Sudan 52 Week Prayer Guide

Week 21: Sending Churches

Week 22: Spiritual Warfare - Discernment

Week 23: Local Church - Integrity and Holiness.

Week 24: Key Spiritual Leaders - Imams, Sufi Shaiks etc.

Week 25: Unreached People - Beja

Week 26: Youth Children - Orphans: Magoma

Week 27: Woman - Monica

Week 28: Islamic Sects - Sufi Sect

Week 29: Ministries - Bible Translation Ministries

Week 30: Laborours - Cultural/ Language Acquisition

Labourers/ Workers
Week 21 Sending Churches: support structures to be in place, member care, sending teams to be raised up, a heart for the harvest.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers... While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:1-3

John is from Southern Africa and feels strongly called by God to go live in Northern Sudan and bring the Gospel to the Nubians. His home church agrees that he is called and wants to send him, but they can only afford to pay a portion of the overall support that John and his family will need. Fortunately for John, there are 3 other churches that have adopted the Nubians for prayer and support his area. Between the 4 churches, John will not only have the financial backing that he needs, but significant prayer support, as many of the members at each church have committed to pray for him and his family and the Nubians, and they have agreed to send 1 volunteer team to help John and his family in their ministry every year.

At present there are missionaries who feel called to Sudan for short or long-term work, who do not know where they will find support for their work. Please pray that as God calls out missionaries to work in Northern Sudan, that He will also call churches to partner and support them. Pray that missionaries will have not just financial support but, prayer support, and adequate pastoral and member care

Spiritual Warfare/ Supernatural Occurrences
Week 22 Spiritual Warfare: that workers, intercessors, the church, learn to identify the strongholds and lies in the culture, and bring in/ replace with the Truth. Discernment.

Like any other man made religion, Islam is based on lies and partial truths. Some of these are easy to see, others are buried further down.

John was a young Muslim man in search of Truth. He knew his religion to be false, and had toyed with Marxist leanings, with agnostic beliefs, but still he was looking for Truth. Like Pilate of old, he was asking, "what is truth?" A missionary told him he was asking the wrong question. The Question is not "what is truth" but "who is Truth?" This simple revelation was enough. His eyes were opened and he accepted the Truth into his life.

Strongholds in lives come tumbling down when confronted with the Truth.
Would you pray that the Truth would be revealed in the Sudan?
Pray that the Truth would be presented in a way that people could understand.
Pray that stronghold of ignorance, fear, hatred, mistruth, and lies would all be broken on the Rock of Truth.

The Local Church: raised up for Kingdom purposes.
Week 23 Integrity and Holiness

There is no worse testimony of Jesus than bickering Christians. Whenever Christians in Sudan disagree and un-biblically take each other to court, they find themselves standing before a Muslim judge. Inevitably this judge will make some snide remark on scrapping saints.

The Sudanese Church has many wonderful men and women who sacrificially lay down their lives for Jesus. We praise the Lord for them - yet like all churches there are also many that serve for their own motives (usually power, wealth, or prestige). Tribalism, nepotism, and racism all have wormed their way into the churches. There is a need for holiness and integrity in conduct, finances, and speech throughout all the churches and at every level.

Being human and frail we rejoice that God uses vessels of clay and acknowledge that God is the treasure in us - at the same time we understand God's desire for a blameless and bloodwashed church that represents him well in the earth.

Pray for Sudanese Church leaders. Pray for a hunger for honesty and transparency in their lives and ministries

Pray against the spirit of greed and corruption that leads to so many court cases and the blackening of the name of Christ.

Pray for Christians to live such a life of integrity in their daily routine that they truly act as salt and light in their communities.

Leaders
Week 24 Key Spiritual Leaders: Imams in Mosques, Sufi sheiks, Fakis etc.

Imams are the local preachers in mosques. Sheikhs are leaders of Sufi (mystic) orders and recognised religious public figures. Fakis are the folk Islam practitioners (spells, curses, protection from the evil eye etc.) All three wield incredible power in Sudanese belief and society.

Recently the Imam at a prominent mosque began his Friday sermon by saying: "Jesus is coming again. We must get ready for the return of Christ. When he comes he will judge the living and the dead. Are you ready to meet Jesus?" The message was broadcast over national TV and to this point quite Biblical. The Imam then went wandering saying that Jesus was returning to implement the sheria of Islam. This imam happened in his youth to have been heavily influenced by Christians and was on the point of converting before he veered back into darkness.

Can you imagine if a man like him would really plunge into the light? Another Imam is being witnessed to consistently by a Muslim Background Believer and he has started to preach his mosque messages from biblical texts.

Please pray for Sudanese religious leaders. Pray first that in their own private life they would come to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Pray for the Sudanese religious leaders who are very antagonistic to Christianity. Many of them study the Bible and the Christian faith looking for ways to attack our faith. Pray that in this attempt they will actually be pierced by the truth they seek to destroy.

Pray that when influential leaders come to faith, they will have the wisdom and courage to bring their followers with them

Unreached People Groups.
Week 25 Beja

A Beja man in the disputed Halaib triangle along the Egyptian-Sudanese border was once asked by an Egyptian army officer, "Are you Egyptian or Sudanese?" The old Beja man pointed up at a nearby mountain and said, "Ask that mountain over there. If it says I am Egyptian, I'm Egyptian. If it says that I'm Sudanese, then I'm Sudanese." The Beja are an ancient people who have lived in the Red Sea Hills of Southern Egypt, Eastern Sudan, and Northern Eritrea for perhaps 4000 years. Many Beja believe that they are the cousins of the pharaohs.

Today, there are somewhere between 2 and 3 million Beja. They are Muslim and among them there are perhaps 15 Christian believers. As a people group, they are under tremendous pressure from the Egyptian and Sudanese governments to become Arabs. The Sudanese government's methods are particularly forceful and destructive. As a result, in order to preserve their identity as a people, the Beja have formed their own political organisation and joined the civil war against the government in Khartoum. Many Beja feel a significant cultural tension between the cultural identity as Beja (not Arabs) and their religion. They are being told that to be Muslim they should be Arabs. This creates confusion.

Please pray that God will use the tension between religious and cultural identity among the Beja for an opening to the Gospel. Pray that the Bible and evangelism material will be translated into the Beja language. Also pray that God will raise up missionaries form Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and elsewhere to be his witnesses among the Beja. Pray that God will be revealing Himself to Beja through visions and dreams. Also pray for the establishment of cassette and radio ministry among the Beja.

Youth / Children
Week 26 Orphans: Magoma

Orphans

It's a place for the unwanted. Babies show up at the doorstep and are taken in. Mygoma orphanage is one of the ministries of Fellowship for African relief. Other orphanage projects exist around the country.

The sad thing is that most babies brought to Mygoma die. Not from malnutrition but from lack of love. For some of the Sudanese staff, it's just a job. Hundreds of babies spend days and days without anyone touching them in a loving manner. So they curl up and die. And our Master weeps as He welcomes them home.

Prospects for these children are poor. Socially, they have no standing because of their lack of lineage. Additionally, western families can not adopt them because they would not be raised as Muslims. In the opinion of the government it is better for them to die than be raised in a Christian home.

Would you please pray for the Orphans of Sudan that:
1. There would be adequate staffing at the orphanages.
2. The staff would love the children.
3. Christian people would volunteer in these orphanages and show the love of Jesus to these little ones.
4. The laws would change and those Christian families could adopt these children who want children.

Women
Week 27 Monica

For a little more than a month, Monica stays inside her house. She just had a baby boy, her second, and hanging around the home for 40 days after giving birth is traditional for Beja ladies. During that time, many visitors will come by to wish her well and she will spend time bonding with her new-born. Like all mothers, Monica cuddles the baby, singing little songs and speaking loving words to him. This same love is the love that God has for Monica. God created her and wants to reach his arms out to her in love. Pray that she will know God's love, the love described in Zephaniah 3:19: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exalt over you with joy; He will quiet you with his love: He will rejoice over you with singing."

§ Refugees
Zoë was married at age 11, and had her first child at age 13. She is a Sudanese refugee caught in limbo. She loves Sudan and all things Sudanese. She is always telling her worker friend how lovely Sudan was and how much better everything was there and how the people in the country where she now lives are bad and liars and trouble. Her husband has trouble finding steady work because he is a refugee. Many of the people in this country dislike Sudanese, as much as Zoë dislikes them. Zoë and her family have no prospects of immigration right now. Her oldest son was imprisoned and then deported. She has trouble sleeping and problems with her stomach-possibly ulcers. The stress lays heavy on this mother of five. Pray that this woman would be able to pray this prayer from Psalms: "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone: my hope comes from him. He alone is my Rock and my Salvation; he is my Fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalms 62:5-6.

Islamic Sects
Week 28 Sufi Sect

On the West Side of Omdurman there is an old graveyard. Unremarkable save for the large tomb plopped in the centre of simple graves. Islam forbids the decorating of tombs, but there seems to be an exemption for the departed Sufi leaders. This particular graveyard is called "Mohammed An Niil" after its most famous intern. Mohamed An Niil was a Sufi leader reputed to have great power to heal and bless. Sudanese would travel from miles away to receive a prayer, blessing, or instruction. Even now that he is worm food, pilgrims pray and mourn at his grave and then carry dirt from his tomb back to their loved ones - in the belief that it has the power to heal. Every Friday, groups of Sufis celebrate the sunset by twirling and chanting themselves into an ecstatic frenzy.

Sufis believe that God is not only empirically known, he also can be experienced. Sufis tend to be ascetics who live simple and sacrificial lives, searching for greater intimacy with God. The cold transcendence of the God of the Qur'an has left them empty and dissatisfied. Through fasting, through chanting, through spinning in circles (dervish comes for the Arabic word for circle) Sufis attempt to attain a state in which they can be united with God.

It is estimated that almost 70% of Sudanese Muslims belong to Sufi orders. There is much abuse of simple trust as many Sufi leaders exploit their followers for financial gain.

· Please pray for Sudanese Sufis. Pray that their ongoing search for an experiential encounter with God would lead them to a personal and dramatic encounter with Jesus. Pray that they would understand that only Jesus satisfies.

· There is much syncretism and folk Islam mixed up in the Sufi orders. Pray against the spirits of deception and witchcraft so prevalent in Sufi communities.

· Pray for those with contact to Sudanese Sufis. May they have 'knowledge on fire' - a great Bible foundation and the power of the Holy Spirit - so that they will be effective witnesses to Sufis.

Ministries
Week 29 Bible Translation Ministries

A few years ago it was hard to imagine that it might even be possible. The Bedawiyyet language did not even have a written alphabet. Then Christians trained in linguistics felt burdened to work with the Beja to develop such an alphabet in both Latin and Arabic script to suit the preferences of Beja living in Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea. After several years of research, Beja and the linguistics experts have come up with an alphabet that corresponds perfectly. Now plans for teacher training and educational materials in Bedawiyyet are underway so that once the Bible becomes available, the people will be able to read it. Pray for Beja teacher training and for widespread literacy so that the whole tribe can learn about the glory of God in their own language. "The heavens declare the glory of God;….There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3

· Just a few years ago, no scriptures were available in the Bedawiyyet language. Within the last year translators finished work on one of the gospels. In the translation process, there are many distractions that the enemy has tried. Praise God that His Word will stand forever. Ask that many Beja will hear the word and be drawn into relationship with God because of it. "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

It is an incredible privilege to sit with someone who has never heard the gospel and watch the Jesus film together. Many people all over the world have seen this film and found faith by grace in Jesus Christ. Some Beja have watched the film in various Arabic dialects, but none have had a chance to see it in Bedawiyyet…yet. Work began on the Jesus film scripts recently. Please pray for that work and for actors to record the scripts once they are completed. One day, Beja need the chance to react to seeing Jesus, working miracles, dying on the cross, and resurrected in all His glory. Pray that, through the Jesus film, people will see that God "has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." Colossians 1:13

Prayer points:
* Pray for the health, safety and guidance of all those involved in Bible translation, both Sudanese and others.
* Pray for ways to start translation in languages where it is desperately needed.
* Pray that the Scripture cassette ministry in colloquial Arabic will develop and bear fruit

Labourers/ Workers
Week 30 Cultural/ Language Acquisition, Social Integration of workers upon arrival.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Acts 2:4-8

In North-eastern Sudan among the Beja people there are legendary stories about a group of foreigners who once lived in and around Port Sudan about 20 years ago. These foreigners came to do medical work, but in the process learned to speak the language of the Beja themselves. Some even adopted Beja dress. One of the men in this group, whom the Beja have named Badadil, was both a nurse and a good football player. According to the Beja myth, Badadil comes back every year and travels freely with the nomads in Eastern Sudan. He knows all the hills and valleys by name, and can speak Beja better than a native. One Beja said, "When Badadil first came to us, we did not trust him because we thought he was a missionary… Later, when he spoke our language, dressed like us and acted like us, we knew that we could trust him whether he was a missionary or not."

Please pray that missionaries who God calls to work in Sudan will learn to speak the local language and understand the local culture. Pray that God will "incarnate" them into Sudanese society in such a way that they will have credible effective witness. Please especially pray for new workers during their first 6 months, as this probably the most critical language and cultural adjust period.