days or few hours during that period. Details are at www.davidstentdc.org
Would you please pray with us for these important efforts and agree with us for the following:
1. That a new movement of repentance as well as spiritual and moral revival will catch fire in our capital of Washington, D.C. and throughout the nation as we Christians identify with our people in repentance for national sins such as idolatry, immorality, shedding of innocent blood and broken covenants, and corporate sins that repel God’s presence from the land.
2. For the raising up of a new generation of spiritual leaders in all walks of life who will become a courageous force for deliverance and real transformation in this society.
3. That wicked and corrupt leaders at every level of government, national, state, and local be removed from power and replaced by God-honoring, good and honest people who will be used of the Lord to bring restoration by imparting a new vision based on our constitution and Judeo-Christian values in order to lead us into a new and blessed future as a nation.
4. That we as the Body of Christ will use the authority He has given us for the effective binding and overthrow of principalities and powers of darkness that have come into the nation through our turning our backs on the Lord through not remembering or reverencing Him for all the good He has done for the USA in the past. There is now much deception and division in our cultural and political life as well as increasing moves towards more and more government control and an accompanying loss of freedoms we have taken for granted as citizens. (Matthew 18:18-19, Luke 10:19, Eph. 6:10-18, Rom. 16:20)
Thanks so much for your valuable and potent support.
Yours in Christ.