[HT Prayer] Prayer pointers for Zimbabwe -- more

[Jocelyn Chappell]

More pointers dated more recently (27 May 2008) this time from a
Prayer for Zimbabwe mailing list maintained by Tearfund.

Dear friends,

Over the past few weeks, one of our partner organisations has been
sending me notes taken from weekly Bulawayo prayer meetings. These are
held every Wednesday and are open to all Christians, regardless of
denomination. Initially planned to be held in the town hall which is
central and easy for people to access, they have had to move to a church
building after the meetings were banned by the secret police (CIO). They
were accused of inciting violence although the prayer meetings were
called to pray for peace. (Holding the meeting in a church is allowed
since it is part of their normal worship.)

As I've read the notes, I've felt a mixture of sadness, empathy and
admiration. I thought it would be helpful if I shared some of the points
with you since it will give you a clear picture of what Zimbabweans are
thinking and praying. Each one is a message from a different pastor
talking on a different theme before leading people in prayer. The notes
are brief but easy to follow.

Caring for those affected by violence
We can look for wisdom and mediation and mighty people with authority
but we need to know God and who He is (Jer 9v23-24)
We have the starving and homeless; homes burned down; violence;
beatings. It is getting cold (winter is just starting). Children, widows
and the elderly are affected. Matt 25:35
The just and righteous God is a God of Love. He is our only help.

Prayers for Peace
I Timothy 2:1 & 2
What is peace? What is our expectation? Absence of trouble? Are we
shooting too low?
We must believe for the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ reigning in our
lives.
"For all men" - let's get rid of any grudges we have so that we can obey
His Word!
"For all those in authority" - those who hold the right to make
decisions - just decisions. This authority is supposed to make sure we
are protected, that we have no shortages, that we have transport,
medication, schooling for the children.
To pray these prayers we must put away hatred and any desire for
retaliation.

Praying for God's will to be done
Matthew 6v10
His will be done in Zimbabwe as it is right now in heaven. Not the will
of those trying to help in various ways but Lord - Your perfect will!
We need to be released from the presumptions and desires of our hearts
so that we can allow Him to do His perfect will. God has a plan that
sees beyond what we see with the natural eye. Let us lay ourselves
before Him and put down our own ideas.

Prayer for an end to political violence
We must pray to our God that He will intervene. Unless the fear of God
is in our lives and the lives of our people, the violence will not stop.
Pray that God will intervene concerning the so called "war veterans"
(20-30 years old!) (these are the militia groups).
Pray for the soldiers who are trying to refute that they are involved in
the violence though we have clear evidence of their involvement.
Pray for the police - though they are generally not involved, but are
conspicuous by their silence.
Pray for the fear of God to come upon them all.
In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives feared God and so saved the little
Hebrew boys from Pharaoh's edict. We read in Ex 1:19 that the midwives
gave an excuse to Pharaoh. Did they actually lie to him? They could not
follow through the instructions of the man in authority because it was
against the word of God. We as Christians have to come to a place where
we make a decision that we would rather obey God than man. Justice is
not the issue - the issue is that every one of us is created in the
image of God. De-facing and de-humanising anyone who is created by Him
is an abomination to the Creator. Pray for God to instil fear in His
people - those who are sent to do these wrong and wicked things.


I hope that reading these words from pastors in Bulawayo will encourage
you to join your hearts with theirs in pray for some of the issues they
have highlighted. Thank you so much for your continued prayer.

God bless,
Karyn.
Southern Africa Team, Tearfund.

Sign up to prayer emails for Zimbabwe:
http://www.tearfund.org/NR/exeres/38224F5D-3C2F-482A-897F-C054D5DC94D2

God bless you.

Jocelyn
-- 
Jocelyn E. Chappell
ICT Co-ordinator
Pebble Brook School, Aylesbury, HP21 8LZ

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