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The Lord hears and answers. Praise the Lord!
We praise the Lord for the publication of Scattered and Gathered: A Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology. Thank God for guiding the project over the past five years to this significant milestone. Ask God’s blessings on all those who have labored in the process. Please continue to pray that the compendium will help spur more Spirit-led, fruitful engagement with diaspora peoples and issues.
Prayer requests from Global Diaspora Forum participants
The GDN Executive Committee is meeting April 7-9 in Hong Kong to pray and to plan. Pray that they will listen carefully to the Holy Spirit and to each other regarding the future of GDN.
A small group of prayer and ministry leaders will gather April 22-26 in Cape Town for a global prayer summit. Please pray for the GDN Prayer Coordinator and others who will attend to clearly hear from the Lord together on how to pray and mobilize prayer for the nations at this time.
Please pray for Jewish peoples celebrating Passover (beginning April 22) to recognize and celebrate the Lamb who removes sin and brings salvation. Ask God to soften hearts as families and friends gather for seders. Pray for Messianic Jews to have many opportunities to demonstrate how the traditional foods and stories point to Yeshua.
Ask the Sovereign Lord to guide AR’s steps as she seeks to connect with the Filipino diaspora community in the Tokyo area. Pray for the Lord’s favor to be evident as she looks to mobilize diaspora churches as well as Filipinos for mission & ministry amongst the Japanese.
Please pray for wisdom for those in Kenya ministering among Chinese migrants to know how to effectively disciple them before they return to China. Ask God to give them strategies that can be easily adapted throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will call forth more local churches in Africa to reach out to Chinese migrants. Pray that Chinese returnees will continue to follow the Lord Jesus and invite others to join them.
Diaspora People in Focus: Somalis
Somalis, traditionally nomads and traders, have long been present throughout the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. When civil war began in 1991, hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled to these nearby countries, with some eventually being resettled in Europe and North America. Although there seems to be more optimism for greater stability now, some Somalis continue to risk the dangerous journey to Europe.
Praise God, who works all things together, for the greater openness of Somalis in diaspora to the good news of Christ. Pray for our Heavenly Father to strengthen the faith of our Somali brothers and sisters, especially those who are isolated from regular corporate worship.
Pray for Christ-followers in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti to have many face-to-face opportunities to tell stories about God’s love and power from the Bible and their own lives with Somalis. Ask the Lord to extend His protection over Somalis in Yemen so that they may know His everlasting refuge. Pray that the Spirit will move local churches in the UK to focus on reaching out to Somalis.
Pray that Somalis everywhere will witness Christ’s authority over evil spirits and His provision for their daily needs.
Country of Diaspora: Sweden
Migrants from over 200 countries now live in Sweden. Until late 2015, Sweden granted residency and aid to all asylum-seeking or stateless applicants as well as a small number of refugees each year. The large number of recent applicants has strained resources and led Sweden to modify its policy. Sweden is largely secular, with only 23% of the population believing that a personal God exists.
Praise God for the opportunity to freely worship and proclaim Christ in Sweden. Thank God for the growing sense of unity among those who follow Jesus. Ask God to bless Sweden for its strong history of welcoming the vulnerable and the stranger.
Pray for the destruction of corrupt systems of thought and pray against spiritual deceptions. Ask the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into people across Sweden. Pray that many will have extraordinary personal encounters with the Living God.
Pray for all those who have sought asylum, refuge or a country in Sweden to also find the Lord God, our Shelter and Dwelling Place. Ask God to call forth more laborers to follow Christ’s example of obedience to the Living God among the Muslims of many nations in Sweden. Pray for Mandaean, Yazidi and Zoroastrian migrants to meet the Truth through dreams, visions and the Church. Pray that Thai women who have been trafficked into Sweden would walk in freedom. Ask God to lead people from smaller diaspora people groups to biblical resources in books and music and on TV, radio and the internet.
(Information gathered from Joshua Project, Global Prayer Digest and Operation World)