Prayer Focus for Estonia – Sunday, July 31

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Estonia is a former-Soviet success story, as the small nation transitions to a more Western economy and political structure. However, poverty is not vanquished, and materialism’s influence grows. There is a crisis of values, recognized even by the media and the state, as secularism and pluralism tighten their grip. Pray for righteousness and biblical values to be modelled by a wise and upright government.

Religious freedom is an open door to Christian ministry but also to theological error. Many marginal Christian sects are increasing in number and influence – Mormons have more missionaries in Estonia than any Christian agency has there. While actual practitioners are few, a recent poll showed 11% of Estonians expressed warmest feelings toward pre-Christian pagan religions. Pray for the truth and light of Christ to be established in this new marketplace of religious options.

Our God is a Jealous God

Deuteronomy 5:1-10

 

1And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

 

“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

“‘You shall have no other gods before me.

 

“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Prayer Focus for Eritrea – Sunday, July 24

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Pray for the less reached, specifically for:

a) The Tigre, mostly Muslim, and one of only a few Eritrean or Ethiopian Semitic peoples who are not Orthodox. They are related to the Tigrinya, but culturally distant from them. The Bible is available, but there are few Christians.

b) The Jabarti – a Muslim minority among the Tigrinya. Pray that the unrest might create opportunities for Tigrinya Christians to engage this related but previously distant group.

c) The Afar and related Saho peoples, largely nomadic pastoralists in the southeast with few Christians.

d) The Beja and Nara peoples of the northwest with no known witness. Many are nomadic.

e) The Arab Rashiada, who migrated from Saudi Arabia in the 19th Century. Recent work among these peoples has been reported, but there are still no known churches.

Christian support ministries have grown even more vital in recent years, since more conventional work has been shut down or suspended.

a) Students still in Eritrea remain fervent in evangelizing and discipling their peers, and large numbers continue to come to faith. Many recent evangelical movements were started or fuelled by students committed to Jesus.

b) Radio and satellite TV provide programming for Christians in Tigrinya and English, though some work has shut down in recent years, including an evangelistic work among the Tigre and Beja peoples. Christian radio is being broadcast into Eritrea from neighbouring countries. Pray for the gospel to go forth through these channels; shortwave radio Bible studies reach even into the military camps.

c) Other resources include the JESUS film (six languages), GRN audio Scriptures/teachings (in eight languages) and a series of tracts as well as a Bible Correspondence Course developed by FFM. Pray for widespread and effective use of these; pray also for development of more materials that will bless Christians and more tools for use in reaching others.

John 20:19-23

 John 20:19-23

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

 

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Prayer Focus for Equatorial Guinea – Sunday, July 17

equa-MMAP-smThe vast majority are Roman Catholic, the highest percentage of any African nation. But beneath the surface of the imposed colonial religion lies the reality that animistic beliefs and practices were never abandoned. Pray that the 85% who claim Christianity – without having been born again – might hear and respond to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

An encouraging increase in religious freedom has occurred alongside a number of newer, growing Pentecostal, charismatic and evangelical denominations (AoG, Deeper Life, several indigenous denominations). Pray for purity of life and fervency of evangelism in the churches despite the prevailing poverty, corruption and despair. The government has actually been quite positive about the potential role of the Church and missions in developing society, a much-needed foil to the oil-oriented multinational corporations.

 

John 17:20-26

John 17:20-26

 

Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Prayer Focus for El Salvador – Sunday, July 10

elsa-MMAP-smRecovery from the social and psychological wounds of centuries of oppression and 12 years of civil war is a priority. The web of violence, hate, suspicion, atrocities and murder will take time to unravel. At the height of the war, 20% of the population fled the country, and the USA poured in $6 billion to shore up the government. Overall, more than 75,000 were killed. Pray for repentance, reconciliation and a fair society based on respect for human rights.

The impact of Christian institutions and media is wide-ranging and ever-increasing. There are three Christian universities, around 80 Christian schools, five TV stations and 30 radio stations. Those leading these ministries can enrich themselves if they seek to do so, or they can have a real Kingdom impact on society. Pray for the latter.

God Still Desires Those Who Worship Him IN TRUTH

Exodus 20:1-6

20 And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.