Iran Protests Amid Economic Breakdown and Rising Military Tensions
Iran is facing a convergence of severe internal and external pressures as economic collapse, political repression, and escalating regional tensions unfold simultaneously. Inside the country, inflation remains extremely high, the national currency has continued to lose value, and the cost of food, fuel, and housing has placed unbearable strain on ordinary families. Sanctions, economic mismanagement, and reduced oil revenues have left millions facing insecurity and hardship.
Public protests, often led by young people and women, have re-emerged across multiple cities, driven by unemployment, corruption, and restrictions on personal freedoms. Human rights organisations report mass arrests, intimidation, internet shutdowns, and the use of force to suppress dissent. Communication blackouts and surveillance have further isolated communities and obscured the scale of unrest.
At the same time, regional instability has intensified. The United States has repositioned a naval battle group into the region, placing significant military assets within striking distance of Iran amid heightened rhetoric and warnings. Officials describe the move as a deterrent, yet analysts caution that such deployments increase the risk of miscalculation, escalation, or unintended confrontation particularly while Iran is already under profound internal strain.
For civilians, the combination of economic collapse, repression, and the threat of military conflict deepens fear and uncertainty. Any escalation would likely worsen humanitarian suffering, disrupt vital infrastructure, and further isolate the population. Yet even amid pressure and fear, many Iranians continue searching for truth, hope, and meaning. Underground Christian communities persist quietly, often at great personal cost.
Scripture reminds us that God is near to the crushed in spirit and hears the cries of the oppressed, even when nations tremble.
Prayer Pointers
1. Pray for Protection of Civilians Amid Unrest and Tension
Pray for families living under economic strain, fear, and uncertainty. Ask God to be their refuge and strength, providing daily needs and sustaining hope. Pray that courage and perseverance rise in hearts, for those quietly seeking truth and justice.
“The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.” Psalm 69:33
2. Pray for the Right to Peaceful Expression
Pray for Iranians peacefully voicing their hopes and frustrations, seeking justice and accountability. Ask God to safeguard demonstrations, move hearts toward restraint, and inspire leaders to listen with humility. Pray for safe advocacy, respect for human dignity, and that change comes through peaceful, righteous means.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
3. Pray for Spiritual Awakening and Courage
Pray for spiritual awakening across Iran, that hearts would encounter Christ’s truth, peace, and freedom amid hardship. Ask God to strengthen underground believers, protect prayer networks, and awaken courage, hope, and faith where fear and repression seek to silence truth.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
Summary Prayer
God of justice and mercy, watch over the people of Iran. Protect the vulnerable, sustain peaceful change, and guide leaders with humility and wisdom. Let freedom, truth, and compassion shine, and may Your purposes of peace and hope prevail over fear, oppression, and despair. Amen.
More Information:
- IMF – Iran country economic overview
https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/IRN - Human Rights Watch – Iran protests and crackdown
https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north-africa/iran - UN OHCHR – Human rights situation in Iran
https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/iran
2026 – Prayers for a World in Crisis
As 2026 unfolds, the world faces a convergence of humanitarian, geopolitical, and economic crises that are stretching societies, governments, and aid systems to their limits. According to the United Nations, well over 300 million people now require urgent humanitarian assistance, the highest level ever recorded - driven by conflict, climate-related disasters, displacement, and economic breakdown.
Armed violence continues to fuel hunger and mass displacement in multiple regions, including Sudan, Gaza, Yemen, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and parts of the Sahel. The World Food Programme warns that conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity, with supply routes disrupted, farmland abandoned, and aid access increasingly restricted. Millions of children are at risk of severe malnutrition, with long-term consequences for entire generations.
At the same time, global instability is rising. Strategic analysts and conflict-monitoring organisations warn that unresolved flashpoints, militarisation, and hardened rhetoric between regional and global powers heighten the risk of escalation through miscalculation. Economic pressures intensify these dangers. The World Bank reports growing debt distress, persistent inflation, and widening inequality, hitting the poorest communities hardest and undermining fragile states.
Climate shocks, floods, droughts, heatwaves, and storms further compound vulnerability, particularly in countries least equipped to respond. Together, these overlapping crises reveal the fragility of human systems and the deep interconnectedness of global suffering.
Scripture reminds us that creation groans under the weight of brokenness, yet God remains sovereign over nations and history. This moment calls the Church to watch and pray. Not only for relief, but for repentance, justice, restraint, and the mercy of God to break into a wounded world.
Prayer Pointers
1. Pray for Civilians in Conflict and Crisis
Pray for men, women, and children caught in the chaos of war, disaster, and humanitarian emergencies. Ask God to protect, provide, and sustain hope where suffering feels unending. Pray especially for the vulnerable, the young, the elderly, and those uprooted. That they would know God as a refuge and strength in every storm.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
2. Pray for Provision Amid Hunger and Displacement
Pray that food, clean water, shelter, and aid would reach nations facing hunger and mass displacement despite insecurity, funding gaps, and political barriers. Ask God to open safe pathways for relief workers, strengthen those who serve in dangerous conditions, and stir generosity in governments, churches, and meet urgent needs with compassion and consistency.
“He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:9
3. Pray for Wisdom and Humility Among Global Leaders
Pray that global leaders would walk in humility, restraint, and clarity as tensions rise and decisions ripple across nations. Ask God to guard hearts against pride, fear, and aggression, guiding leaders toward diplomacy. Pray that courage would take the form of mercy, foresight, and protection of human life.
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Summary Prayer
Father God, be our refuge in a wounded world. Feed the hungry, shelter the displaced, and protect the innocent. Break the pride that fuels conflict, grant leaders’ humility and wisdom, and let Your justice, mercy, and peace shine brighter than fear and despair. Amen.
More Information:
- UN Global Humanitarian Overview
https://www.unocha.org/global-humanitarian-overview - World Food Programme – Global Hunger Crisis
https://www.wfp.org/global-hunger-crisis - Council on Foreign Relations – Global Conflict Tracker
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker
Global Day of Prayer for Buddhist Peoples - 17th Feb 2026
We invite you to join millions of believers from churches and Christian ministries around the globe, as we unite for 24-hours of prayer for Buddhist Peoples.
This will be an opportunity to pray together, exalting Jesus Christ as King throughout the Buddhist world, asking the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers to every unreached Buddhist people group!
We have produced a Prayer Guide that is available in multiple languages online HERE
We are encouraging everyone to pray where they are - at home, at church, at cell groups, at work or in houses of prayer! Pray solo, in couples, as families, and devote some time in worship and prayer, upholding Buddhist peoples in 7 key cities and regions of the world.
Our Global Family 24-7 Prayer community will be praying with us across the 24 hours.
Register to join Global Family 24-7 online HERE
Jason’s friend, Jon Shabaglian, leader of Psalmist Mission has written an awesome anthem for the Day of Prayer entitled ‘Tsunami’. This inspirational worship song will be launched on the Global Day of Prayer!
Let's be praying for Kingdom breakthrough across these key Asian cities, the USA and the wider Buddhist diaspora!
This will be the first of our 5 worldwide days of prayer for 2026! – Watch this Intro Video!
7 Days Prayer Guide for Buddhist Peoples - 10th-16th Feb 2026
The ‘Until the Light Breaks Through’ 7-Day Prayer Guide for Buddhist Peoples is designed to help individuals, families, prayer groups, and churches engage meaningfully in prayer for Buddhist peoples in the week leading up to the Global Day of Prayer for Buddhist Peoples on 17 February 2026.
It offers both biblical depth and practical structure, making it easy to use whether you have five minutes or an extended time set aside for intercession.
The guide is arranged as a day-by-day journey, covering seven locations and themes across Asia and the global Buddhist diaspora.
Each day focuses on a real place, real people, and a real story, helping prayers move beyond statistics to compassion-filled, informed intercession.
The journey includes Bhutan, Laos, Thailand, Japan, Northeast India, Myanmar, and the Buddhist diaspora in Los Angeles, with links to 110 Cities and Prayercast resources to encourage continued prayer throughout the year .
Each daily section follows a consistent and easy-to-navigate format:
- A short context-setting story or testimony showing how God is at work among Buddhist peoples
- Key prayer points focused on discipleship, family life, compassion, breakthrough, and Gospel access
- Selected Bible passages to anchor prayer firmly in Scripture
- A brief personal application question, inviting reflection and obedience
- A highlighted city focus, connecting local stories to God’s wider mission in the world
This structure allows the guide to be used flexibly. It works well for personal daily devotion, family prayer times, small groups, or corporate prayer gatherings. Some may choose to pray through one section each day, while others may use the stories and prayer points as a framework for longer worship-based prayer sessions.
The guide also intentionally prepares hearts for the Global Day of Prayer, helping intercessors build faith, understanding, and spiritual momentum. Rather than focusing on religious systems, it highlights Jesus’ love, compassion, power, and sufficiency, calling believers to pray with hope and confidence.
Ultimately, this guide is an invitation to stand with God’s heart for Buddhist peoples—believing that as the Church prays, the light of Christ will continue to break through homes, families, cities, and nations.
‘Until the Light Breaks Through’ has been published in 30+ languages (online), and is available for free, from the 110 Cities website.
The IPC Media Team have published a companion Childrens Guide entitled Listen - Live – Love that includes songs, daily stories and ‘Justin’s Thoughts’ written by Justin Gunawan.
This colourful Children’s Prayer Guide for Buddhist Peoples invites children aged 6–12 on a seven-day prayer journey around the world, meeting real-life children and families living in Buddhist cultures.
Each day focuses on a different place—such as Bhutan, Laos, Thailand, Japan, India, Myanmar, and the Buddhist diaspora—using engaging stories, simple explanations, prayer points, Bible verses, and fun language activities.
Children learn what daily life is like, what people believe, and why knowing Jesus matters.
Families can use the guide together at breakfast, bedtime, or family prayer time—reading a story, learning a new word, praying short prayers, and asking God to show His love to others.
It works brilliantly for family devotions, children’s groups, or individual reading, helping children grow in compassion, faith, and confidence to pray big prayers together for the Buddhist world.
Read and download Listen – Live – Love in multiple languages HERE
This focus is shaping everything we do through the 2BC movement.
3️⃣ Praying for the Light of the World movie to Reach Families Everywhere
During the AD2000 and Beyond Movement in the 1990's, many Unreached Peoples conferences, seminars and other initiatives were held that resulted in hundreds of new interdenominational networks focused on specific UPGs in about 80 countries. Those of us forming the International Prayer Council in 2001 and 2002, now called International Prayer Connect (
The Joshua Project maintains the list of all the FPGs at this link: 
The brief video 
All 273 largest FPGs are available 
The favor God gave in answer to the prayers of believers back home was so amazing! After the concert, the conductor asked if I could come back the following year for another such concert of my grandfather’s music which I did. As we were sitting in the audience before the orchestra began to play, the conductor suddenly turned around and said. “Now, can we have John Robb come up to the mic and tell us about God?”
John Robb - Coordinator, Unreached Peoples Task Force
FOCUS! – The Power of People Group Thinking – John D Robb
