Pray for Sudan. Now, Please.

In between recovering from Christmas, and now, praying for a dear friend who slipped and broke her arm on the ice, I am thinking a lot about Sudan these days.

Last Saturday I heard a long story on NPR about the upcoming election in that long war-torn country.  I'm sure you know some of the history, but, quickly, after almost five decades of violent fighting, a tentative peace has been in place since 2005.  Now the nation is preparing to vote on a referendum that could separate the land into two nations. 

I followed up by reading about Sudan on Wikipedia.  So much turmoil, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing!  I don't know when I have understood a vote to be so portentous for an entire region.  This is a situation that needs prayer, and needs it now.

Missionaries Howard and Joann Brant have been active in Sudan for several years, and they recently shared the following requests for prayer.  Please take a few minutes to read, pray, and pass along these requests, especially in light of the upcoming (Jan 9-15) referendum vote and the many days of anxious waiting after the vote is closed while the people wait to hear the outcome.  It is a very, very tense time in this land where more than 2 million people have died violently in the last 20 years.  Can you imagine? 

Listen to the Sudanese requests:

·         Pray for peace---we don’t want to fight

·         Pray against anger, retaliation, animosity, fraction and division.

·         Pray against distorted messages at this time when Sudanese are given a chance to vote.

·         Pray for a free, fair and safe referendum.

·         Pray that the decision from this vote will be respected.

·         Pray against hopelessness especially those drowning their sorrows with alcohol. We need clear heads and hearts!

Pray for calm hearts for Sudanese as they prepare for the Jan 9 referendum.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement mandates a referendum vote by the people of Southern Sudan regarding the future of their national identity.  Southerners will then vote to stay within Sudan or break away and become their own country.  If they stay, they fear continued marginalization and renewed Sharia law persecution.  If they break away, creating their own land-locked nation will be enormous work.

Pray for Christian Leaders

Pray that Christian leaders will be filled with the love and power of God, that they will value and appreciate one another and that the different Christian groups operating in Southern Sudan will bless one another. Pray that they will have the vision and faith. Pray that these leaders will be faithful shepherds of the Lord’s people.