We greet you in the strong and precious name of Jesus our Savior!

“Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call” (Ps 20:9).

This scripture reveals our heart’s desire when we cry out to our God. And as we focus the eyes of our faith upon Him to whom we call, then our faith will rise up and declare to our heart, “By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth” (Ps 65:5).

This month as we pray, let our faith be focused upon HIM – not upon our requests, the depth of our need, and certainly not on our circumstances. For assuredly, our God is able! He hears us when we cry out to Him (Ps 86:7) and He will answer according to His will and His great love for us (Ps 91:14-16). He alone is our Source, our Strength and our Confidence.

INTERNATIONAL PRAYER FOCUS

1. The Persecuted Church

This month, please pray for the multitudes of your brethren in Christ worldwide who face persecution for their faith in Him. Though Christians are persecuted in almost every nation, there are those who face particular brutality and hardship that goes well beyond just opposition.

Persecution toward Christians in general increased in 2011, according to year-end assessments by human-rights and Christian organizations. This was especially true during the Christmas holidays. The recent Nigerian church bombings, in which more than 40 people were killed while attending a Christmas service, provide just one example of the intensifying violence.

In Indonesia, incidents of anti-Christian persecution nearly doubled in 2011. A group of 500 Muslims in Ethiopia burned down a 60-year-old church on Christian-owned land.

In countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Malaysia, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, Christians are viewed as worse than second-class citizens. Christians face unlawful imprisonment; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam or other religions; unjust enforcement of apostasy and blasphemy laws; the theft of Christians’ property and the plunder and burning of their homes and churches; and physical attacks, even murder.

Despite persecution and the growth of Islamic extremism around the world, Christianity is surging in unlikely places. In Afghanistan, it had been estimated that there were 800 to 7,000 Christians countrywide. Yet Afghanistan now has the second fastest growing evangelical population in the world, according to Operation World. We also have reports of the Gospel spreading in Iran, with hundreds of house churches secretly forming. And this story can be told of many other oppressive nations in these days.

Though we are thrilled and blessed to hear of the Gospel advancing, we must bear in mind the price that is being paid by so many – and it is great. Let us keep our brothers and sisters facing persecution in prayer this month, even as the Word of God reminds us (Heb 13:3).

Please pray as you are led by the Holy Spirit this month for the Christians in these nations where it is believed they are most severely persecuted: North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Laos.

Here are some suggestions for praying for the Persecuted Church around the world:

5. To know and experience God’s sufficient grace in every circumstance – 2Cor 12:9,10

6. To experience the Lord’s peace and joy, even in the midst of suffering – 2Cor 4:7-17

World MAP has the opportunity to send 200 more Shepherd’s Staffs into the greatly oppressed country of Sudan in Africa. Please pray for this shipment.

The Sudanese Church is growing, and training needs are great. Our last shipment of 400 Shepherd’s Staffs faced tremendous challenges en route, but finally made it into the country and into the right hands. Here was the testimony we received: “With God’s grace and timing, and some hard work by a key person on the ground, the books were retrieved and 400 copies of The Shepherd’s Staff are now in the hands of the ecstatic Sudanese church workers. ‘We have been labor-rich and tool-poor,’ says Rev. Robert Mincks who distributed the books. ‘There was so much excitement when they finally understood how complete the material is. They are crying for more. My only regret is that we didn’t start with The Shepherd’s Staff ten years ago!’”

Also, a shipment of 150 Shepherd’s Staffs has only partially arrived in Guatemala for a pastoral event there – only 124 books were found in customs. Please pray that the other 26 will be found; they represent 26 pastors who will be equipped to reach and teach hundreds of others!

Thank you for praying last month for our annual Board of Directors meeting. It was a God-ordained and Spirit-led time, and very profitable for World MAP’s ministry. Please pray for us as we initiate and carry out their directives for the coming year of ministry.

The World MAP leadership and editorial teams will devote concentrated times this year for continuing to write and edit a large World MAP training project. We desperately need your prayers for God’s grace, wisdom and strength – and for minimal distraction! Thank you for contending with us, and covering us in prayer both this month and in the months to come.

The needs around us can be both “world-sized” and profoundly personal. God cares about events that shake nations – and also circumstances that can shake someone’s life.

At every dimension or level of need, be it great or small, we can steadfastly declare: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You” (Jer 32:17). Let us set our faith upon Him Who is truly faithful, and rejoice – for our salvation draws nigh!