27.
Japan use the city’s stadium for the event; for Franklin
Praise God that Japanese Christians are setting
up churches outside Japan in order to serve
expatriate Japanese. Pray that these churches
will be a refuge for those struggling with certain
aspects of living overseas. Praise God that the
strong sense of community that Japanese
people have is present in these churches and
ask that unbelievers would be led to Jesus
through this fellowship. Pray for these churches
to be equipped to prepare new Japanese
Christians for their return to Japan, as their new
-found faith may give rise to friction, due to the
many cultural and social barriers they are likely
to encounter on returning home. Pray also for
strong networks between overseas Japanese
churches and gospel-centred churches back in
Japan. (Japan Christian Link)
28. Myanmar
One radio listener in Myanmar wrote, “I am now
in a very remote area. In my village, we do not
have a pastor, evangelist or any Christian
worker. One day, when I tuned the radio, I
heard a radio programme broadcast in my
native language and was so excited to be
listening to the programme. From that time
onward, thankfully I am very blessed by the
Word of God. This is the only programme I am
now relying on for my spiritual and physical
growth. Not only me, I invite villagers to come to
my house and listen to the radio programme.
Thank God for this opportunity.” Pray for the
impact of Christian radio programmes in remote
communities throughout Myanmar. Pray that
God would transform lives. (Reach Beyond)
29. Cambodia
In November 2019, the Cambodian churches
are holding an evangelistic crusade which they
are calling the 'Love Phnom Penh Festival'.
Franklin Graham, President and CEO of the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will
speak at large-scale meetings on three days.
Please pray for the organisers; for permission to
Graham and his interpreter; for people to come,
hear the gospel and be saved; and for
Cambodian Christians to pray, prepare and
invite friends. (Cambodian Communities out of
Crisis)
30. Indonesia
Indonesia has recently suffered a series of
natural disasters, including a major tsunami.
This impacted the lives and livelihoods of over
500 people on the islands of Java and Sumatra, May - June 2019
leaving communities devastated. Global
Christian charity, Lifewords is currently
resourcing pastors and volunteers with Bible
booklets, as they bring God’s hope, healing,
and comfort to survivors. Please pray for people
in Indonesia who are experiencing
hopelessness in the face of crisis. Pray that with
the help of organisations and partnerships,
these broken communities may receive the
support they need to help rebuild their lives,
homes and hearts. Pray too for the protection of
Christians who are serving in the midst of chaos
and trauma. (Lifewords)
31. Thailand
The sex trade in the capital of Thailand,
Bangkok, ensnares countless women who are
trafficked or see no other way to provide for
their families. Our partners aim to rescue,
restore and empower such women with the
grace and the love of God. Please pray for the
many women caught up in this industry. Pray
that they would find freedom from those who
exploit them and, that as the gospel is shared,
they would find new life in the risen Saviour,
Jesus Christ. (AsiaLink)
www.globalconnections.org.uk/prayer
worldprayernews
@worldprayernews

God’s effectiveness of our prayers
It’s that time again when World Prayer News
(WPN) drops onto doormats all around the
country. I suspect that in every household the
reaction is slightly different. There are some
who will receive WPN enthusiastically; they
can’t wait to read what’s going on, they keep
the bulletin next to their Bibles so that they can
regularly pray for different situations. Others are
less enthusiastic, they put the envelope down
thinking that they need to get round to reading it
at some point but perhaps they never even
open it. Most of us are somewhere in the
middle: sometimes we are enthusiastic and at
other times, less so. Sometimes, we are really
motivated to pray for what is happening around
the globe and there are other times when we
can hardly gather up the enthusiasm to pray for
our nearest and dearest.
Thankfully, the effectiveness of our prayers
rests in the character of Almighty God and not
on the enthusiasm that we can muster at any
given point. We are able to pray because Jesus
made a way for us to approach the Father and
that way is open, however we feel.
By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-
giving way through the curtain into the Most
Holy Place. And since we have a great High
Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go
right into the presence of God with sincere
hearts, fully trusting him, for our guilty
Vol 72 No 3 Editor: Eileen Askew
The annual cost including postage for copies sent to the same address:
One copy per issue £6.00 UK only £9.00 Europe
All subscriptions should be addressed to:
Global Connections, Caswell Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 1QD
Telephone: 01926 487755 Email: info@globalconnections.org.uk
Registered in England & Wales as Evangelical Mission Association.
Company number 3886596. Charity number 1081966
consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s
blood to make us clean, and our bodies have
been washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:20-
22 NLT)
So then, since we have a great High Priest who
has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let
us hold firmly to what we believe. This High
Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for
he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he
did not sin. So, let us come boldly to the throne
of our gracious God. There we will receive his
mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we
need it most. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
The great thing about prayer is that it doesn’t
depend on us. It’s all about the work of Christ on
the cross under the Father’s willingness to listen
to us. So whether you are feeling enthusiastic or
discouraged can I encourage you to take this
edition of World Prayer News and spend some
time bringing these issues before our God, who
is far keener to answer your prayers than you
are to pray them.
Eddie Arthur
Kouyanet
£13.00 Rest of world
22. Pakistan edition of Lenthomi Scriptures (Proverbs,
‘R’, serving as a primary school teacher in
Psalms, and New Testament) for those outside
their homeland who have no prior knowledge of
Pakistan, reports that the local Junior Girl
the Bible. Especially pray that Lenthomi
Guides were looking at leaders and leadership
believers will persevere in the face of opposition
for their ‘thinking day’ earlier this year. In
and boldly demonstrate the reality of what it
response to the question of what a leader is,
means to have a new life in Jesus. (Wycliffe
one girl, aged eight, put up her hand and said:
Bible Translators)
“They are corrupt men who drive Landcruisers.”
Sadly this was not a joke, it is what she actually 25. Sri Lanka (2)
believed. So we went on to look at some of the
good leaders of Pakistan, such as Edhi who We remember those who have had their lives
started an ambulance and other welfare ended in the Easter Day bombings. Pray for
services, the guide leaders, people running the those families and communities who have lost
SOS orphanage, etc. Please pray for these loved ones, for the injured and those who are
girls; for them to have good leaders to look up caring for them. Pray for the work that has to be
to, and for God to inspire in them a desire to be done to restore peace. (Global Connections)
different. (Church Mission Society)
26. India
23. Sri Lanka (1) With more than 2.4 million lives affected, India
has the third largest population of AIDS victims
Despite decades of conflict in Sri Lanka in the
in the world. Each year, 900,000 people die
1990s, there is now much to praise God for in
from contaminated water or polluted air, and an
terms of the unity and co-operation between
estimated 43 percent of all children under the
faith leaders, who are now working closely to
age of five are underweight. In the midst of
co-ordinate leprosy awareness programmes in
these statistics, workers supported by Gospel
their communities. Pray for pastors as they lead
for Asia are reaching out through medical
these interfaith activities, that people may see
ministry supported to help those affected.
the love of Christ through their actions. Pray for
(Gospel For Asia)
favour and encouragement for all the churches
involved and the three main partners: Alliance
Development Trust, Kaveri Kala Manram and
the Peoples Forum for Change, as they serve
people affected by leprosy through ongoing
‘acts of love’. (The Leprosy Mission)
24. Central Asia
The Lenthomi Bible, for a people group in
Central Asia, was published in 2016. The
demand for God’s word was so great that two
further print runs took place in 2018, one for
Central Asian countries and one for other parts
of the world. Recording of the Lenthomi Bible is
now underway, a complex process that will take
up to two years. Please pray for wisdom and
guidance for those coordinating this project.
Pray for the final stages of publishing a special
17. Guatemala
The work with young Guatemalan girls who are
the victims of sexual abuse is hard,
unpredictable, costly work. Thank God for the
dedicated Christian staff who walk the long
journey of healing traumatised minds until the
girls are ready to live with a safe and loving
family. Pray for those staff who dare to
challenge evil and bring justice through the
prosecution of the abuse perpetrators. Please
pray that God will provide all the practical and
spiritual resources needed to bring protection,
healing, justice and his love to young lives.
Please pray for the influence that is bringing
massive changes in Guatemala’s child
protection system to continue so that a whole
nation will be blessed and be a light for other
countries in the region where such abuse is
endemic. (Hope for Kids International)
18. Haiti
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western
hemisphere and has still not recovered from the
devastating earthquake back in 2010. More
recently, Hurricane Matthew struck which
directly affected more than 2 million Haitians,
including 55,000 who were previously living in
tents and had to find shelter during the
hurricane. Many children are struggling with
stress caused by the natural disasters and also
violence, hunger, and illness. Please pray for
the Haitian Bible Society as they provide New
Testaments to these children. Pray that the
children will know God’s peace and love in their
lives. (Scottish Bible Society)
19. Ecuador
Six out of every ten ‘economically active’
Ecuadorians are not in full-time employment.
Pray for economic and political stability in the
midst of increasing levels of under-employment,
and, with the mistrust of the increasing numbers
of Venezuelan refugees, pray that churches in
Ecuador find ways to work alongside these
refugees, and begin to rebuild trust. (Latin Link)
20. Brazil
For over 50 years, Light in Amazonia (Luz na
Amazônia), an outreach programme launched
by the Bible Society of Brazil, has been working
to provide social, spiritual and medical
assistance to riverside communities facing
situations of extreme need. Riverside dwellers
face exclusion, isolation, illiteracy, child and
slave labour, violence, sexual exploitation,
disease, famine, and human trafficking. Most
homes do not have electric power, sewerage or
piped water systems (the water all comes from
the river); leaving many at risk of contracting
water-borne diseases. The Light in Amazonia
boat has been specially designed with medical
consultation rooms, a laboratory and a
pharmacy; and is staffed by doctors, dentists
and other health care specialists who are
providing medical check-ups and tests, dental
assistance, physical therapy and, most
important of all, spiritual teaching. Please pray
for the Bible Society of Brazil as they continue
this work. Pray that as people are helped with
their physical problems that God would also
touch their hearts as they hear and read His
Word. (Scottish Bible Society)
21. Cuba
There are over 400 different sign languages
worldwide. In many parts of the world, the
hearing-impaired have little access to education
and therefore struggle to read the Bible. What is
more, most of these sign languages do not yet
have a translation of the Bible in video format.
We are currently partnering with hearing-
impaired pastors and congregations in Cuba to
translate the Bible into Cuban Sign Language.
Earlier this year, the recording of the Gospel of
John was completed. Pray for the dedicated
team as they continue to make the Word of God
accessible to all people. (Reach Beyond)
1. North Africa
Please pray for a small group of believers from
one of the unreached countries in North Africa.
They have recently taken Al Massira (AM)
training in another country. They really love the
AM films and want use them in their home
context, for both sharing with seekers and
discipling those in the small churches. They
have been under heavy pressure from the
authorities recently, with some arrests
happening and one having to flee his country.
Pray for protection from the Lord and for the
fruit of Word and Spirit to shine in the darkness
through their lives. (Al Massira)
2. Sudan
Sudan is one of the poorest and least
developed countries of the world, with a
turbulent past, and struggles that continue
today. The leadership is oppressive, with
believers and the church facing strong
persecution. The majority of the population is
Sunni Muslim. With many gospel workers
forced to leave the county in recent years and
many NGOs banned from working there, too
few are working amongst broken and hurting
Muslims to reach them with the Good News.
The church is standing strong and believers are
seeing great openness to the gospel among
Muslims. Ask the Lord to send more workers to
witness to the oppressed and oppressors alike.
Pray for an end to the violence and for the
leadership to be transformed by the love of
Jesus. Ask for protection and boldness for
believers. (Frontiers)
3. Lebanon
The majority of Syrian refugee children
fortunate enough to receive a Christ-centred
education at Kids Alive Lebanon’s Beirut
campus are from Muslim families. Pray for the
staff as they seek to build relationships with the
mothers in these families. In the south of
Lebanon, the New Horizons programme seeks
to build bridges between the Gypsy and Syrian
refugee communities. Pray that the hearts of
‘excluded’ families will be touched by the love of
God and that they will find meaning to their
lives. (Hope for Kids International)
4. Jordan
In Muslim majority countries, heavy restrictions,
isolation and fear can lead to Christians feeling
that they are very much in the minority, yet God
is at work and followers of Christ show great
courage and boldness. For Christian students,
loneliness can cause them to feel isolated, and
with that comes discouragement. Pray that
Christian students will find places where they
can meet, and that those who are truly alone
will know God’s presence. In Jordan, showing
hospitality to students is an important witness.
Pray for Jordan Universities Christian Students
as they seek to find ‘father’ and ‘mother’ figures
who can open their homes to students. (IFES)
5. Middle East
The ‘30 Days of Prayer’ book enables the
reader to engage in prayer for our Middle
Eastern contacts during the month of Ramadan
(5th May to 4th June). “If we do not pray then
prejudice will gain power, fear will fester and
relationships built across divides will die. 30
Days of Prayer helps Jesus-followers to
respond with love to Muslim people. 30 Days of
Prayer inspires us to make friends with those of
other faiths and cultures. We believe prayer
helps Muslim people meet Jesus.” Over the
past 26 years, millions of Christians have joined
together across denominations and cultures to
pray in over 23 languages for Muslim people.
30 Days UK seeks to follow an ethos of
partnerships with local churches and mission
agencies in order to see Muslim people have a
personal relationship with Jesus; help
Christians gain a better understanding about
Muslim people, their faith and diverse cultures;
see an increase in efforts to respond with love
and compassion to the needs of Muslims
around the world. Pray that 30 Days of Prayer
bears fruit for the Lord. (Global Connections)
6. Serbia
Serbia is a country where the people are
genuinely hospitable, passionately care for
others, and love to socialise. Despite the unique
and loving qualities of its people, Serbia suffers
great challenges of economic depression, low
economic standards, and divisions. The figure
of Jesus Christ is not familiar to the Serbian
people. Please pray for Serbian evangelicals to
be courageous and bold, that they take an
initiative to share the gospel with friends and
colleagues; that they are authentic Christians
who act as they think and believe. Pray for
revival in this new generation to bring hope to
the nation. (European Christian Mission)
7. Russia
Russia is the largest country on earth. More
than 140 million people from nearly 100 people
groups, and speaking 97 languages, live there.
Bible translation is ongoing in dozens of
languages throughout Russia, including ten
minority people groups who are known by the
cover term ‘Menshevik’ which comes from the
Russian word for ‘minority’. Praise God that the
Bible in Cache*, one of the Menshevik
languages, has now been published. Many
Cache speakers consider it taboo to possess a
copy of the Bible – pray that attitudes will
change and interest will grow in reading the
Cache Bible. Pray that an audio recording of
this Bible will soon be completed, providing
another way for Cache speakers to access the
Scriptures. *Name changed for security
reasons. (Wycliffe Bible Translators)
8. France
The ongoing ‘yellow vest’* movement has been
revealing significant discontent among the
French population since it started in November
2018. Please pray for all those seeking to find
appropriate solutions and especially for
Christians as they take opportunities to explain
and exemplify "the ministry of reconciliation" (2
Corinthians 5:18). *The ‘yellow vests’
movement is a populist political movement for
economic justice. (France Mission)
9. Moldova
Moldova is the poorest nation in Europe, with
almost three quarters of the population living
below the poverty line, and/or unemployed.
Thousands leave annually, seeking work
throughout Europe, leaving children to be raised
by one parent or their grandparents. It is
estimated that 1% of the population has been
trafficked. Moldovan victims have been
identified in over 40 countries. Sex trafficking
dominates the trade, but labour trafficking is
also common. Pray for ‘Beginning of Life’, a
Christian organisation working in schools and
with young people to build resilience to help
them avoid becoming victims of trafficking. Pray
also for children abandoned or trapped in
poverty to find their future and hope in Christ,
the Holy Spirit to transform lives, and for
Christian leaders to remain in Moldova to share
the gospel and strengthen the church.
(Transform Europe Network)
10. United Kingdom
Please pray for blind people in the UK who find
attending church challenging or even
impossible. Many people around the UK would
love to share in the fellowship of church
community but are put off, or stopped entirely,
by various barriers. These could include not
being able to read service sheets, feeling left
out of activities, or being unable to get there.
Torch's Sight Loss Friendly Church campaign
aims to help churches make a real difference to
this issue, because no one should face sight
loss alone. (Torch Trust)
11. Zambia
For poverty to be effectively addressed in many
developing countries, the governments need to
have the determination to bring about change.
Thank God for positive signs in parts of Africa,
pray against the corruption that threatens in
other places. Please pray for fruitful
relationships between the Zambian government
and organisations seeking the best for the most
vulnerable children and families in Zambia, so
that children receive the opportunities to
eventually contribute meaningfully to their
nation. (Hope for Kids International)
12. Uganda
In 2015, the Fields of Life (FOL) Alumni
association in Uganda was set up by a group of
FOL formerly sponsored children who want to
give back as they once received. Together, they
raised the funds needed to build a school in
Karamoja, North Eastern Uganda, one of the
poorest regions in Uganda with one of the
highest illiteracy rates in the country. Please
pray and give thanks for the Fields of Life
Alumni who opened the new school in January
2019. Pray also for the teachers and pupils as
they settle into a new environment and work
hard to deliver quality education in this region so
that the young people in Karamoja can complete
their education, achieve their dreams and
become change makers in their families and
communities. (Fields of Life)
13. Malawi (1)
Praise God that the Bible Explorer (BX)
programme has been formally acknowledged by
the Ministry of Education so that BX presenters
are officially allowed to teach in all schools in
Salima, Malawi. Pray for God's strength and
good health to all BX presenters so that they are
able to continue delivering the message and not
miss classes due to health problems. Pray that
God will help the team to identify nine additional
schools so that it reaches the 50 targeted
schools. (Salt Malawi)
14. Southern Africa
Cyclone Idai has affected the lives of thousands
of people in Southern Africa, particularly in
Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. We can
only imagine how awful this has been for them.
Pray that there would be plentiful support from a
concerted international effort and there would
be meaningful, lasting impact by all efforts. Pray
for the work of Hope for Africa Mission, and for
comfort to those who have lost loved ones.
(Worldshare)
15. Madagascar
The people of Madagascar have been dealing
with a severe outbreak of measles that has
been raging since September 2018. The level of
vaccination coverage was very low at 58% of
the population, leading to deadly disease
spreading quickly among the people. Hundreds
of children have died as a result. Praise God for
the 375,200 measles vaccinations which
Mission Aviation Fellowship has been able to fly
into communities that need them most, and the
campaign by the national vaccination program,
aiming to prevent this level of outbreak
occurring again in the future. (Mission Aviation
Fellowship)
16. Malawi (2)
Please pray for the people of Malawi who are
suffering from the effects of devastating floods.
Over a million people have been affected: some
have lost family members, seen their crops for
the year washed away, or lost their houses and
all of their belongings. Some of the worst-hit
areas include the Lower Shire, Chikwawa and
Nsanje districts, where many of the blind and
partially sighted people served by Torch Malawi
live. (Torch Trust)