AFWIS joins OW in prayer for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Asia

Nov 04: Sri Lanka

Join the Prayer Movement

click map to enlarge

click map to enlarge

click graph for key

Sri Lanka

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Asia

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 65,610 sq km
Large island 80 km southeast of India.
Population: 20,409,946    Annual Growth: 0.88%
Capital: Colombo
Urbanites: 15.1%
HDI Rank: 102 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 76 (84% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Sinhala and Tamil, with English as the link language    Languages: 7 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Buddhist

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	1,710,353	8.38	0.8
Evangelicals	242,965	1.2	2.3
Buddhist	14,291,044	70.02

Answer to Prayer

The anti-conversion bill was not brought to pass, not so much defeated as deferred. Its implementation would bring difficulties for a number of minorities, but especially for evangelicals seeking to share the good news. Praise God that it has not yet become reality; pray that it may never become so.
     For an additional 3 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Challenge for Prayer

Tolerance and non-violence have historically been watchwords of Sri Lanka. For centuries, it was a Buddhist kingdom that welcomed refugees from India fleeing persecution – Hindus, Muslims and Christians. However, this multi-religious, multi-ethnic country now sees religious extremism and persecution rising. Pray for:
a) The disarming of the spiritual powers and principalities that heavily influence a very religious society. Beneath the layers of Buddhism and Hinduism lie an ancient cocktail of spirits, gods and demons.
b) The exposure of Buddhist extremism as a hateful aberration. This has taken shape as a very ethnocentric Sinhalese response to Tamil intransigence and to waves of Christian “proselytism”. But it has also been used to polarize society, to unduly influence politics and the military, and to marginalize and suppress ethnic and religious minorities. Pray that such extremism might create disillusionment and generate interest in the gospel.
     For an additional 10 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Sri Lanka.