AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Kingdom of Nepal - Asia

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Home > Sep 13: Nepal

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Sep 13: Nepal

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Nepal

Kingdom of Nepal

Asia

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Geography

Area: 147,181 sq km
A mountainous Himalayan state between China (Tibet) and India. It contains 8 of the 10 highest mountain peaks in the world.
Population: 29,852,682    Annual Growth: 1.86%
Capital: Kathmandu
Urbanites: 18.2%
HDI Rank: 144 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 380 (93% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Nepali    Languages: 127 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Hinduism

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	850,801	2.85	5.3
Evangelicals	850,801	2.9	5.3
Hinduism	22,392,497	75.01

Prayercast

Challenges for Prayer

Christian ministry must address a host of challenges under the government’s watchful eye. High unemployment, illiteracy, low levels of development, environmental degradation and dependence on foreign aid are all being addressed by Christians. Pray for practical, sustainable and innovative ways to address the following issues:
a) Child labour. An estimated 2.6 million children work as child labourers; 70% of them are forced to work 10-hour days or longer. The government seeks to eliminate by 2014 the worst forms of child labour, such as mining and rag picking. Pray for the success of this programme. Education and subsequent development are impossible until Nepal gets children out of the workplace and into school.
b) Trafficking of Nepali girls for the Indian, Middle Eastern and domestic sex trade. There are up to 300,000 girls in India alone (mainly in Mumbai), where they are terribly abused; possibly 90% of returnees are HIV-positive. AIDS has rapidly spread through the rest of society as a result, and there is no coherent national plan for AIDS prevention. Poor and lower-caste girls are the primary targets of this evil trade, and usually as unwilling victims. Nepali Christians reach and rescue some of these unfortunates in Nepal and in Mumbai.
c) Health and disease. Over 20% of hospitals and clinics, and nearly all of leprosy-control work, are Christian-run (TLM, United Mission to Nepal, International Nepal Fellowship, others). Nepal suffers high rates of infant mortality and of deaths during childbirth. Community health is vital; over 80% of diseases are caused by a lack of basic sanitation, and 60% of the 50,000 child deaths each year are caused by malnutrition.
Pray for the less reached; around 55% of the population are unevangelized, and a staggering 309 peoples/castes are unreached. Pray for:
a) The influential high-caste Hill Brahmin and Chhetri (Rajput). They represent 30.9% of the population and play a dominant role in shaping modern Nepal. While those in Nepal are more responsive than those in India, pride, fear and longstanding spiritual investments in Hinduism keep most in bondage, unable to openly proclaim Christ as Lord.
b) The Awadhi and Bhojpuri speakers and Maithili of the Tarai lowlands on the Indian border. Few have heard the gospel, and even fewer have responded. The Tharu are more animist than Hindu; many small churches are springing up among them.
c) The Mountain peoples, almost entirely Tibetan-related. Most are lamaistic Buddhists living in isolated mountain communities, such as the Loba people of Mustang. Most groups are small in number, and Christians are few. Among the famous Sherpa of the Everest region, where there is not a single church, there are perhaps 50 believers. Climbing for Christ seeks to reach them with the gospel.
d) Tibetan refugees – long unreached, with no legal status and numbering 20,000. There is now a steady trickle seeking the Lord and a handful of congregations among them. Evangelistic International Ministries focuses on them.
e) The increased number of Muslims. Most are Bengali, Kashmiri or Urdu-speaking farmers and unskilled labourers. Eastern Mennonite Missions seeks to develop a network to share Christ with them.
f) University students. Over 150,000 students are in higher education – in three universities on 150 campuses. YWAM’s seven bases include Kathmandu Centre with 65 on staff. The IFES-linked student movement, University Christian Students Fellowship of Nepal (NBCBS), has 62 groups with 2,100 students served by 10 workers. Campus Crusade for Christ is also highly active with 18 campus ministry teams.
     For an additional 9 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 Nepal.

Romans 10

Romans 10 (New International Version, ©2010)

Romans 10

1 Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: "The person who does these things will live by them."[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'"[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'"[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame."[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[f]

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"[g]

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."[i]

19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."[j]

20 And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."[k]

21 But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."

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Genesis 42

Genesis 42 New International Version (NIV)

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” ² He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

³ Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. ⁵ So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

⁶ Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

⁸ Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹⁰ “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

¹² “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹³ But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! ¹⁵ And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” ¹⁷ And he put them all in custody for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

²¹ They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

²² Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” ²³ They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

²⁴ He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

²⁵ Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, ²⁶ they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷ At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”

Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰ “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

³³ “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade^[a] in the land.’”

³⁵ As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. ³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 42:34 Or move about freely

Let's Pray for America and Our Leaders

AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Kingdom of Nepal - Asia

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Sep 12: Nepal

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Sep 12: Nepal

Join the Prayer Movement

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Nepal

Kingdom of Nepal

Asia

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 147,181 sq km
A mountainous Himalayan state between China (Tibet) and India. It contains 8 of the 10 highest mountain peaks in the world.
Population: 29,852,682    Annual Growth: 1.86%
Capital: Kathmandu
Urbanites: 18.2%
HDI Rank: 144 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 380 (93% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Nepali    Languages: 127 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Hinduism

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	850,801	2.85	5.3
Evangelicals	850,801	2.9	5.3
Hinduism	22,392,497	75.01

Prayercast

Challenges for Prayer

The Church in Nepal continues to flourish amid pressure as a remarkable indigenous movement; the large majority of Nepali Christians worship and fellowship in thoroughly indigenous structures and networks. The Church is growing in numbers, diversity and maturity, but prayer is still needed regarding:
a) The public image of Christianity in Nepal is as a foreign, mostly Western, intrusion that undermines traditional culture and society and appeals only to lower castes. Despite this, Nepal’s Christians are, with increasing confidence, defending their rights and building a fully Nepali, fully Christian identity. Pray for discernment, courage and faithfulness for those seeking to overturn two generations of negative opinion.
b) Denominationalism. Many foreign-based denominations as well as indigenous networks of churches are established. Pray that the Church may be kept from division and error. Pray specifically for the Nepal Christian Society (NCS) as it seeks to provide a forum for prayer, sharing, unity and cooperative ministries.
c) Persecution remains, though less acute than in the past. It can come from the religious majority but also socially from within families and communities. Pray for grace and perseverance for believers, and that Christians may be accepted and appreciated for their contribution to the country’s well being. Pray also for the efforts of NCS and others seeking to secure the legal and religious rights of Christians regarding arbitrary arrests, evangelism, property, discrimination and other maltreatments.
d) Partnership between Nepali churches and foreign agencies. As the Nepali Church matures, it increasingly takes stake in ministry and mission to its own country. Foreign input, especially through finance, often generates tension or dependency and continues to be an issue. But the national Church is flourishing, and indigenous Christian NGOs are mushrooming around the country.
The next generation of Nepali Christians must build on the good foundation laid by their elders. Pray for:
a) Effective transfer of leadership to a second generation. Along with this challenge is the task of properly discipling both new believers and the large number of second-generation Christians.
b) Leadership training is possibly the most urgent need in the Church. For years, no formal training was available. Now, there are over 15 Bible colleges and seminaries. Many churches and agencies offer short-term and modular training courses. The majority are linked with the Association of Theological Educators, Nepal. GFA has three centres from which 100 Nepali evangelist-missionaries graduate annually. DAI just started Nepal’s first accredited Masters in Christian Leadership. The Institute for TEE in Nepal has over 3,000 students in half of Nepal’s districts. Despite these developments, there is a huge training shortfall. As the Church grows, the need for leadership-training structures and models becomes increasingly desperate. Pray for a multiplication of feasible, effective methods of ministry training.
c) Provision of pastors amid gripping poverty is a constant challenge. Since Nepal was never colonized by foreign powers and the Church is mostly outside of international fraternal structures, external financial support can be very low, and the temptation to extract income from foreign donors is great. Pray that leaders would learn to function as tentmakers, and that congregations would learn to support their pastors as much as they are able.
d) Holistic ministry. The Church stands at the crux of spiritual and physical needs and is well positioned to minister to both. The time has come for the Church to engage with the many needs in Nepali society. Pray for a paradigm shift in which Christians include social transformation as a key part of evangelization. Nepali Christian NGOs increasingly address holistic needs.
     For an additional 9 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 Nepal.

Romans 9

Romans 9 (New International Version, ©2010)

Romans 9

Paul's Anguish Over Israel

1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised![a] Amen.
God's Sovereign Choice

6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."[b] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."[c]
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."[d] 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."[e]

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."[f]

16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."[g] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?" 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"[h] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,"[i]

26 and, "In the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'children of the living God.'"[j]

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality."[k]

29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."[l]

Israel's Unbelief

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."

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Genesis 41

Genesis 41 (New International Version)

Genesis 41

Pharaoh's Dreams

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged. [a] "

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

16 "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 "In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 "It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine."

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God [b] ?"

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

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

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Sep 11: Namibia, Nauru

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Sep 11: Namibia, Nauru

Namibia, Nauru

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Namibia

Republic of Namibia

Africa

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Geography

Area: 823,144 sq km
Predominantly arid, semi-desert; the driest African land south of the equator.
Population: 2,212,037    Annual Growth: 1.94%
Capital: Windhoek
Urbanites: 38%
HDI Rank: 128 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 35 (6% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: English, though few speak it; most speak Afrikaans    Languages: 37 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	2,022,687	91.44	1.7
Evangelicals	270,326	12.2	2.2

Prayercast

Challenge for Prayer

New life in the churches has come recently through new mission activity by SIM/AIM, YWAM as well as Reformed, Baptist and Pentecostal groups, particularly to under-reached areas and peoples. Charismatic fellowships – both independent and within many denominations, including the mainline groups – bring new life and fervour. Several strategic groups formed to see Namibia transformed for Christ, the Evangelical Fellowship most notable among these. Pray for all to hear the gospel once again and many to turn back to Christ, and pray for unity and cooperation among all groups seeking to uplift Christ in this nation.
     For an additional 7 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

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

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Nauru

Republic of Nauru

Pacific

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Geography

Area: 21 sq km
A raised coral atoll ringed with sandy beaches, with a central plateau of phosphates from fossilized bird droppings; 300 km west of Banaba, Kiribati.
Population: 10,254    Annual Growth: 0.28%
Capital: None, but administrative centre in Yaren
Urbanites: 100%

Peoples

Official language: Nauruan, English    Languages: 9 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	9,382	91.50	0.3
Evangelicals	1,245	12.1	2.3

Challenge for Prayer

Economic meltdown has struck this tiny nation. After years of boom, Nauru has gone bust. The mining industry is a shadow of its former self, and the two other major income sources have also dried up. Almost all food must be imported, and freshwater supplies are insufficient. Half of the indigenous population has diabetes; 90% are overweight and unemployed. Pray for sustainable economic solutions that will provide livelihoods for those making the island their home.
     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 Nauru.

Romans 8

Romans 8 New International Version (NIV)

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.^[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[d] because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of^[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[g] Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes:

1. Romans 8:2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me
2. Romans 8:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
3. Romans 8:3 Or flesh, for sin
4. Romans 8:10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
5. Romans 8:11 Some manuscripts bodies through
6. Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
7. Romans 8:15 Aramaic for father
8. Romans 8:21 Or subjected it in hope. ²¹ For
9. Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
10. Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
11. Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers