Prayer - changing hearts in Iraq
30 Sept 2011
Some 400 Christians from Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Basra and other cities joined together in the mountains of northern Iraq at a prayer conference sponsored by Open Doors. For these Christians, persecution, kidnapping and bombs are still a real daily threat but as one delegate said, "Tell in the middle of trouble about your hope, about God's dream. Know that in the middle of the heat fruits ripen. God is preparing us for the harvest."
Key was the need for ongoing prayer and unity. One speaker told delegates, "Only through pain and labour the baby will be born. Intercession helps us to be 'pregnant' as a church with our nation. Are we willing to go through the labour? Lord, we ask you not to save our lives; we want you to be glorified in this country and in the Arab world." As the pastors stood hand in hand on the stage, other delegates united in prayer for them and continuing unity.
In Mosul, where the number of Christians has dropped from an estimated 200,000 to below 100,000, 21-year-old Dawud says, "We started some years ago to pray for our city. Now around 50 Christians in our city regularly participate. Because of our prayer the city started to change. My generation doesn't want to leave, we want to stay. This is God's place for me and if I will be killed, I will be killed."
His father, pastor of one of the churches in Mosul, confirms that the climate in the city got better after they started praying. He recalled, "We saw even Muslims becoming followers of Jesus." Andrew, another Christian leader concurs, "I now have seven Christian friends with a Muslim background."
Source: Open Doors
Please pray:
1. That Christians will continue to unite in prayer and reach out to their neighbours
2. For a miraculous transformation of the country and for many more to respond to God's love
3. For the courage and protection especially for the Christians still remaining in the main cities
