Memorial Day

Thank you to all who have died defending and protecting my USA. The price of freedom has cost many everything they had...and yet they gave willingly. The men and women of our armed forces and their commitment to defend our country make me very proud to be an American. May the Lord bless and protect all who are serving right now, wherever they may be in this world.

Pray for All Who are Suffering

I was reading from Andrew Murray's "Helps to Intercession" this evening. I like doing this sometimes when I feel the need to pray but want some direction...tonight had a great bit of advice. "Pray for all who are suffering". I thought I would share the little excerpt with you all, and encourage you to pray for those suffering in our world as well! Praying for the things mentioned below opened up so many other things that the Lord brought to my mind. We can pray in general so often, but should always be open to the where the Holy Spirit is leading us to pray.

Hope you are blessed and encouraged in your prayer time!

----------------------------------------

"Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also." Hebrews 13:3

What a world of suffering we live in! How Jesus sacrificed all and identified Himself with it! Let us in our measure do so too. The persecuted, the Jews, the famine-stricken millions of India, the hidden slavery of Africa, the poverty and wretchedness of our great cities - and so much more: what suffering among those who know God and who know Him not. And then in smaller circles, in ten thousand homes and hearts, what sorrow. In our own neighborhood, how many needing help or comfort. Let us have a heart for, let us think of the suffering. It will stir us to pray, to work, to hope, to love more. And in a way and time we know not God will hear our prayer.

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Syria #2

This article is from April 28, 2011. Let's use it to continue our month of praying for Syria and our Christian brothers and sisters there.
---------------------------------
Syria: Christians Pray for Opening of Gospel

Ava Thomas, Baptist Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (BP)--She didn't realize it was a dangerous question. All Natalie Shepherd* wanted to do was learn the Arabic word for lion.

"We were sitting in a public place with my husband's Arabic teacher in Syria, and I pointed to a statue of a lion and asked him how to pronounce it," said Shepherd, formerly a Southern Baptist worker in the country. "His eyes got huge, and he said, 'Shhhh! We can't say that out loud in public!'"

The Arabic word for lion -- asad -- also is the president's surname, and the Shepherds' teacher didn't want to risk someone overhearing and thinking he was slandering the president's family.

That was years ago.

A lot has since changed, said Shepherd, who in recent days has watched images on television of Syrian protesters rising up in force to demand that President Bashar al-Assad step down. The nation is the current hot spot in the region's outbreak of political turmoil, and more than 300 people have been killed by government forces seeking to crush the opposition, according to news sources.

Tanks are rolling through cities and villages. Some observers have reminisced in the midst of all the violence about the thousands of Syrians killed when Assad's father, President Hafez al-Assad, flattened an entire section of a city to quell opposition forces in 1982.

The elder Assad was the one in power when Shepherd asked about the lion statue.

"As much as my teacher didn't want to be overheard talking about the president back then, I know that the people today had full awareness based on their history of what revolting would entail," she said. "This is a historic moment for Syria in many ways."

Shepherd and other Christian workers in the region pray it will be a spiritually historic moment for the nation as well. She remembers during her time in Syria staying up all night with believers praying that God would do whatever it took to bring salvation to the peoples of Syria.

"It's been a consistent attitude among the body to really cry out to God through prayer that the Gospel would spread and take root there again," Shepherd said.

It's happened before, she said.

She recounted a story of her husband visiting a man who lived along Straight Street where Ananias lived in Acts 9 and how, after a colleague accompanied by her husband shared with the Syrian man, he accepted Christ on the spot.

At first, the young man's family would have nothing to do with the foreigners -- they wouldn't even stay in the house when he would have them over for a meal. But by the time the Shepherds left Syria, they were sitting with the entire family around the table, the mother of the family doting on Shepherd during the meal.

"It was a story of transformation and change, and as we drove through the country and saw villages filled with minarets, we prayed that change would keep going," she said.

The church has met with some persecution in the country, but the Gospel is still advancing, she said. One way this is happening is through a movie made by Syrian actors on the life of Paul, a film even government officials have watched.

An audio project is also underway that will soon provide Scripture for the Syrian people in their dialect, Shepherd said. "The Word is spreading."

She and other Christian workers in the region ask for believers to pray:

• for the Lord to keep working in Syria and for the door to be open to the Gospel during this time of unrest.
• for Christians in Syria to be bold in proclaiming Jesus Christ.
• for a great harvest of souls in Syria.

*Names have been changed.

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Syria

As it is now May, it is time to be praying for a new country. With so much going on in Syria right now I thought that this would be a good country to pick. Will you join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in Syria right now?

Below is an article from Open Doors USA, written on April 20th. Let's use this to guide us as we begin praying for Syria.

“The church is fasting and praying. People on the street are asking God to keep the peace in Syria … If anything happens, Christians will be the first to be attacked, killed and destroyed by Muslims, Druze and all. Prayers are needed at this time.” – a Syrian Believer

As protestors take to the streets of Syria, some calling for reform within the ruling Baath party and others demanding the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, concern is growing among Syrian Christians about the consequences of a regime change or legal reforms on the government’s protection of vulnerable religious minorities. Though some see these proposed reforms as positive developments for the Syrian people, other believers recognize the potential for Muslim groups to target defenseless Christians as government control loosens as has happened in Egypt. Rumors are spreading of plans by militant Muslims to attack Christians when the state of emergency which has allowed the ruling Baath party to maintain control since 1963 is lifted by the government. Fear of attacks against believers have prompted many parents to keep their children home from school on Fridays to avoid the possibility that a group coming from the mosque will harass the children on their way home from school.

Christians make up 9% of the Syrian population and have been allowed a degree of religious freedom under the current government. Though the central government and local officials strongly discourage Christians from evangelizing, the nearly 2 million believers in Syria have been allowed to worship openly by the Al-Assad regime. Syrian believers are well aware of how easily this freedom could be snatched away from them. A Syrian believer testified, “The Christians in Syria are scared that if anything happens to the current system, their situation will be like Iraq, if not worse!”

Believers facing a choice between fleeing their homes, businesses and communities or staying to deal with a tense situation that could escalate into violence against Christians at a moment’s notice are fasting and praying for God’s wisdom and direction. Join in praying for our brothers and sisters in Syria, that they would be strengthened in their faith and that God would work in the political situation to secure protection for Syria’s vulnerable Christian minority.

Father, thank you for your continued faithfulness to the believers in Syria. In the face of violent threats and political unrest, strengthen and encourage believers in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of uncertainty and fear, grant Syrian Christians boldness to share the truth of Christ with members of their community. Please move in the hearts of Syrian government officials to continue to protect vulnerable believers. Father, let Your perfect peace cover this troubled nation bringing hope for the citizens of Syria. Amen

Consider fasting in unity with our brothers and sisters in Syria. Please let Open Doors know of this decision by sending a message to Prayer@ODUSA.org.