First International Day of Prayer for Turkey
Today is the first annual International Day of Prayer for Turkey. Andrew Jackson, who is attending a service in Instanbul today, shares the following letter from Christian leaders in Turkey:
We would like to invite you to join us in a commitment that we as the current churches of Turkey have made: as from this year, 2009, to set aside every year, the day of April 18 as the “International Day of Prayer for Turkey”.
Why April 18? We had been thinking of such a day of prayer for many years as we knew we needed more prayer from around the world. Various dates were being proposed, when, as you will sadly recall, three of our brothers were brutally murdered, martyred, in the city of Malatya in 2007. On 18 April 2007, Necati Aydin, Tillman Geske and Ugur Yüksel were murdered for no other reason than actively living and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We know that their deaths, that saddened God’s heart and our hearts, were not in vain. We feel that more than any other event, mingling their memory in deep prayer for the country they and we all love, will honour their sacrifice.
We therefore call upon the body of Christ worldwide to join us each year on April 18, to pray for the church and the land/people of Turkey. To pray that the church in Turkey is anointed and strengthened in the Holy Spirit to live for the glory of God; and to pray that the outcome of this will bring hope and blessing to the land and people of Turkey as hearts and eyes are opened to the Kingdom of God.
Will you please pray for the church and the people of Turkey today? I just did.
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