Arab World Prayer Gathering

March 4, 2011

Visit the following web site for an excellent overview of the region and points to pray on 4th march and the coming days.

http://ywamlife.com/Resources/Arab-World-Prayer-Gathering-Prayer-Pack

Incredible, unprecedented, history making – these are the words people are using to describe what is happening in the Arab World in these days. One TV commentator has said “It's like a giant hand is moving in the region.”

The massive fires of protest movements spreading across the Arab World began with a single spark in a small rural town in the small North African country of Tunisia. In the few weeks following the successful overthrow of its repressive and corrupt government by the Tunisian people, fourteen more Arab countries across North Africa and the Middle East have seen protesters take to the streets. Their hope is that if it can happen in Tunisia, it can happen elsewhere.

Until last month, virtually all Arab countries were governed by a repressive regime. Often, succession has been handed down from father to son, and some countries have had the same leader for over 40 years. The gospel has been severely restricted and, in many countries, Christians have been strongly persecuted. But the last few months have seen a wave of momentous change begin to sweep across the region. As the harsh regime in Tunisia fell, those longing for freedom and expression in neighboring countries have been emboldened to take their own protests to the streets
demanding change. Regimes that inspired fear in their people and looked rock solid have fallen in only a matter of weeks. And in each case it's been a popular uprising, usually led by young people.

In recent years millions of God's people have poured countless hours of prayer in to the Arab World. God led us into many prayer initiatives like the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. And now, in response to those prayers, God is moving. “It's like God has been storing our prayers in the bank, but now he is bringing them out to 'spend'. It seems his goal is to transform the whole region”. But this doesn't mean the need to pray is over. In reality, it's just the beginning. Our stored up prayers are the engine of the change God is bringing. Now it is time to pray prayers that will bring direction to that movement.

Will these changes continue to come violently? Will they bring real freedom, dignity and justice to the peoples of the Arab World? Will the gospel continue to be repressed or become freely available for all people? These are the questions that hang in the balance, and this is why we need to be in prayer.


Thank you for joining us at this history-making time for the Arab World. May the Lord
multiply our prayers, and the effects they have on the region.