By Paul De Vries
The recent bloodshed and chaos of the Middle East is so indescribably disturbing! So much hatred, anger and misunderstanding thrive in the Middle East in our time. Consider especially:
- Hamas persecuting Christians in Gaza for the seven years since it came to power —murdering pastors, burning homes and church buildings, and abusing and torturing many Christian brothers and sisters, long before Hamas’ recent all-out attacks on Israel. (Perhaps most of us American Christians forgot to pray or protest. )
- Hamas in Gaza shooting missiles at Israeli civilians every day now for seven years.
- Muslims driving out all the 1.5 million Christians from Mosul, Iraq – one million over the last ten years, and 500,000 just a couple weeks ago. Under the threat of mass beheadings, a half a million Christians were driven from their homes, and then robbed of all their money, jewelry and any other valuables as they left Mosul with barely the clothes on their backs.
- Muslims terrorizing other Muslims in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other places.
- More violent Muslim persecution against Christians in several countries in the Middle East than has been seen in centuries – or perhaps ever before.
What a time for prayer! The issues are so huge, we must pray. Let us joint with the wonderful leaders of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in their call for pray for peace in every country, especially in the Middle East. Let us pray particularly for the many brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ in the Middle East – men, women, and children – who are being persecuted especially brutally at this time.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/why-christians-must-pray-for-the-middle-east-now-more-than-ever-124436/