|
NEW YEAR WISHES AND PRAYER REQUEST FOR ORISSA |
|
|
|
Wednesday,Decemnber 31 2008
A Happy New Year 2009! Will it be yet another year of thoughtful resolutions, a few gratifying triumphs, betrayed promises and fractured dreams? We wonder what can provide single-minded consistency to life. The answer is found in Jesus’ instruction to his disciples. In the midst of agonizing and trying times of his life in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus admonished his disciples: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Mark 14:38).”
Let 2009 be a year of praying for us. To pray is to listen and obey God. God speaks to all of life: personal, relational, emotional and spiritual. Obedience is submitting our values, emotions, and all of our life to Christ’s lordship.
As the Church in India encounters trying times we must first and foremost seek God’s face. We appear as if directionless, is it because we do not know how to listen to God and respond, Thy will be done?
PRAY FOR ORISSA
Pray for Justice: A legal team in Orissa, coordinated by the Christian Legal Association, has assisted in the filing of over 1,828 FIRs, out of which 750 cases have been registered. The legal team has filed numerous private complaints as well to ensure that the police investigate the numerous incidents, whose FIRs the police had earlier failed to register.
Pray that there will be no more delay in the setting up of fast-track courts to deal with the gigantic number of complaints. The Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik has on various occasions assured the Christian community that fast-track courts will be established in line with the directions of the Supreme Court of India, and yet till date there is no notification to that effect.
Pray for Peace: According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) Berhampur (Orissa), Kandhamal killings have split Orissa Maoists on religious lines. The killing of a Hindu leader and his associates that triggered attacks on Christians in Orissa have split the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on religious lines for the first time, with many Hindu members breaking away to form a rival group. The unexpected developments, which have taken many by surprise, came to light when the breakaway faction put up posters threatening to target Christian members of the CPI-Maoist in the state. The new group calls itself "IDGA-Maoist", which some posters say is the acronym for "Idealize of Democrat Garila (Guerrilla) Army (Maoist)". People familiar with the Maoist movement in the state believe that the split will result in escalation of violence. Sixteen of Orissa's 30 districts are considered Maoist- dominated. Six southwestern districts - Malkangiri, Koraput, Raygada, Kandhamal, Nayagarh and Gajapati - are the worst hit.
Pray for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
|
