Prayer Alert for Afghanistan- Taliban overran a major city
From a friend who works in the country:
“You all heard that bad news about the capture of Kunduz city by the Taliban. This has been a very significant victory for the Taliban and very big boost to their morale and at the same time discouraged the Afghan Army and Police even more. It can have a strong ripple effect like what happened in Iraq when the Army run away from the IS even through they had more solders and better weapons. Kunduz is very strategic and it is not even a typical strong Pashtun area like Kandahar or Helmand. We know that the Taliban are supported by Islamists from Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Chechenia.”
Fortunately, the Afghan army, supported by the American forces, were able to take back the city, but fighting continues in other parts of the country. ISIS is also there along with the Taliban. Pray that they will fight each other for supremacy and that both of these movements will pass away so the land can be rid of their destructive presence and influence.
Please also pray for the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan army to have wisdom and courage and a good strategy to overcome the Taliban as well as ISIS. Pray that the government can agree on a good defense minister and become united in this battle for the survival of the nation.
Pray for the encouragement and strengthening of the local prayer movement and the increasing number of those who are believers among the Afghans.
Agree in faith and His authority for the binding and overthrow of the evil spiritual forces that control the Taliban and ISIS. May they be disempowered and give up their wrong-headed, destructive cause with many of their members coming into relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord.
Death Count Climbs As Rescuers Reach Quake-Hit Regions Of Afghanistan, Pakistan
“Rescue operations have begun to reveal the full scale of an Afghan earthquake that killed hundreds and caused damage across South Asia. Officials said that the death toll from the magnitude-7.5 quake that struck on October 26 was continuing to rise as rescuers reached remote areas. As of early October 27, the death toll had risen to more than 300, with at least 241 fatalities and 1,600 injuries recorded in Pakistan.
In Afghanistan -- where the Hindu Kush mountain range in sparsely populated Badakhshan Province was identified as the epicenter of the quake -- at least 115 had been reported killed and hundreds more injured.
Many areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan had already been deluged by two days of unseasonably heavy rain and snowfall, triggering mudslides when the quake and its aftershocks hit. Roads and bridges were washed out in mountainous regions, hampering search-and-rescue operations.
High casualties and extensive damage were recorded in areas of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, such as Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province's Swat and Chitral districts. A local official in the Chitral district told AFP that as many as 80,000 people there are without access to drinking water.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned from a trip to the United States and traveled on October 27 to Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province, where at least 49 people were killed, to assess the damage. During a later briefing in the capital, Islamabad, he gave assurances that Pakistan was "capable enough to rescue and rehabilitate those affected by the earthquake."
Some 330 kilometers east of the epicenter, in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, video images emerged on social media of a landslide near a popular suspension bridge:
In the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad, video showed a bridge swaying when the quake struck.
Pakistan’s powerful army has taken a lead role in responding to the crisis, with extra resources being sent to affected regions.
Thousands of people in the region, expecting aftershocks, reportedly spent the night of October 26-27 outdoors in near-freezing temperatures.
Afghan officials said at least 74 people were confirmed dead and hundreds more injured, with casualties reported from around half a dozen of the country’s 34 provinces. The Kabul government has called for international aid agencies to send help.
For Afghanistan, the challenge of mounting rescue operations will be made harder given the country’s relative lack of resources, difficult terrain, and the presence of anti-government Taliban insurgents in some of the affected areas.
The Taliban issued a statement saying its militants had been ordered to provide "complete help" to victims of the quake and to pave the way for access by rescue workers and aid organizations.
The Afghan government estimated that about 4,000 homes had been destroyed or damaged.
The quake was felt throughout South Asia, including the Tajik capital, Dushanbe; areas of southern Kazakhstan 1,000 kilometers north of the epicenter; and in India's capital, Delhi.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir, video showed a frantic street scene as the quake hit.”
Please pray for effective relief efforts and that those who have been affected by this tragedy will be brought to Jesus Christ through it all.
Some Important IPC Leadership Team Prayer Concerns
1. The Lord is guiding and blessing the UPrising: World Youth Prayer Assembly in South Korea where it will happen next year, July 26-30. A suitable venue near the DMZ has been offered for the WYPA with lots of possibilities for 2000 to 2500 participants with hotels 15 minutes away. Young leaders there are on board and keen to move ahead and we hope to bring more senior leaders into the process as well. Please pray for the mobilization of the right youth, children and seniors from every region of the world to take part so that it will be truly global, intergenerational and tri-generational.
2. We need about $1 million USD to pull it off including in-country costs and for partial travel subsidies for those youth who need them. Please pray with us for the release of His abundant provision to happen now.
3. Please pray for Jonathas Abdou, a younger leader in Brazil’s prayer movement and new member of our IPC leadership who wants to mobilize youth there for the WYPA. He also wants to further develop a youth prayer movement for his large nation.
4. About 25-30 younger and older leaders from the prayer movement will form the WYPA Exec Committee that will meet in Manila, The Philippines, this next week, Nov 3-6. We need to determine speakers and program for WYPA. Please pray for this process. Registration will begin Dec 1 so there is much that needs to be accomplished quickly. Please pray for His anointing, unity, clarity and wisdom for this program planning process and for the convener Jerome Ocampo and his team working on all these logistical issues.
5. Other initiatives to pray for in 2015 or 2016:
- Arab and European prayer leaders, Switzerland, Nov 18-21
- Persian Gulf regional prayer initiative, Feb. 18-21, 2016
- Turkey national prayer initiative, May 18-21, 2016
6. IPC website – pray with us for the effective launch of the new IPC website and server in the next couple of weeks.
7. Pray for the 24 members of the IPC leadership team as they lead various prayer initiatives in their regions and internationally that they will be always led of the Spirit and enabled by Him to do what they are being called to do. May they and their families be greatly blessed and be a thorough blessing to many others!
Thanks so much for your support in this way!
Blessing your town - 31 October
We received this blessing from a contact who believes that it should be released as a blessing prayer of villages, towns and cities on 31 October, Halloween, as the power of blessing is something that darkness cannot stand.
So, why don't you release God's light and blessing on that day in your location:
A BLESSING FOR A TOWN
Heavenly Father, we take upon ourselves the mantle of authority that Jesus delegates to us and in His Name we speak to every household in this town and surrounding area and say to you:
"We bless you in the Name of the Lord. We bless your marriages that they may be strong and whole. We bless the relationships between each marriage partner that they may be loving, forgiving, merciful and strong. We bless every inter-generational relationship within each household that there may be peace and love and understanding flowing between each one.
In Jesus' name we bless every network of wholesome and supportive friendship.
We bless your health that you may be strong and well. In Jesus' name we resist any sickness or disease which seeks to invade this town and to every person in the surrounding area we say, be well, be strong, be healthy. To any who are sick right now we say we bless you in Jesus' name with a speedy recovery.
We bless your wealth that you may have plenty to replace poverty. We bless you to have enough to live and enough to give. We bless the work of your hands that whatever you turn your hand to which is wholesome may be profitable. We bless every wholesome enterprise that is conducted by you that it may prosper and be successful. We bless the shops and restaurants in every good that you do.
We bless the Residential Homes for the elderly, that they may be secure, safe and peaceful places where those who live there may be loved and cared for in a way that maintains their dignity.
We bless Pre-school, Schools, colleges and universities(name those within the town or those that you know the name of), that they may be secure, safe places for teachers and pupils alike. We bless the children's capacity to learn and develop relationships and we bless their simple trust in Jesus that their trust may grow and become enriched.
We speak to the Churches, (name as many that you know) and we say we bless you in the Name of the Lord that the Holy Spirit and the Word of God may flow out from you in power. We bless the hearts of all who live in and work in this town and surrounding area, that the overspill of the blessings of the presence of the Kingdom of God may fall upon you."
Amen
(After the pattern of the Blessing used at Ffald-y-Brenin Prayer Center, South Wales)
Download a PDF of the blessing
