Peanut Gallery: My people are hurting….” writes a Syrian Pastor.

• “I can cry like Nehemiah because the walls of our cities are burnt and the people in great trouble and disgrace,
• I can weep like Jeremiah because of the intensity and the spread of evil,
• I can mourn like David because of the indiscriminate brutal killing of innocent people, children, women, elderly, youth subject to shelling or under the rubble of their homes.
• Neither fighting party is the true mother of this child, this country. Their worship of the idol of power and their desire to win is too cruel to care for the child they claim that they are fighting for.
• Innocent people are paying the heavy toll of this evil. It is gloomy, sad and painful.
• The only good news is that the church is moving whole-heartedly to help relieve some of the suffering, and the Lord is surely opening hearts to receive the gospel.”

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”
Ephesians 6.10-13 ESV

Please pray for Syrian believers: 

1. For peace in the country and an end to the bloodshed. For God’s rich mercies on the suffering people.
2. For the safety and protection of the churches, keeping the church’s faithful witness.
3. Wisdom and vision for church leaders.
4. For the glory of the living God to dwell in the Church.
5. To empower the Church to reach out to the suffering, to share the divine cure of the gospel, and to speak the word of the Lord in all boldness.
6. That the evil powers of darkness will be defeated in our land.
7. That the values of false religion will be exposed for what they are and despised and rejected by many.
8. For many souls to come to know the love and forgiveness of Christ and to enjoy His saving grace.
9. That the Lord would send wise, God-fearing counselors to the decision-makers in all parties in the country.

He writes: “It was much unexpected turmoil. Not even in our wildest dreams did we imagine the violence that is sweeping across the country now. For many years Syria enjoyed peace and stability in the heart of the unstable Middle East. We were a safe haven for our neighbors. We received displaced people and refugees from other countries like Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and even from Somalia and other far away areas.” 

Christians in Syria had a relative degree of freedom and security in Syrian society (compared with other Middle Eastern Countries) until the onset of civil war. (Wikipedia)

“Yet now the violence pushed the host people out of their homes, fleeing for their lives. Many are displaced internally and many others are external refugees living in the most humiliating circumstances, deprived of even shelter , clean water, power, food, and medical care. Millions are not sleeping in their own beds, forced out of their homes to find themselves with their children homeless and living in public parks or in the wilderness. Others are not sure if they or their children and loved ones will see the light of a new day, tens of thousands of families lost loved ones: a child, a father, a mother, or a husband. Hundreds of the injured died for lack of medical care. Thousands of children go to bed terrified of the sound of shelling. Hundreds of thousands are in camps in neighboring countries….”   

The civil war changed everything – causing massive displacements of innocent people all over the country (1.5 million by UN estimates) … death and mayhem have become the norm… and many people are trying to leave causing a major refugee problem both within Syria and in the bordering countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraqi Kurdistan. (Wikipedia)

Thank you: “We deeply appreciate the prayers of God’s people everywhere; it is a rare time where the Church in Syria is feeling the true oneness of the body of Christ all over the globe.  For this, we thank the Lord, for it is a great encouragement to us.” (With love, from Syria.)