The following reveals the attitude of the Taliban who are growing stronger in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Behind this statement, we believe, is a world of individuals longing for something that satisfies.
“We hate democracy,” Sufi told a crowd of thousands of followers in Mingora after the ratification of the Malakand Accord was announced in mid-February. “We want the occupation of Islam in the entire world. Islam does not permit democracy or election.” [Sufi Muhammad, spokesman for an organization believed to be a front for the Taliban, quoted by The Long War Journal] http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/04/analysis_pakistani_t.php

Instead of reacting with fear to the strong statement-see the desire in it.Pray that God will work among the people of the tribal territories of western Pakistan.

Include in your prayers  government and zealous religous leaders who have strong beliefs about the best system for their people, hoping for a more perfect state system.

Prayer for Swat, Pakistan

Today’s New York Times has a report on the situation in Swat.  There the
Taliban have taken over control and are intimidating, beating, gunning
down, even beheading all those who in any way differ from their policy of
instituting strict rules that they call “Islam.”  The article says “they
are enforcing a strict interpretation of Islam with cruelty, bringing
public beheadings, assassinations, social and cultural repression and
persecution of women to what was once an independent, relatively secular
region.”  In the mean time the Pakistani government seems paralyzed,
unable even to decide what ought to be done about the spread of the
repressive version of Islam promoted by the Taliban.

Pray that God will give relief to the Pakistani people; that the promise
of the love and forgiveness of God will become known; that those who
suffer and are terrified will find hope in the promises of Jesus and be
delivered from fear by the confidence that God will establish a new world
in which righteousness dwells.

Robert L. Canfield
See my concerns for the world:
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~canfrobt/Concerns.html
My website:  http://artsci.wustl.edu/~canfrobt/home.html
Blog:  http://rcanfield.blogspot.com/

Rebels Kill at Least 620 in Congo, Groups Say

There are many Congolese living in St. Louis. The sufferings endured in this nation are great. Please read this article from today’s New York Times, and pray as God leads.

Pray for the Courageous working in Afghanistan

Last August a Christian woman serving the Afghanistan people in Kabul was gunned down as she was walking to work. Her organization and others like it had already experienced kidnapping and attempted murder. After prayer and mutual consultation the organization she worked for, which had been ministering to the Afghanistan peoples for over forty years and was widely appreciated there for their service, decided it would be unsafe to keep their staff in Afghanistan. Within a few days virtually all of them left the country; it was a sad day for all of them and for the Afghanistan people. A couple of years ago, as an agreement to obtain release of someone who was kidnapped, the Korean Christian servants in Afghanistan were obliged to leave the country.

Few expatriates are able to serve in Afghanistan because of the threats to the wellbeing to them and their families. We need to pray for God to honor their faithfulness, their courage, and dedication.

Despite the setbacks the gospel has been flourishing in that country, even though surreptitiously, as it is still illegal to worship Christ there. With limited possibilities for service by expatriate Christians and severe punishments for those who follow Christ, the need is all the more urgent that we pray for God to work among the Afghanistan peoples — only now it may be largely through the ministry of the local peoples themselves.

Some of us remember when the rise of a Communist government seemed to be a huge loss to the witness of the gospel in China, as virtually all the missionaries were forced out of the country. But God’s project to reach the world was not thwarted: under the Communist regime, somehow undetected, the church grew. Today there are many more Christians in China that ever.

Recently we had lunch with two Chinese Christian leaders. Each was involved with a small group of believers who meet regularly for encouragement and prayer. They believe they can continue to operate, even though the government is aware of their existence, so long as they continue to meet in small groups. The Bible is now legal in China, owing to an appeal by President Jimmy Carter to Deng Xiaoping. But it is dangerous to gather in any other than very small groups.

Pray that God will continue to prosper the house churches in China. Pray also that God will raise up leaders in Afghanistan to encourage further development of house churches there. Pray also for all those in countries that limit the declaration of the good news. Pray for the bible to be widely available in these countries.

See my concerns for the world:

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~canfrobt/Concerns.html

My website: http://artsci.wustl.edu/~canfrobt/home.html

Blog: http://rcanfield.blogspot.com/

Some issues in Africa for prayer

Across a band of countries in Africa, from Nigeria to Somalia there is a series of conflicts, often described as religious or sectarian conflicts.  Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Somalia – each of these countries has had periodic internal conflicts in which hundreds, thousands have died.  The most famous of these is the continued carnage in Darfur, that is, in western Sudan, where local insurgencies have been crushed by government instigated gangs known as janjaweed, nomadic camel herders, many of them Arabic-speaking.  Recently the fighting spread into Chad.  In both Sudan and Chad there have long been internal tensions between Muslim “Arab” populations historically from the north and the “black” tribal populations in the south, many of whom have been Christianized.  In both countries the wars over control of strategic resources have taken on religious nuances.  While both wars have officially ended the tensions remain and the continued fighting in Darfur threatens to awaken those tensions as well.  The situation in Somalia is notoriously worse, for Somalia has had no stable administration for generations.  Currently the strongest force in the country seems to be the Islamic Courts Union, but because it is a coalition of Islamists the American government has been opposed to it.
The most recent tragic conflict in Africa as of the end of November, 2008, has been the sudden explosion of bitter hand-to-hand fighting in Jos, Nigeria, where Muslim and “Christian” gangs have fought over a disputed election.  The New York Times (12/1/08) says that
•    in “Jos, the central Nigerian city …. two days of ferocious violence between Christians and Muslims after a disputed local election has left hundreds of people dead.”
•    “[A]rmed Christian and Muslim gangs … had roamed the city, slaughtering people with guns and machetes and torching houses, churches, shops and cars, according to residents. The sudden and vociferous explosion of religious violence was the worst Nigeria has seen in at least four years.”
•    “7,000 people had fled the most violent neighborhoods and that they were living in shelters.”
•    “The clashes began suddenly, taking the city by surprise in both the swiftness and ferocity of the bloodshed, despite a long history of religious violence in the region.”
•    “a historically Muslim north and a Christian and animist south, as well as deep political divisions that cross religious lines. Beyond that there are conflicts over land and political power, which are often intertwined as a result of traditional customs that hold the rights of indigenous people over those of migrants from other parts of the country. Religion is almost always a proxy for those grievances.”
•    “Despite the history of religious bloodshed in the region, residents, officials and activists said the city had come a long way toward healing divisions. Interfaith commissions set up to improve relations between the faiths and ethnic groups after the 2001 riots appeared to help cool tensions. ‘Things had really improved in Jos,’ said Nankin Bagudu, a Christian and state government commissioner who had worked with the League for Human Rights. ‘Nobody expected this kind of violence this time.’”
Christians are enjoined to “pray for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life, godly and respectful in every way.”  As we think about our obligation to pray for situations like these we are overwhelmed.  Pray for ourselves that we might know how to pray about these situations, in a world and a time like this when more than ever before we as Christians know what has been going on in the world around us.
Here are some ways we might pray for these peoples caught up in these conflicts:
•    Pray that God’s spirit, who is limited by no barriers, will awaken hearts to his work of mercy and love to those who are suffering.
•    Pray for the families who are caught up in these cruel wars, for the mothers and children and for the men and older sons who are often forced to fight on one side or another, that God will give them wisdom to know how to escape such brutality.
•    Pray for the women who are often the objects of the most brutal treatment:  rape, mutilation, separation from families, enslavement.
•    Pray for the men who are directly engaged in these brutal clashes, that opportunities will be afforded for them to escape those situations.
•    Pray for those in power, the administrators whose policies and activities, often for self-serving purposes, create these brutal situations, that they will be saved from such behavior, repent of their behavior and seek ways of establishing peace.
•    Pray for peace-makers at all levels of these societies.  Jesus has singled out such for special blessing; pray that such individuals will be raised up.
•    Pray for the leaders of other nations to do their part to help bring order.