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A Blessing to the Nations


Genesis 12:2-3: I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

As we wrestle through the direction of the newly forming Micah (the coming together of Micah Network and Micah Challenge to form a new entity called Micah) we have been challenged by the Covenant God has made to us through Abraham pointing towards Jesus who now sends us to be a blessing to the Nations.

What does this mean in practical terms?

1) God works with and through his people: God + People = blessing
God has given us the gifts, skills and resources we need to fulfil his purposes. As we live in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, our words and works reveal the fruit of the Spirit and in the authority from God lives are changed.

Lord, we ask that you would help us to live in obedience to your call. To live lives worthy of the Gospel. To speak truth in love, to reveal the hope we have and to point to you in all things.

2) Life in all its fullness: flourishing
The Kingdom of God revealed.

Lord, we pray for courage for change. We long to see your Kingdom come in our nations – may we be a part of bringing that blessing to our community.

3) Inclusive: the well-being of every nation, city, village, person
We realise that your blessing is for the whole of creation. We are in anguish at the turmoil on the nations around us.

Lord, how can we be a blessing to Gaza and Israel, to Syria, to Iraq, to Nigeria, to CAR, to Malaysia, to Ukraine – Lord help us to discern and then act.

4) Shalom: justice, peace and joy
Being a blessing means beyond equality, beyond generosity – it is the presence of God that is liberating, restoring and reconciling.

Lord, as we prepare for our Global Consultation in 2015 in Integral Mission and Shalom, help us to live this out today and inspire one another as we gather next year.

5) Royal Priesthood: all are called to be a blessing:
Each one of us is called; each one of us has a valuable role to pay in humility and obedience.

Lord we confess we have delegated our responsibility to the leader and have not taken up our commission to be your disciples and to be agents of change in our contexts (our family, our community, our work place and our church)

6) Discipleship: act of love and obedience:
Hunger for truth and thirst for living water so that we reflect Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

Lord, we have become passive learners, waiting to be spoon fed – give us the hunger for your word, for your presence and for your Kingdom. Help us to engage in every aspect of our society with works of service, speaking out for justice and mercy and being present in times of need.

7) Proclamation of the Kingdom of God:
May we be compelled by love to share the hope within us knowing that it is the power to set people free. It is a blessing to the nations.

Lord we pray your Word would go out and bear fruit.

They Are Free!

Janet, martin and Abdinoor celebrate their release

After 22 months of being held as hostages in Somalia we are thrilled to inform you that the three IAS staff we have all be praying for have been released and are now safely reunited with their families in Kenya.

See news and video here.

Welcome home to Janet, Martin and Abdinoor. We pray for your on-going recovering and for the IAS Crisis Management Team who have worked tirelessly to get you released.

Thank you to all our Micah members who prayed through this time, to all who sent letters to Kenyan embassies around the world and for words of encouragement to their families – you have all played a part in this wonderful miracle – we give God thanks for bringing them home.

Nigeria


The below prayer request comes from Peter Akanimoh from Global Relief in Nigeria.

Happenings in Nigeria are really worrisome and we need to raise greater awareness of the situation! The humanitarian crisis caused by this situation is now truly an international problem as thousands spill into neighboring countries and thousands more displaced internally...

When you pray, please include the following:

1. Pray for the nation to overcome terrorism

2. Pray for the rescue of the Chibok girls kidnapped in April.

3. Pray for our military who are taking on the perpetrators.

4. Pray for millions of people displaced in the country.

5. Pray for more effective humanitarian response that meets their emergency needs.

6. Pray for safety of schools, market places, churches and mosques, and other public places becoming soft targets to terrorists. Bombing are almost becoming an every other day affair.

7. Pray for [President] Mr. Jonathan Goodluck and his cabinet to find encouragement and support in their work of leading our nation.

8. Pray for the church in Nigeria to become more aware of the humanitarian needs and to support groups working among IDPs.

Persecution in Laos

The below call to prayer comes from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission

2 July: 5 Christians in Laos have been charged with murder after a sick woman who sought prayer from a local church, converted to Christianity and later died of an unknown illness.

According to reports, the lady was sick with an unknown illness for 2 years and had approached the local church for prayer. After her health improved for a short while, she and her 8 grown-up children became Christians.

Since Christians were denied burial rights in the local cemetery, the children gained permission from the village chief for a Christian burial ceremony to be performed for their mother in their own property. However, later the permission was retracted and the children were informed that a burial ceremony could only take place if they signed an affidavit recanting their Christian faith. The children refused to do this.

On June 23, a local church leader made an appeal to the district chief regarding the incident. The day following the appeal, the complainant, 3 other church leaders and a lay person were arrested and charged with the murder of the Christian woman.

Prayer points:

- Pray that those arrested would be cleared of all charges and released immediately;

- Pray for God’s protection over the Christians who have been arrested;

- Pray that the Christians would not fear, but trust God during this time of trial.

Solidarity


Atrocities in Gaza
WEA sent out a call for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza (see press release here).

The  excessive use of force and devastating impact on communities in Gaza – please pray for the immediate end to fighting and for a breakthrough in negotiations to address the peace process.

MH17
The shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur megaphoned the conflict in Ukraine into homes across the world.

Let us pray together for each broken family mourning the loss of their loved ones, whose lives were snatched away brutally through this violent crime. Let us pray that this incident creates the drive for an end to the war in the Ukraine.

Micah Prayer Points

Zambia: our Africa Regional Consultation is this September (8th to 12th) in Livingstone, Zambia. The theme is Integral Mission and Freedom – looking at anti-human trafficking, bonded labour  and restored relationships. Please pray for all who need to be there to tackle these important issues together. Pray for the preparation needed and all that this involves.

Transition: as we begin the transition process of bringing Micah Network and Micah Challenge together to form Micah – we ask for your ongoing prayer cover for this.

EXPOSED: Shining a Light on Corruption – the G20 meeting in Brisbane this November is getting closer – please pray that the momentum and impact of this campaign will be maintained.