Bristol Diocese
Prayer Page
CHRISTIANS IN INDIA HAVE ASKED FOR OUR PRAYERS
Nationwide elections are taking place in India between 19 th April and
!st June, in seven phases across different states. The results will
be known on 4 th June.
Christians in India are asking their global church family to join in
praying during these elections. These believers know that religious
freedom is at stake. Freedom of religion or belief is a constitutional
right in India – but Hindu nationalists are increasingly threatening
that right.
From OPEN DOORS – Serving Persecuted Christians Worldwide.
Prayers for our link Dioceses/Christmas decorations
John 1 v 5 “The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has
not overcome it”.
As we draw near Christmas remembering the birth of Jesus let our
prayers shine as bright stars in the darkness for our Bristol Diocese
Mothers’ Union Prayer Link members living in Nigeria, India, Kenya
and South Sudan.
For those living in Nigeria where Islamic Terrorists Groups have
killed more than 10,000 Christians since 2015.
For those living in India where false ideology is on the rise stating
that only Hindus are truelly Indian.
For those living in Kenya where as well as persecution by Islamic
Terrorists Groups large parts of Northern Kenya have been
seriously affected by drought.
And for those living in South Sudan where there is a serious lack of
food, healthcare, and passable roads; disturbances by local ethnic
groups, they are also overwhelmed by refugees, many of them
Christian, who are fleeing the civil war in Sudan.
Let us PRAY for strength and courage for all MU members in these
countries, with Praise and Thanksgiving that our Almighty God is
alongside each one, with His love, resources, protection and hope, so
each can shine like a star in the sky, and so by doing are sharing
God’s love for ALL. “For God so loved the world that He sent His
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life” John 3 v 16. We pray this prayer in the name of
Our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
PACONG DIOCESE – SOUTH SUDAN - MOTHERS’ UNION
PLEASE IMAGINE – THEN PLEASE PRAY July 2023
What it be like to be permanently
HUNGRY
THIRSTY
SICK
GRIEVING
OVERWHELMED WITH REFUGEES
THREATENED BY SOLDIERS DUE TO CIVIL WAR
FRIGHTENED – even a Bishop attacked, robbed, and car burnt out
To be lacking in resources for
EDUCATION
SKILLS’ TRAINING
SUBSISTENCE FARMING
SMALL BUSINESSES
SIT A WHILE AND ASK GOD FOR WHAT TO PRAY
THEN do your own research on the situation for our Brothers and
Sisters living in South Sudan; and continue to pray.
KENYA - A Prayer Request from Barnabas Aid April 2023.
Extended drought conditions after successive rainy seasons fail.
Drought conditions in northern Kenya call for urgent prayer.
Five rainy seasons in a row have failed. Kenyan Christians are
praying that the March-May 2023 rains will be good and restore the
dried-up land.
In the drought-affected northern region, schools no longer
have enough water or supplies to provide pupils with a daily meal of
maize and beans. As a result children are dropping out of school and
are helping their parents to forage for what little food they can
find. The situation is so bad in some village that people are dying.
Many cattle have also perished in the drought, which has led to a
rise in thefts of the surviving cattle. Christians are praying for rain
to restore the land. They hope that February’s rains in South
Africa, which caused flooding in parts of that country, will move
north to end the successive seasons of drought in Kenya.
JOIN OUR KENYAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN PRAYING
FOR RAIN for those afflicted by drought. Cry out to the Lord to
cause the land to bear fruit once again (James 5 v 17-18) Pray for an
abundance of wisdom for the country’s leaders at this difficult time.
From our linked diocese of Pacong in South Sudan, February 2023
1. Prayer Request for Rain from the Mothers Union
The diocese and the area in general have not received
adequate rains in 2022. This is very worrying because it
means that if enough rain does not fall there will be
severe famine in the area. With severe famine it will
mean that many people will face starvation in the
coming months. We therefore ask you to join us in
prayer as we ask God to send the rains in the area.
2. Prayer Request from the Diocese for Training of
Pastors and Lay Leaders
The Diocese still faces the challenge of training of its
pastors and many of the pastors serving in the diocese are still untrained. We pray that God
will open opportunities for the Diocesan pastors and Lay Leaders to attend theological
training within and outside South Sudan. We also thank God for the pastors that got the
opportunity to study at the Bishop Gwynne College in Juba.
3. Prayer Request from the Diocese for Total Peace and trauma healing
Inter-communal fighting and revenge killings are still occurring in the Diocese. The victims
of these fighting and killings have been traumatized and need trauma healing. We pray that
God will bring total peace in the area and heal the traumatized people. We also pray that God
will provide the Diocese with the financial and human resources so as to enable it continue to
conduct peace building promotions and trauma healing sessions in the area.
4. Thanksgiving prayer
We thank God for the growth that the Diocese has witnessed since it was founded. This has
been witnessed in the increase in the Archdeaconries, deaneries and parishes in the Diocese.
We pray for and thank God for all the people serving in the Diocese as pastors, lay leaders,
youth leaders and mother’s union leaders and our children in Sunday schools.
Yours in Christ
Bishop Joseph Maker Atot
In the light of the visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior figure from Church of Scotland and the Pope, to South Sudan, it would be appropriate to read the document from Mothers' Union in Pacong (our link Diocese) and use these areas as a focus for our prayers.
_______________________