Friday, October 18, 2013

AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for Samoa- Pacific , San Marino - Europe and Sao Tomé & Principe - Africa

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Home > Oct 18: Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé & Principe

Oct 18: Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé & Principe

Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe

Samoa

Independent State of Samoa

Pacific

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 2,831 sq km
Two large volcanic islands, Savai’i and Upolu, and seven small islands covered by lush tropical rainforest.
Population: 178,943
Capital: Apia
Urbanites: 23.4%
HDI Rank: 94 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Official language: Samoan; English    Languages: 2 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians172,85996.600.0
Evangelicals32,26318.00.7

Challenge for Prayer

Mormonism is a point of contention; it is growing quickly, but the numbers they claim and the census results are hugely divergent. Mormons receive and send more missionaries to/from Samoa than any other denomination. Pray for all seeking to win Mormons to Jesus and to enlighten Samoan Christians of Mormonism’s errors. Pray for renewal and revival within churches that will safeguard against further Mormon growth.
     For an additional 4 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 Samoa.


San Marino

Most Serene Republic of San Marino

Europe

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Geography

Area: 61 sq km
A city state in north central Italy near Rimini.
Population: 31,537    Annual Growth: 0.84%
Capital: San Marino
Urbanites: 94.3%

Peoples

Official language: Italian    Languages: 2 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians28,00288.790.8
Evangelicals40.05.6

Challenge for Prayer

San Marino proclaims itself “Ancient Land of Liberty”. There is freedom to worship, but evangelism hardly exists. In the past, outreach by evangelicals resulted in jailing or expulsion from the country. As a result, no churches or ministries currently evangelize in San Marino.
     For an additional Challenge 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 San Marino.


São Tomé & Príncipe

Democratic Republic of Sao Tomé and Príncipe

Africa

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 1,001 sq km
Two larger and several smaller islands in the Gulf of Guinea, 200 km west of Gabon.
Population: 165,397    Annual Growth: 1.62%
Capital: São Tomé
Urbanites: 62.2%
HDI Rank: 131 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Official language: Portuguese and three Creole dialects    Languages: 5 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians144,80587.552.2
Evangelicals7,0114.26.5

Challenge for Prayer

Evangelicals are free to minister and do see significant growth. There are close links with several Portuguese and Brazilian groups, such as the Assemblies of God, the Nazarenes, Deeper Life (Nigeria), YWAM and several others. Pray that their missionaries might have a great impact on these islands. Pray for the development of locally led, culturally relevant congregations with effectively trained Christian leaders. Pray also for local support of national workers and for the launching of an interdenominational training centre.
     For an additional 2 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 São Tomé & Príncipe.
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Lamentations 3 New International Version


Lamentations 3 New International Version (NIV)

3 [a]I am the man who has seen affliction
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
    and has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
    he has weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion in hiding,
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
    and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He pierced my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;
    they mock me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
    there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
    and let him be filled with disgrace.
31 For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.
34 To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,
36 to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?
37 Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
39 Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
    and let us return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
    to God in heaven, and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled
    and you have not forgiven.
43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;
    you have slain without pity.
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud
    so that no prayer can get through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse
    among the nations.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
    wide against us.
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
    ruin and destruction.”
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes
    because my people are destroyed.
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
    without relief,
50 until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and sees.
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
    because of all the women of my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
    hunted me like a bird.
53 They tried to end my life in a pit
    and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,
    and I thought I was about to perish.
55 I called on your name, Lord,
    from the depths of the pit.
56 You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears
    to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near when I called you,
    and you said, “Do not fear.”
58 You, Lord, took up my case;
    you redeemed my life.
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.
    Uphold my cause!
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
    all their plots against me.
61 Lord, you have heard their insults,
    all their plots against me—
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
    against me all day long.
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
    they mock me in their songs.
64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
    for what their hands have done.
65 Put a veil over their hearts,
    and may your curse be on them!
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them
    from under the heavens of the Lord.

Footnotes:

  1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
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Proverbs 18 (New International Version)



Proverbs 18

1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment.

2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace.

4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the innocent of justice.

6 A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

7 A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.

12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

13 He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame.

14 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

16 A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.

17 The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.

18 Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart.

19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

23 A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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Psalm 7 (New International Version)




Psalm 7

A shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands-

4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe-

5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. Selah

6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.

7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high;

8 let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.

9 O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.

10 My shield [b] is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.

12 If he does not relent, he [c] will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.

13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.

14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.

16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
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Thursday, October 17, 2013

AFWIS Joins with Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of Rwanda - Africa

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Home > Oct 17: Rwanda

Oct 17: Rwanda

Rwanda

Republic of Rwanda

Africa

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 26,338 sq km
A fertile, mountainous country similar to its southern neighbour, Burundi.
Population: 10,277,212    Annual Growth: 2.71%
Capital: Kigali
Urbanites: 18.9%
HDI Rank: 167 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 13 (23% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: French, English, Kinyarwanda. The entire population speaks Kinyarwanda    Languages: 5 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian
Religion               Pop %Ann Gr
Christians9,159,05189.122.7
Evangelicals2,761,14026.93.0
Prayercast

Answer to Prayer

Evangelicals emerged from the ashes to grow rapidly post-1994. Today, they are present in great numbers in political leadership, education and health and nation-building. While the spike of Protestant/Independent growth has plateaued, the consolidation of evangelicals as a force in society is to be lauded.
     For an additional Answer to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Challenge for Prayer

Rwanda’s longer-term future must eventually move past the events of the 1990s. A development programme called Vision 2020 intends to transform Rwanda’s economy, infrastructure and values. Other challenges loom large on the horizon, most notably:
a) Political stability is achieved, yet greater freedoms could still be achieved. Political leadership is strong, but a healthy political opposition movement and a more independent press could make Rwanda even stronger. The government is very sympathetic toward Christianity, but is not without its critics, especially in the areas of freedom of expression, human rights and foreign policy toward the DRC. Righteousness exalts a nation; pray for such a dynamic to characterize Rwanda.
b) The military-political conundrum of relationships among Rwanda, Burundi, Congo-DRC and Uganda remains a challenge. With the activities of rebels and militias, relationships are often strained and rise and fall regularly. Pray for patience, understanding and cooperation to work together for justice and to root out those who would destabilize the region.
c) Rapid population growth and limited land promise to intensify the issue hidden at the root of the massacres. The traditional habit of parcelling out inherited land to all offspring created tiny parcels of farmland insufficient to even feed a family. Jealousy and greed were behind countless local episodes of murder and theft during the dark days of 1994-95. The terrible loss of life depopulated much land, but this same issue will inevitably resurface – Rwanda is already Africa’s most densely populated country. Pray that wise solutions might be found to this deep-seated and long-term problem.
     For an additional 7 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 Rwanda.
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But GOD!


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Lamentations 2 New International Version


Lamentations 2 New International Version (NIV)

 
2 [a]How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion
    with the cloud of his anger[b]!
He has hurled down the splendor of Israel
    from heaven to earth;
he has not remembered his footstool
    in the day of his anger.
2 Without pity the Lord has swallowed up
    all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has torn down
    the strongholds of Daughter Judah.
He has brought her kingdom and its princes
    down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In fierce anger he has cut off
    every horn[c][d] of Israel.
He has withdrawn his right hand
    at the approach of the enemy.
He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
    that consumes everything around it.
4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow;
    his right hand is ready.
Like a foe he has slain
    all who were pleasing to the eye;
he has poured out his wrath like fire
    on the tent of Daughter Zion.
5 The Lord is like an enemy;
    he has swallowed up Israel.
He has swallowed up all her palaces
    and destroyed her strongholds.
He has multiplied mourning and lamentation
    for Daughter Judah.
6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;
    he has destroyed his place of meeting.
The Lord has made Zion forget
    her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;
in his fierce anger he has spurned
    both king and priest.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
    and abandoned his sanctuary.
He has given the walls of her palaces
    into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord
    as on the day of an appointed festival.
8 The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;
    their bars he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,
    the law is no more,
and her prophets no longer find
    visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;
they have sprinkled dust on their heads
    and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes fail from weeping,
    I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
    in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away
    in their mothers’ arms.
13 What can I say for you?
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?
Your wound is as deep as the sea.
    Who can heal you?
14 The visions of your prophets
    were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.
15 All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;
they scoff and shake their heads
    at Daughter Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,
    the joy of the whole earth?”
16 All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;
they scoff and gnash their teeth
    and say, “We have swallowed her up.
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has fulfilled his word,
    which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity,
    he has let the enemy gloat over you,
    he has exalted the horn[e] of your foes.
18 The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
    let your tears flow like a river
    day and night;
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.
19 Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
    in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
    at every street corner.
20 “Look, Lord, and consider:
    Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,
    the children they have cared for?
Should priest and prophet be killed
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 “Young and old lie together
    in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
    have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
    you have slaughtered them without pity.
22 “As you summon to a feast day,
    so you summoned against me terrors on every side.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped or survived;
those I cared for and reared
    my enemy has destroyed.”

Footnotes:

  1. Lamentations 2:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Lamentations 2:1 Or How the Lord in his anger / has treated Daughter Zion with contempt
  3. Lamentations 2:3 Or off / all the strength; or every king
  4. Lamentations 2:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  5. Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.
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Proverbs 17 (New International Version)


Proverbs 17 (New International Version)

Proverbs 17

1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, [a] with strife.

2 A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

4 A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.

5 He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6 Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

7 Arrogant [b] lips are unsuited to a fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8 A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

9 He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10 A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 An evil man is bent only on rebellion; a merciless official will be sent against him.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

13 If a man pays back evil for good, evil will never leave his house.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both.

16 Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

18 A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.

19 He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a son brings grief; there is no joy for the father of a fool.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23 A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.

24 A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him.

26 It is not good to punish an innocent man, or to flog officials for their integrity.

27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
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Psalm 6 (New International Version)




Psalm 6

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[a]

A psalm of David.

1O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

3 My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?

4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

5 No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave [b] ?

6 I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
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