NECF Monthly Prayer Bulletin - November 2012

NECF Monthly Prayer Bulletin - November 2012

1. Pray for the States - General Elections

2. International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them. Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine that you are there with them. (CEV Heb 13:3)

In the traditional church calendar, "All Saints Day" and "All Souls Day" stand out in the month of November. This day is set apart to remember the saints of the church and the souls of those who have departed from this world. It is fitting, then, that the modern church sets apart the month of November to remember and pray for the persecuted church through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). The designated date this year is 4 Nov but churches are free to choose another date. There are many countries today where Christians are martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan face death threats while Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are other places such as North Korea where persecution takes place but is not widely reported. Brother Andrew of Open Doors once said, "Our heroes are not with us simply because they are in prison." IDOP is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord. We invite you to explore this website and hope you will join Christians worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians throughout November. For more info and resource please visit http://www.idop.org/.

3. Pray for the Penan's

The Penan are a nomadic aboriginal people in Sarawak. Geographically, they are loosely divided into the Eastern Penan and Western Penan. The Eastern Penan reside around the Miri, Baram, Limbang and Tutoh regions and the Western Penan in and around the Belaga district. The Penan have come to national and international attention for resisting logging operations in their home territories of the Baram, Limbang, Tutoh and Lawas regions of Sarawak. Their struggle began in the 1960s when the Indonesian and Malaysian governments opened up large areas of Borneo's interior to commercial logging. The logging has continued and has caused the pollution of their water sources, the loss of sago palms that form the staple carbohydrate of the Penan diet, scarcity of wild boar, deer and other game, scarcity of fruit trees and plants used in traditional forest medicine, destruction of their burial sites and loss of rattan and other rare plant and animal species.

Today, the Penan face more threats to their culture, livelihood and land as a result of development, mainly of dams and plantations. The latest is the building of the Murum hydroelectric dam on their land. The construction of the dam is already well underway and will see the flooding of at least six Penan villages once completed. The Penan have argued that they were (once again) not consulted before the project began, nor was a social and environmental impact assessment prepared before the project commenced, nor have they received compensation as promised by the state government. Already forests, rivers and natural resources have been destroyed by the construction. In addition, there is the building of the 500 km-long Sarawak-Sabah Gas Pipeline. This project particularly affects Penan communities as this will claim large tracts of their Native Customary Rights land. Let pray for the plight of the Penan. Pray for a just solution to this conflict and for fair and adequate compensation as promised by the state government. Let's also pray for sustainable development, conservation of the environment and respect for the Penans' right to their land livelihood.

4. Children House of Prayer Conference

With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless. (CEV Psa 8:2)

The National Children Prayer Conference (NCPC) Committee is organising another Children House of Prayer (C-HOP) Conference from 15 -16 November, 2012 at Full Gospel Assembly (FGA) KL. This is our third year with Rev Anton Cruz from the RoyalKids Chennai, India. The purpose of this conference is to establish a network of children who are worshipping-intercessors across the nation, anointed to pray with spiritual authority for the revival of the Church, Malaysia and nations of the world. It is also to equip this generation of children with the ability to preach and live the Good News, plant churches, heal the sick, prophesy, communicate God's end time message and advance the Kingdom of God. This is something the Lord is doing across the globe and we desire that Malaysian children be part of it. To achieve this, the involvement of all generations is needed. Thus, this conference is also directed at youths and adults. Please pray for a positive response from the various children homes, orphanages, children ministries and churches towards this initiative. Pray for the smooth running of this conference. Pray for more C-HOPs to be established nationwide.

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