Friday, February 4, 2011
How to Pray for Egypt
Operation World
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 9:34am
The following note was written by the head of the Bible Society of Egypt, an Egyptian national and global evangelical leader. Further helpful insight into how to pray about the Egypt situation:
Dear friends,
The internet has just started again so I am taking the opportunity to make some quick comments in case we get offline again.
You know the political situation from excellent media coverage, so I won't comment on that.
1. Christians and Muslims have been united as never before defending their homes on overnight shifts (due to the lack of police security) this is resulting for many to make friends with neighbors they never knew and there is a real sense of camaraderie which we never had before.
2. Most of the demonstrations in Cairo are restricted to Tahrir square which is very close to Kasr El Doubara Evangelical Church, so they especially need your prayers for protection.
3. No one we know has been injured or attacked.
4. Food, medical and other supplies are dwindling since most factories and businesses are closed after last week’s wave of vandalism and the daily 3 pm curfew. Pray for the poor and destitute who suffer most at this time.
5. I've lived through many of these kind of dramatic events (1952 revolution which deposed the King, the burning of much of downtown Cairo, the tri-partite attack on Egypt in 1956 by the Israelis, French and British following the nationalization of the Suez canal (a bomb fell in our garden), the nationalization of all capitalists when my family lost all their properties and were terribly humiliated, my pediatrician was tortured to death in jail during that time, the brutal assassination in 1981 of President Sadat after he made peace with Israel, the security forces rampage which caused much damage around the city and a strong earthquake in 1992 etc..
So though this situation is volatile and unstable we’ve lived through similar crises and it’s not time to panic or leave the country.
6. All Bible Society staff and properties are safe up till now.
7. Please pray for:
a. Christians in Egypt (locals and expats) to not get tempted to "run" when things get hard.
Libby Little whose husband Tom was brutally murdered in Afghanistan last summer said that during that terrible war they and their daughters were called "the people who stayed"! Lucien Accad, the former head of the Bible Society of Lebanon stayed with his family during that dangerous civil war even though they all had Swiss passports and could leave….
b. For The Bible Society of Egypt to think of creative ways to bring God's Word to the people in appropriate ways during these difficult times (much of Scripture was written in contexts of danger) staff are working from their homes of print and audio materials to produce as soon as we get back to the office.
c. For wisdom for the Army to know how to control the situation without resorting to brutal means to control the crowds.
d. For me to quickly recuperate from a heart crisis (arrhythmia) which I succumbed to last Wednesday and spend 8 days in CCU.
Today is my first day home.
THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS, THAT'S WHAT WE MOST NEED!
Good Morning Today is 2.4.2011
Psalm 119:81-88
×› Kaph
81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.
Psalm 119: 81-88
- Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
Psalms 119:81-88
The psalmist sought deliverance from his sins, his foes, and his fears. Hope deferred made him faint; his eyes failed by looking out for this expected salvation. But when the eyes fail, yet faith must not. His affliction was great. He was become like a leathern bottle, which, if hung up in the smoke, is dried and shriveled up. We must ever be mindful of God's statutes.
The days of the believer's mourning shall be ended; they are but for a moment, compared with eternal happiness. His enemies used craft as well as power for his ruin, in contempt of the law of God. The commandments of God are true and faithful guides in the path of peace and safety. We may best expect help from God when, like our Master, we do well and suffer for it. Wicked men may almost consume the believer upon earth, but he would sooner forsake all than forsake the word of the Lord.
We should depend upon the grace of God for strength to do every good work. The surest token of God's good-will toward us, is his good work in us.
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