[Note from Rowland: I'm happy to include these newsletters on this website, even though they represent a political/theological position on some matters which is not my own. For example, abortion is important in the U.S. election, but so are many other social justice issues]. ***** AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER. * PRAYING FOR THE UNITED STATES ELECTIONS * CRUEL PERSECUTION ESCALATING IN LAOS * PEOPLE TURN TO CHURCH FOR SUPPORT AS GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CONTINUES ----------------------------------------------- PRAYING FOR THE UNITED STATES ELECTIONS The United States Election campaign is in full swing and we are asked to join our American brothers and sisters in covering it in prayer over the next few weeks. The election of a new President is of course important to the whole world, not just America. Along with the general election an important referendum will take place in California regarding same-sex marriage. The following email from Lou Engle outlines the issues regarding the Californian referendum for your prayerful consideration. Once again, as you know, we are in a moment of extraordinary crisis in America. These elections will shape the future of our nation for the next 40 years. The future of millions of unborn children and wounded mothers is at stake. The judges that will be appointed by the next president will help determine whether or not America will fully turn away from the fixed moral standards of God's loving laws. If that were not enough, California has now legalized same-sex marriage and the implications of this ruling are so far-reaching that it demands an immediate and urgent response from the church. On November 1, we are summoning the church from across California and the nation to gather together in united fasting and prayer at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to take a stand for marriage in California. As California goes, in many ways, so goes the nation. A major prayer leader from Egypt spoke to me and said that he had been weeping over California because he knew that if this law is not reversed by the vote of Californians on November 4, a spirit will spread across the world that will be stronger than Islam. It is a spirit of lawlessness, and that spirit will affect every nation. My brothers and sisters, many of my friends are saying that TheCall California will be the most significant Call we have ever done. Nehemiah, in a time of spiritual warfare said, "We are widely divided along this wall, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather to me there, and there the Lord will fight for us." There are certain spiritual powers of darkness that will not be restrained unless we are willing to gather. God promises if we will do that, He will fight for us. "This kind does not come out but by prayer and fasting." Please commit to pray with us at this important time in the history of the world. In praying for the elections please cover the following points: * Intercede that Christians and God-fearing citizens will exercise their privilege, duty, and responsibility to vote. (Voting is not compulsory in America) * Intercede for mercy, forgiveness, spiritual awakening and protection of all. Pray to bind the enemy using terrorism at this time to try and influence the outcome of the election. * Pray for a greater awakening unto the Sovereignty of God and Supremacy of Christ in the Church. Affirm the Supremacy of Jesus Christ over the upcoming elections and in all U.S. government and national affairs. Lou Engle Source: The Call America ----------------------------------------------- CRUEL PERSECUTION ESCALATING IN LAOS Communism came to power in Laos on the back of the North Vietnamese Communist victory of 1975. This resulted in a ‘special relationship’ between Vietnam and Laos. The Second Indochina War (the Vietnam War) saw the Indochinese Communists defeat the US and its allies, which included Laos’ ethnic Hmong who had been recruited by the CIA to block the Ho Chi Min trail. Whilst the war may have ended, a military campaign against the Laos’ Hmong persists. Aimed at genocide, the campaign involves massacres, the use of chemical weapons and forced starvation. Christians in Laos have long suffered severe and systematic religious persecution at the hands of the Communists. Christianity is labelled a ‘foreign religion’ and embracing it is akin to sedition. The authorities use violent intimidation and threats in trying to force Christians to renounce their faith. When that fails, they expel them from their homes and villages, and when that fails they arrest and torture them. Occasionally parents will reluctantly renounce their faith to protect their children from starvation in the forest. As the US International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 gets its leverage from US economic power, severe anti-Christian persecution has tended to come in waves as the regime tries to balance its pursuit of US economic aid against its determination to maintain totalitarian control. Christians in Laos are reporting an increase in religious persecution. This is attributed to ‘increased intervention by Vietnam’s communist party officialdom, secret police and military’. It is possible that Laos is cracking down on Christianity on advice from Vietnam where Catholic prayer-vigil-protests have persisted for 10 months. These have grown to be the largest public demonstrations since the Communists came to power there and have begun attracting international attention to rights and justice issues. Hmong women have been present at the Hanoi prayer vigils, wearing full national dress and playing indigenous musical instruments. The Vietnamese authorities have responded by slandering and denigrating the Hmong in the media. Meanwhile hundreds of Christian families across Laos are presently suffering appalling persecution. Arising from this, three believers from a house church in Boukham is of particular concern. They have been handcuffed with their feet in stocks in a detention cell since 3 August when they were arrested for refusing to sign papers renouncing their faith. They had been threatened several times previously but had continued to worship regardless. They are said to be suffering acute pain, infections and circulation problems, and will only be released when they renounce their faith. Today multitudes of humble Laotian believers are refusing to deny their Lord or forsake worship, accepting rather the cross of extreme punishment and even torture to death. Let us pray for the Church in Laos. PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR: * Pastor Sompong Supatto (32) and Boot and Khamvan Chanthaleuxay (both 18), that God will sustain their bodies, minds and spirits through his healing touch and his comforting embrace. May Christ continue to draw them near so they may know the peace of God which passes understanding and which guards hearts and minds in him. * God to intervene and bring justice and release to Laos’ imprisoned Christians, justice and provision for Laos’ dispossessed Christians, and justice and righteousness to the nation for his name’s sake. * God to intervene so that ‘truth, justice and charity’ might come in Hanoi, Vietnam, and so too in Laos where the present crack-down on Christians may be influenced by Hanoi. Source: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission ----------------------------------------------- PEOPLE TURN TO CHURCH FOR SUPPORT AS GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CONTINUES Web users seeking support during the current financial crisis have boosted traffic to an Anglican website by 71 per cent, and increased visitor numbers to its online prayer page by 28 per cent. The Matter of Life and Debt Website contains a new "debt spiral" feature so visitors can work out if they are likely to be seriously affected by the credit crunch, and useful advice for those worried about debt. It can be viewed by visiting http://www.cofe.anglican.org/debt. A Prayer for the Current Financial Situation has been viewed nearly 8,000 times since it was published online. Source: Anglican Communion News Service Canada
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