Prayer Focus: Taiwan Recovers From Earthquake

CNN reports, “Rescuers scrambled to find survivors Sunday night after an earthquake toppled buildings in Taiwan, killing at least 37 people, authorities said.” Taiwan’s Central News Agency also reported 500 people with injuries and “at least 121 people were still unaccounted for.”

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort families and friends of the deceased.
* Pray for healing for the injured.
* Pray for housing for the homeless.
* Pray for financial needs to be met for employees and business owners that are now out of work.
* Pray for Taiwan’s Christians to share the Gospel and love of Christ with their neighbors.

Prayer Focus: Birth Defects and Zika Virus Cause Fear in Brazil

According to Reuters, at a hospital in Recife, Brazil, “dozens of soon-to-be mothers wait anxiously for ultrasound scans that will indicate whether the child they are carrying has a shrunken head and damaged brain, a condition called microcephaly.”

The Guardian reports, “Since October, there have been more than 3,700 confirmed or suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil, compared with less than 200 the previous year.”

A cure does not exist for microcephaly.  Scientists suspect this condition is caused by the zika virus carried by mosquitoes.

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the women carrying babies with microcephaly.
* Pray for Christians to provide health care services and support for the babies and families affected by this birth defect.
* Pray for Christians to defend life while there are calls for liberalization of abortion laws.
* Pray for a vaccine to be developed that can prevent these birth defects.

Recent Prayer Focus Articles

* Prayer Focus: More Than 11,000 Unemployed After Staples, Sprint and Wal-Mart Layoffs
* Prayer Focus: Cold Weather Causing Deaths in Asia
* Prayer Focus: 663 Million People Without Clean Water
* Prayer List: 18,000 Killed in Iraqi Conflict; 3 Million Refugees

Prayer Focus: More Than 11,000 Unemployed After Staples, Sprint and Wal-Mart Layoffs

Thousands of  Americans are losing their jobs.

MSN reports, “Staples Inc. on Monday laid off hundreds of corporate employees, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.” Last week the Chicago Tribune reported, “A total of 227 employees got layoff notices” at the Chicago Public Schools. A BizJournal headline announces, “Sprint will lay off 829 in Overland Park.”

Earlier this month Wal-Mart announced plans to close 269 stores globally. CNBC reported, “In all, 16,000 employees will be impacted by the store closings, about 10,000 of whom are in the U.S.”

Prayer List

* Pray for new job opportunities for the newly unemployed.
* Pray for the unemployed to receive emotional support so that they are not overcome by depression while job hunting.
* Pray for CEOs and company officials to have godly wisdom and to make wise decisions regarding the reduction of their workforce.
* Pray for entreprenuers to be successful in starting new businesses.
* Pray for Christian employees to be salt and light in their workplaces and for God to be glorified in the marketplace.

Recent Prayer Focus Articles

* Prayer Focus: Cold Weather Causing Deaths in Asia
* Prayer Focus: 663 Million People Without Clean Water
* Prayer List: 18,000 Killed in Iraqi Conflict; 3 Million Refugees
* Prayer List: The Future of Television

Prayer Focus: Cold Weather Causing Deaths in Asia

According to the Associated Press, “Unusually cold weather in eastern Asia has been blamed for more than 65 deaths, disrupted transportation and brought the first snow to a subtropical city in southern China in almost 50 years.”

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of the deceased.
* Pray for food, clothing, shelter and heat for people at risk from the cold weather.

Recent Prayer Focus Articles:

* Prayer Focus: 663 Million People Without Clean Water
* Prayer List: 18,000 Killed in Iraqi Conflict; 3 Million Refugees
* Prayer List: The Future of Television
* Prayer List: 8 to 10 Million Refugees Heading to Europe

Prayer Focus: 663 Million People Without Clean Water

Safe drinking water is often taken for granted in first world nations but an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint, Michigan, is drawing attention to this issue. The Detroit Free Press reported, “There have been 87 cases in Genesee County from June 2014 to November 2015 — and 10 of those cases resulted in death.”

The increase in infections occurred after Flint changed its main water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River.

According to Water.org, globally “663 million people – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water” and “2.4 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet.”

Prayer List

* Pray for healing for people suffering from diseases caused water pollution.
* Pray for ministries, government agencies, non-profits and businesses to meet the need for clean water through filtration systems, digging of wells and pollution clean-up.
* Pray for people worldwide to encounter Jesus Christ and to experience the living water of salvation that God offers through faith. (John 4:14)

Recent Prayer Focus Articles:

* Prayer List: 18,000 Killed in Iraqi Conflict; 3 Million Refugees
* Prayer List: The Future of Television
* Prayer List: 8 to 10 Million Refugees Heading to Europe

Prayer List: 18,000 Killed in Iraqi Conflict; 3 Million Refugees

Children at a Syrian refugee camp set up for Iraqis fleeing ISIS. Picture: Rachel Unkovic/International Rescue Committee –  CC

The United Nations reports, “Civilians continue to suffer the most from the non-international armed conflict in Iraq. From 1 January 2014 through 31 October 2015, UNAMI/OHCHR recorded at least 55,047 civilian casualties as a result of the conflict, with 18,802 people killed and 36,245 wounded.”

The armed conflict has created a refugee crisis. The United Nations also notes, “Civilians continue to flee their homes and communities in massive numbers. From January 2014 through 29 September 2015, a total of 3,206,736 persons became internally displaced in Iraq, including over 1 million school age girls and boys.”

Source: Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq: 1 May – 31 October 2015

Prayer List:

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort Iraqis mourning the deaths of family members and friends.
* Pray for healing for Iraqis injured in the conflict.
* Pray for the refugees’ basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, medical care,jobs and education) to be met.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to change the hearts of ISIS terrorists so that they lay down their weapons and pursue peace.

Recent Prayer Focus Articles:

* Prayer List: The Future of Television
* Prayer List: 8 to 10 Million Refugees Heading to Europe

Prayer List: The Future of Television

The future of television is being shaped by decisions made this week at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention in Miami, Florida. TV network and TV station executives are gathering in Miami to meet with content producers. Programming directors select new shows to air.

Religious broadcasters and Christian streaming media companies will also attend the annual event. According to Variety magazine, televangelist T. D. Jakes’ new talk show will be promoted at NATPE:

“T.D. Jakes” is a prime example of the trend of station groups becoming more proactive in developing their own shows to suit regional needs. Jakes, who heads the Dallas-based Potter’s House church, has flirted with launching a syndicated talk show for years.

Prayer List

* Pray for TV executives, programming directors, TV producers, script writers,actors, crew personnel,newscasters, and their audiences to place their trust in Jesus Christ.
* Pray for television executives to put God first in their business.
* Pray for Christians working in the entertainment industry to avoid moral compromise.
* Pray for God to stop religious broadcasters and televangelists that are leading people astray with the prosperity gospel and other false teaching.

Prayer List: 8 to 10 Million Refugees Heading to Europe

More than one million refugees settled in Germany last year and the refugee population is expected to increase dramatically. According to Gerd Müller, Germany’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, “Eight to 10 million is still on its way. Those who come to us now, for several years sat in the tent cities, basements or goat stables without water and electricity. It is shameful that the international community is not able to ensure the survival on the spot.”

Source: International Business Times

Prayer List

* Pray for the Holy Spirit to prompt Christians to house and shelter refugees.
* Pray for refugees to obtain food, clothing and shelter.
* Pray for debt relief for refugees behind on their rent and other bills.
* Pray for the refugees to encounter the Gospel message and to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Previous Articles

* Prayer List: 231 Boys Allegedly Sexually Abused
* Prayer List: The Global Economy

Prayer List: 231 Boys Allegedly Sexually Abused

According to Religion News Service, “Allegations that more than 200 boys in a Catholic-run choir and two connected schools in Germany were abused over the span of several decades, some of them sexually, have brought the church’s abuse scandal uncomfortably close to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose older brother directed the famous Bavarian choir during that time.”

Prayer List

* Pray for the abuse victims to heal emotionally and spiritually.
* Pray for the victims to find salvation in Jesus Christ.
* Pray for pastors, priests, and church volunteers to resist the temptation to commit sexual violence, adultery, and fornication.
* Pray for Christians struggling with pornography to renew their minds and avoid TV programs, movies and websites that will temp them.

Prayer List: The Global Economy

Stock prices plunged this week. CNN reports that China’s stock market dropped 7% in value and in the United States the Dow lost 392 points.

Fortune Magazine warns, “In the year ahead, China’s stock market is in for many more bad days.”

Prayer List

* Pray for depressed investors that have lost their savings due to bad investments.
* Pray for investors to be wise stewards of their money and to use their wealth for the kingdom of God.
* Pray for entrepreneurs starting new businesses.
* Pray for the unemployed to find new jobs.
* Pray for central banks, politicians and government regulators to not cause further harm to the world economy.