Urgent prayers needed

I know that we feel helpless and unable to do much for the crisis in Iraq, but we can't sit back and ignore the fact that thousands of people, mainly Christians, are being persecuted and driven out of their homes. The ISIS (Islamic State) group have continued their campaign of 'religious cleansing' and are intent on driving/killing all Christians from the land. Read this article for more info.

As a Christian community, we are called to urgently pray for our sisters and brothers in Northern Iraq. Pray is not without results - it does work! Even when some of the early disciples were imprisoned for their belief in Jesus, the church was committed to prayer for them. God heard their prayers and in one incident Peter was miraculously released (Acts 12).

What is happening in this part of the world may seem foreign to those of us who are allowed religious freedom, however, it was the norm for the early church. I was reading Acts 8 this morning and this is how it starts:

Acts 8:1-5 - "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ² Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵ Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.

What is striking about this passage is this:

1. History is repeating itself - Christians have endured persecution for 2000 years.
2. Saul was the leader in this persecution, but God still loved him enough to give him a second chance. Through Saul's conversion, millions of Christians have come to know the Gospel. God can still work in the lives of the perpetrators of this new persecution.
3. God used the persecution to spread his Word further into the world. What may seem like only disaster now, could still be used to bring grace and love to others - we have to believe/hope in this.
4. The Good News can never be stopped. Emperor's Nero, Diocletian, Vespasian and others tried their best to destroy the Church, but we are still 'alive' in the year 2014.

Please can I urge us all to stop right now and to pray. Don't worry about what your prayer sounds like, just say something to God. Plead for our church family in Northern Iraq. Pray for protection of families who are now refugees. Pray for forgiveness for all those who are killing Christians.

PRAYER DAY - we are setting aside 12 hours this Saturday (16th August) to pray for the many needs in our communities and in the world. If you have 15 minutes to spare, take some time out and pray any time between 6am and 6pm.

May God's grace sustain us all,
D3LM3