Prayer List: 700 Possibly Dead After Three Ships Sink

The Chicago Tribune reports, “Survivor accounts have pushed to more than 700 the number of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days in the past week, even as rescue ships saved thousands of others in daring operations.”

Last month another ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea killing hundreds of people.

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased and missing.
* Pray for new housing, jobs and safety for the refugees seeking a new place to live.
* Pray for Christians to minister to the refugees and meet both physical and spiritual needs.
* Pray for human traffickers to not cause harm.
* Pray for freedom throughout the middle east and northern Africa where many people feel trapped and desire a way to escape their current predicament.

Recent Articles

* 66 Missing After EgyptAir Jet Disappears
* Suicides Increase Among the Jobless
* IMB Loses 983 Missionaries
* Ship Sinks Causing Possibly 500 Deaths

Prayer List: 66 Missing After EgyptAir Jet Disappears

According to Reuters, “An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean south of Greece on Thursday, with Athens saying the plane swerved in mid-air before plunging from cruising height and vanishing.”

Most of the passengers were from Egypt and France.

Prayer List

* Pray for search crews to rescue any survivors.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the missing.
* Pray for the jet remains to be located and for the cause of the disappearance to be determined.

Prayer List: Suicides Increase Among the Jobless

Newsmax reports, “Suicide rates are soaring, according to federal data released last week. Especially in economically depressed states and job-starved regions like upstate New York.” Stagnating wages and lost jobs are blamed for this tragedy. The suicide rate jumped in Alabama’s Walker County when coal mines closed.

Here’s a scary fact: “Suicide kills more middle agers than flu, pneumonia, and diabetes combined.”

Prayer List

* Pray for people contemplating suicide to get emotional and financial support.
* Pray for pastors, priests, counselors and family members to have discernment in dealing with people that are suicidal.
* Pray for the unemployed to find obtain new employment.
* Pray for struggling business owners to make wise business decisions.
* Pray for people surviving paycheck to paycheck to be able to save money and get out of the financial hole they are in.

Recent Prayer Lists

* Prayer List: IMB Loses 983 Missionaries
* Ship Sinks Causing Possibly 500 Deaths
* Earthquake Kills 300 in Ecuador

Prayer List: IMB Loses 983 Missionaries

In February Baptist Press reported that 983 missionaries with the International Mission Board had resigned their positions or taken voluntary retirement. The mission agency was forced to reduce its workforce after experiencing six years of large budget deficits.

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily among the church plants and new converts served by these retiring missionaries.
* Pray for the retiring missionaries to find new jobs and opportunities to share the gospel and make disciples.
* Pray for increased funding for missionaries to be sent to unreached people groups.
* Pray for the International Mission Board’s leadership to have discernment in making future business and outreach decisions.

Recent Prayer Lists

* Ship Sinks Causing Possibly 500 Deaths
* Earthquake Kills 300 in Ecuador

Prayer Focus: Ship Sinks Causing Possibly 500 Deaths

CNN reports, “As many as 500 migrants may have died when a large ship sank in the Mediterranean last week between Libya and Italy, the United Nations refugee agency said Wednesday.”

The disaster occurred while smugglers moved the migrants from one ship to another.

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased and missing.
* Pray for any survivors still at sea to be rescued.
* Pray for new housing and safety for the refugees seeking a new place to live.
* Pray for human traffickers to not cause harm.

Prayer Focus: Earthquake Kills 300 in Ecuador

BuzzFeed reports, “More than 300 people have died and over 2,000 injured after magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the coast of Ecuador Saturday, prompting a state of emergency across six provinces.” The Associated Press also reports that “as many as 5,000 people may need temporary housing after the quake destroyed homes, and 100,000 may need some sort of aid.”

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased.
* Pray for the healing for the injured.
* Pray for housing for the homeless.
* Pray for businesses to recover from natural disaster.
* Pray for Christians to assist the earthquake victims and meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Prayer Focus: Earthquakes Strike Pakistan, New Zealand and California

Reuters reports, “Six people were killed across northern Pakistan although there appeared to be no widespread damage after a strong earthquake rattled major cities across South Asia at the weekend, authorities said on Monday.”

Recent earthquakes also struck in New Zealand and in the United States (California).

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased.
* Pray for the healing for the injured.
* Pray for property owners to recover from destruction caused by the earthquakes.
* Pray for Christians to assist the earthquake victims and meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Prayer Focus: 265 Active American Soldiers Committed Suicide in 2015

USA Today reports, “The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty servicemembers killed themselves last year, continuing a trend of unusually high suicide rates that have plagued the U.S. military for at least seven years.”

Prayer List

* Pray for soldiers struggling with post traumatic stress disorder to obtain emotional support from their families, friends, neighbors, churches and chaplains.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort depressed soldiers.
* Pray for military families grieving because a family member committed suicide.
* Pray for chaplains, counselors, military commanders and family members to have discernment in how to respond to a suicidal soldier.

Prayer Focus: Elderly Population to Double

AFP reports, “The number of people globally aged 65 and over is expected to more than double by 2050 as the world’s senior population continues to rocket, a US study said Monday. ”

This aging population represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the body of Christ. Christians are leading Bible studies and worship in retirement communities and nursing homes. Retired Christians have more available time to spend in prayer and ministry.

Prayer List

* Pray for retired Christians to invest their time into the kingdom of God through prayer, service, and sharing the Gospel.
* Pray for the spiritual and emotional health of Christians ministering in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices so that they will not become discouraged.
* Pray for Christians to effectively share the burdens of people that are dying and to also comfort their families and friends.
* Pray for the elderly to be converted upon hearing the Gospel message that Jesus saves.

Prayer Focus: Terrorists Crucify Priest, Bomb Park to Kill Christians

As Christians celebrated Easter, terrorists crucified a Catholic priest in Yemen and bombed a park in Pakistan where Muslims and Christians were gathered.

The Associated Press reports, “The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose to 70 on Monday, underscoring the ability of militants to stage large-scale attacks despite a months-long military offensive targeting their hideouts.”

Near the beginning of March, ISIS kidnapped Rev. Thomas Uzhunnalil during an attack in which they also killed 16 nurses and nuns. According to the Washington Times, Uzhunnalil was crucified on Good Friday.

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased.
* Pray for healing for 300 people who were injured in the Lahore, Pakistan, suicide bombing.
* Pray for Christians to love their enemies.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict the terrorists of their sin so that they may be converted by the power of the Gospel.
* Pray for justice for the victims.
* Pray for church leaders and government officials to have discernment in dealing with terrorists.