AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * CHRISTIANS URGED TO PRAY FOR THE DESPERATE SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE * INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR NORTH KOREA - SUNDAY APRIL 27, 2008 * RISING FOOD PRICES COULD CAUSE SOCIAL UNREST ACROSS THE WORLD * VIOLENT CAMPAIGN ENDS WITH PEACEFUL ELECTIONS IN NEPAL * GHANA'S PRESIDENT ORDERS SCHOOLS TO REINTRODUCE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EDUCATION * STOP PRESS: THOUSANDS GATHER TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD IN EGYPT ----------------------------------------------- CHRISTIANS URGED TO PRAY FOR THE DESPERATE SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe's opposition has stepped up pleas for foreign help as efforts are made to force the publication of long-awaited presidential election results. President Mugabe's grip on power shows no signs of weakening despite mounting international pressure for the release of results the opposition says should mean the end of his 28-year rule. Even however if the courts order the election commission to immediately publish the outcome there is no guarantee it will end the crisis. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF has pre-empted events by calling for a total recount. ZANU-PF has already endorsed the 84-year-old Mugabe for a run-off, should the official results show that none of the candidates achieved more than 50 percent of the vote. Mugabe, viewed by many in the region as a hero for his role in winning independence from Britain in 1980, has presided over a staggering decline in Zimbabwe's economy and is accused of numerous human rights abuses. Once the breadbasket of southern Africa, the country is now facing six-digit inflation and an unemployment rate of 80 percent. Basics such as bread and cooking oil are in short supply. Supporters of President Mugabe have stepped up a campaign in Zimbabwe since the election, driving more than 60 farmers off their land. Mugabe is fanning the flames of the land issue in a bid to discredit his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, whom they typecast as a pro-Western stooge planning to resettle the whites. In comments reported by state media Mugabe urged Zimbabweans to jealously guard the land for which thousands of freedom fighters died during the liberation war in the 1970s. "The land is ours, it must remain ours, and not be allowed to slip back into the hands of whites," Mugabe was quoted as saying. Opposition leaders claim that in the run-off, violence will be a new weapon to reverse the people's victory. "ZANU-PF is preparing a war against the people of Zimbabwe such as we witnessed in 2000" one opposition leader claimed. At least 80 Zimbabwean opposition activists are known to have been assaulted by pro-government militants in recent weeks. Christians worldwide are being urged to pray for the desperate situation in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's economy has effectively collapsed because of mismanagement. Currently, two hundred South African Rands will buy 1 Billion Zimbabwe dollars with inflation rocketing every day. South Africa is currently supporting around 3 million Zim refugees. An evil spirit of oppression has the country in its grip. Please, pray fervently and unceasingly for Zimbabwe. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR NORTH KOREA - SUNDAY APRIL 27, 2008 The International Day of Prayer for North Korea set down for this Sunday 27th April, is a call to Christians worldwide to pray for the nation of North Korea, which is regarded as the worst persecutor of Christians and one of the worst human rights violating countries in the world today. The purpose of this day of prayer is to increase Global Intercession for the healing of North Korea. Please Pray: For the captives to be set free. There are an estimated 200,000 North Koreans, including women and children, currently being held in torture camps of the most terrible cruelty. For human rights. Pray for the restoration of human rights to all North Koreans, specifically handicapped persons, children, women, the elderly, and the estimated 40 percent of the population who are mercilessly persecuted because they or their relatives are believed to be critical of or are considered a blemish to the North Korean regime. For the starving. North Korea has been devastated by famine; millions have starved to death in the last 10 years and continue to starve. For refugees. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China to escape persecution and starvation. For freedom and awakening. The majority of people in North Korea have never heard the Word of God, or heard the name of Jesus Christ. For North Korean Christians. North Korean Christians have routinely suffered torture and execution for their faith; they are widely regarded as the most persecuted believers in the world. For workers. Please pray for the dedicated Christian workers that have been labouring to bring about change for North Koreans through prayer and advocacy; for those within the North Korea human rights movement including those who have escaped North Korea and now are working to bring freedom and human rights to their homeland, for those in China helping North Korean refugees, and for Christian NGOs that work inside North Korea. For unification. After the Second World War, Korea was divided into two countries with the north coming under communist rule, and the south under the influence of the west; many families were divided. For revival and transformation in North Korea. Before the installation of the Communist regime in 1945, North Korea was a centre of great Christian revival; Pyongyang, the capitol of North Korea, was once even known as the "Jerusalem of the East". Source: International Prayer Council ----------------------------------------------- RISING FOOD PRICES COULD CAUSE SOCIAL UNREST ACROSS THE WORLD Top finance officials from around the globe have called for urgent action to stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest will spread unless the cost of basic staples is contained. "We have to put our money where our mouth is now, so that we can put food into hungry mouths. It is as stark as that," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said at the end of a meeting of the IMF and World Bank's Development Committee. Mr Zoellick and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have said the issue of skyrocketing food prices needs to be front and centre at the highest political levels. Concerns about food costs took on new urgency as senators in Haiti ousted the prime minister after a week of food-related rioting in which at least five people died. There have also been protests in Cameroon, Niger and Burkina Faso in Africa, and in Indonesia and the Philippines. In just two months, rice prices have shot up around 75%, closing in on historic highs. Meanwhile, the cost of wheat has climbed by 120% over the past year, more than doubling the price of bread in most poor countries. The problem is most worrying in developing countries where food represents a larger share of what consumers buy. It threatens to sharply increase malnutrition and hunger, while reversing progress in reducing poverty and debt burdens among the poorest nations. The World Bank has warned that food prices will remain elevated this year and next, and likely stay above 2004 levels through 2015. One of the main factors behind the surge in prices is the increased use of crops for biofuels as an alternative energy source. Almost all of the rise in global corn production from 2004 to 2007 went to biofuels in the United States. Other factors that have contributed to the rise are the growth in demand in Asia and droughts in food-producing nations like Australia. Climate change also received heightened attention at the meeting. Mr Zoellick helped convene a meeting that brought developing countries together to discuss ways to tackle climate change. "The drive to address climate change won't work if it's seen as a rich man's club," Mr Zoellick said. The ministers called on the World Bank to mobilise financing to help the poor deal with the effects of global warming. Source: Reuters ----------------------------------------------- VIOLENT CAMPAIGN ENDS WITH PEACEFUL ELECTIONS IN NEPAL What had become an often violent political campaign in Nepal, came to a surprisingly peaceful conclusion on the day of the country's election. The newly elected candidates plan to turn the nation into a true democracy, rewriting the constitution, and guaranteeing freedom of religion. For over 200 years, Nepal had been an official Hindu country. Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan said it will be vital for Christians to be represented in the new government. There were at least four Christian candidates. It is not yet known if any of them won their respective seats in Nepal's constituent assembly. The April 9 elections were Nepal's first since 1999. The weeks leading up to the election were marred by violence, in which two candidates were killed. News reports from the country said that election day was mostly peaceful. About 17.6 million of the country's 26.4 million residents were eligible to vote. Initial reports show that voter turnout was high, even though irregularities caused 10 voting sites to postpone polling to a later date. Yohannan asks everyone to remember all missionaries in Nepal as the country undergoes this radical transformation."Pray for the missionaries, pastors and believers, that they would have wisdom to respond to the situation correctly in the midst of uncertainties," Yohannan said. Source: Gospel for Asia ----------------------------------------------- GHANA'S PRESIDENT ORDERS SCHOOLS TO REINTRODUCE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EDUCATION President Kufuor of Ghana has instructed authorities of schools in the country to revisit the teaching of Religious and Moral Education (RME), which hitherto had been removed from the syllabus. President Kufuor made the call when he addressed school children at the country's 51st Independence Day celebration. The call was in response to persistent calls made particularly by Christians and Muslims for reintroduction of the subject in the schools' curricular. The president expressed displeasure about the negative moral impact of globalization on the youth through the mass media. He therefore urged the school children to balance their academic learning with that of their moral duty. "The television, the Internet and other modern gadgetry undermine cultures and moral values. The result is that humanity is already confronted with the challenge of a serious split between knowledge and morality. Unless mankind finds a way to overcome this challenge, there is a real danger of it becoming less than human. It is for this reason that government has decided to revisit the reinstatement of Religious and Moral Education in the school curriculum", President Kufour told the students. He added that no matter the academic and professional standard they achieved, the best education in the end is the one that would enable them to appreciate the common dignity of man; stand up for what is right and be each other's keeper. The general secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Fred Degbee in an interview with Radio Ghana commended the action of the president. He said religion and morality were the signal light of the world, and they should be encouraged at every level of society. RME which was introduced into the syllabus of Upper Primary and Junior Secondary Schools some years ago, aimed to encourage the sense of moral values among school children in the country. But it was removed last year as a result of new educational reforms in the country. Source: ASSIST News Service ----------------------------------------------- STOP PRESS: THOUSANDS GATHER TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD IN EGYPT In a remote rural property some 20kms from Alexandria in Egypt Evangelical Christians from all over Egypt and many other North African and Middle Eastern countries gathered to celebrate their common faith in Jesus Christ through worship, teaching and prayer. Some 20 or so Australians joined with them, some Egyptian born who were returning to see what God was doing in their former homeland, including leaders from the Australian Prayer Network, and Children's Prayer Network who were invited to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Egypt. Some 7,000 filled a large marquee, especially erected for the occasion, to overflowing, whilst hundreds more listened to the worship and speakers in the grounds outside through loud speakers erected to handle the overflow. Dozens of Christian organisations set up smaller tents to publicise and promote their ministries. The need to meet in a remote location was so that tensions between the majority Muslim community of the area and the gathered Christians was not unnecessarily inflamed. Security police and fire fighting units watched from a respectable distance, for in Egypt there is constant and ongoing tension between the majority Muslim population and the 13% of Coptic and the 1% Evangelical Christian's who live in Egypt. In fact one of the buses bringing people to the Conference was stoned, slightly injuring a couple of passengers. For the 4 days of the Conference however those tensions were wiped away. For once the Christians were in the majority and nothing was going to stop them expressing their love and commitment to the Lord. The Conference drew people of all ages with the youth being strongly represented, revealing that the future of the evangelical Church in Egypt was in good hands. For hours they worshipped, fervently with tears they prayed, whilst the message of salvation, healing, and of commitment to Christ was preached fearlessly. Many prophetic words received spoke of the strategic importance that Egypt was to the rest of the Middle East and Africa, and of God's promises. The prophetic word of the Lord as written in Isaiah 19 was claimed with verse 25 "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork and Israel my inheritance" a particular theme of the Conference. The daily persecution faced by our precious brothers and sisters in Muslim lands is breeding a new brand of Christians with a fire in their spirit to see the Kingdom of God come in power. Through their very lives Isaiah 19:19 is becoming a reality as altars of worship and prayer are springing up in the hearts of believers everywhere in Egypt. Let us pray for those who pay a price every day of their lives to follow Jesus, but who correspondingly know the victory of His deliverance from the powers of evil as they faithfully walk in His footsteps each and every day. The Australian Prayer Network and CityHarvest International will be undertaking a two week Prayer Journey to Egypt in October. Anyone interested in participating in that journey should immediately contact , or tour organisers at 07 3343 8242, for details as final plans are being made in the formation of the team for that assignment. Source: Australian Prayer Network
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