Nigeria: Eleven dead after suicide attack on church
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a St Finbar’s Catholic Church in Jos as worshippers were filing out after Sunday mass. Seven worshipers were killed and panic followed causing security guards to shoot and kill a further three. It was the second suicide attack on a church in Jos in two weeks, after a February 26 attack claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram killed three and injured dozens. Jos, a faultline in Nigeria's Muslim-Christian divide between north and south, was tense in the aftermath of the bombing. There are rumours of reprisals from Christian youths, but it is hoped the security agents are on top of the situation. Eye-witness accounts said, ‘Boy scouts tried to stop the suicide bombers car' and ‘the security guards, who were mainly members of the Boys Brigade, tried to prevent the car from entering the compound and in the process the car exploded.’
Pray: against confusion in the aftermath of death, persecution and prejudice. (Am.5:14)
More: http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-suicide-bomber-kills-three-church-attack-145431554.html
Israel: Despite cease-fire Israeli's hit Gaza after rocket in Netivot
The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck two targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday, in response to Palestinian terrorists' violation of an informal cease-fire agreement. A fragile hours-long calm came after four days of violence with 200+ rockets fired from Gaza and 26 Palestinians killed in IAF strikes - 22 believed to be terrorists. Hostilities began Friday after the IDF killed two Islamic Jihad terrorists charged with plotting a cross-border terror attack from Sinai. Wednesday’s direct hits came in response to a Grad rocket fired into the southern town of Netivot. IDF Chief of Staff said that rocket attacks such as the one in Netivot would be met with Israeli air strikes. Schools were cancelled in towns and cities located between 7 km to 40 km from the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that ‘quiet will bring quiet’ but warned Israel would strike anybody trying to attack it.
Pray: God's protection for innocent lives caught up in this latest fracas and His wisdom in all decisions to be made. (Ps.16:1)
More: http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=261773
Pakistan: Woman charged with ‘blasphemy’ for refusing Islam
A young mother has been falsely accused of blaspheming Muhammad because she rebuffed attempts by relatives, who had converted to Islam, to force her to renounce her Christian faith. Speaking ill of Muhammad is punishable by life imprisonment or death under Pakistan’s internationally condemned blasphemy laws. Police in Punjab Province, arrested and charged 26-year-old Shamim Bibi after neighbours accused her of uttering remarks against Muhammad. Her relatives accepted Islam on Feb 24th and called on her to do the same, but she did not want to convert. On Feb 27th neighbours accused her of making derogatory remarks – as yet unknown – about Muhammad while in her courtyard, the following day the mother of a 5-month-old girl was arrested. Her brother and brother-in-law said she had been wrongly accused because she had resisted pressure to convert to Islam four days before her arrest, saying she had complete faith in a living God, and that there was no reason for her to start ‘worshipping graves.
Pray: for God to give Shamim inner peace and thoughts full of hope at this time and for truthful evidence to hasten her release. (Ps.9:3-4)
More: http://www.persecution.org/2012/03/13/pakistani-woman-charged-with-blasphemy-for-refusing-islam/
Saudi Arabia: Resource now available for informed intercession
On Wednesday Window International Network launched an initiative, calling Christians around the world to pray for Saudi Arabia - the birthplace of Islam and in violent opposition to the Gospel. In the wake of the Arab Spring, with political unrest and spiritual dissatisfaction simmering in this region, WIN believes the Lord is preparing to move powerfully in Saudi Arabia and that prayer will initiate and sustain that move. ‘Pray4Saudi - Preparing the Way for the Gospel of the Kingdom’ will continue until the very foundations of Islam have been shaken and Saudi Arabia is open to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Individual intercessors, prayer networks, small groups, and churches can sign up to receive Pray4Saudi and follow it on Twitter. WIN ask us to pray for the Lord to raise up prayer warriors all over the globe to intercede for this nation and its people. (Mat.18:19)
Pray: for the Lord to guide and direct the staff at WIN giving them strategies and showing them how to proceed. (Pr. 2:9-11)
More: http://pray4saudi.com/
