Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Today We Join With Operation World in Praying for the Kingdom of Spain, Europe
Spain
Kingdom of Spain
Europe
See Prayer Information
Geography
Area: 504,783 sq km
The major part of the Iberian peninsula and Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. Also included are the Canary Islands off northwest Africa and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the North African coast.
Population: 45,450,497 Annual Growth: 1.02%
Capital: Madrid
Urbanites: 77.4%
HDI Rank: 15 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Official language: Catalán, Galician and Basque are official languages in the respective autonomous regions. Castilian (Spanish) is the only official language for all the Spanish territory. Spanish is the first language of over 340 million people; the world’s third most widely used language Languages: 21 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Christian
| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 35,055,968 | 77.13 | 0.1 |
| Evangelicals | 461,998 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
Answer to Prayer
Spain’s transformation since 1978 is astonishing, from dictatorship to liberty, poverty to wealth, isolation to integration into Europe and religious discrimination to religious liberty. Spain has had only two brief periods of religious freedom, 1868-1875 and 1931-1939, before the new Constitution passed in 1978. Thank God for more than 30 years of liberty, and pray that Spain’s believers would take full advantage of it. For an additional 2 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
a) Morality, and values in general, have suffered. Decadent behaviours and hedonistic lifestyles, combined with increased material possessions, cause greater degrees of depression, addiction, debt and lost direction. The younger generation rejects the idea of absolute truth. Pray that Christianity might still be able to provide a moral compass and demonstrate moral authority.
b) Spiritual confusion. False beliefs are quickly multiplying – a natural consequence of the rapidly formed vacuum left by departure from religious faith. Spaniards flirting with occult practices is common. New Age deceptions abound. Marginal cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have a large presence, augmented now by the arrival of new foreign sects and other religions.
c) Drugs are a blight on Spain, one of the world’s heaviest users of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Around two million take drugs, most of them young people. Cocaine dominates the drug trade, but heroin wreaks particular havoc on the health of users. As yet, there are no signs of drug abuse or addiction abating.
d) Gambling addiction remains a problem for the nation as well. It is estimated that 15% of net household income is spent on betting, possibly one of the highest proportions of any nation in the world. Bookmakers and gambling companies press in harder on the lucrative Spanish market, well aware of the breadth of addiction.
e) Sexual ethics and behaviours are a battleground, since immorality, prostitution and abortion are common. Children are sexualized at ever younger ages, while an “anything goes” mentality characterizes young people especially. The Spanish have all but stopped having children – they have one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, lower still if excluding immigrant families. All of these will have devastating future consequences in terms of disease, social attitudes and demographic pressure.
Pray for Spain to wake up to the lies that have blinded it to the truth of the gospel. Pray for social renewal, and that those working for the salvation of the Spanish might be endowed with love, power and wisdom.
For an additional 12 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
Challenge for Prayer
Spain’s modern transformation is not all positive. Secular materialism brought religious freedom and economic advancement, but it has also struck a crushing blow to traditional foundations of society and created a spiritual vacuum that is being filled with many dangerous elements.a) Morality, and values in general, have suffered. Decadent behaviours and hedonistic lifestyles, combined with increased material possessions, cause greater degrees of depression, addiction, debt and lost direction. The younger generation rejects the idea of absolute truth. Pray that Christianity might still be able to provide a moral compass and demonstrate moral authority.
b) Spiritual confusion. False beliefs are quickly multiplying – a natural consequence of the rapidly formed vacuum left by departure from religious faith. Spaniards flirting with occult practices is common. New Age deceptions abound. Marginal cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have a large presence, augmented now by the arrival of new foreign sects and other religions.
c) Drugs are a blight on Spain, one of the world’s heaviest users of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Around two million take drugs, most of them young people. Cocaine dominates the drug trade, but heroin wreaks particular havoc on the health of users. As yet, there are no signs of drug abuse or addiction abating.
d) Gambling addiction remains a problem for the nation as well. It is estimated that 15% of net household income is spent on betting, possibly one of the highest proportions of any nation in the world. Bookmakers and gambling companies press in harder on the lucrative Spanish market, well aware of the breadth of addiction.
e) Sexual ethics and behaviours are a battleground, since immorality, prostitution and abortion are common. Children are sexualized at ever younger ages, while an “anything goes” mentality characterizes young people especially. The Spanish have all but stopped having children – they have one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, lower still if excluding immigrant families. All of these will have devastating future consequences in terms of disease, social attitudes and demographic pressure.
Pray for Spain to wake up to the lies that have blinded it to the truth of the gospel. Pray for social renewal, and that those working for the salvation of the Spanish might be endowed with love, power and wisdom.
For an additional 12 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 Spain.
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty, by Maranatha Music
SONG LYRICS;
Father in heaven how we love You
We lift Your name in all the earth.
May Your kingdom be established in our praises,
As Your people declare Your mighty works!
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come.
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who reigns forevermore.
Oh God most Holy we adore You,
We lay our all before Your throne.
May the fragrance of Your presence be about us
As we purpose to worship You alone!
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come.
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who reigns forevermore.
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come.
Blessed be the Lord God Almighty
Who reigns forevermore.
Psalm 64
Psalm 64
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 64
Psalm 64[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
they shoot suddenly, without fear.
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, “Who will see it[b]?”
6 They plot injustice and say,
“We have devised a perfect plan!”
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All people will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.
10 The righteous will rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will glory in him!
Footnotes:
- Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 6
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