This year’s theme for the 73rd National Day of Prayer is “Lift up the Word – Light Up the World” from the Biblical passage in 2 Samuel chapter 22. It reads in part: “O Lord, You are my lamp. The Lord Lights up My Darkness.” It is a message that organizers say is needed now more than ever.

“It seemed all we were talking about was darkness,” Kathy Branzell, President of the National Day of Prayer Task Force told CBN’s Faith Nation. “‘Oh, America’s getting darker, our schools are getting darker, my neighborhood’s getting darker.'”

Branzell explained, “While that might feel true, the truth is darkness is the absence of light. This year by lifting up the Word, we know His Word in prayer won’t return void and we’re going to light up this world.”

The annual National Day of Prayer, which was established by Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, is a call for Americans to humble themselves before Almighty God, to seek His guidance, wisdom, and blessing.

Branzell said events like the unrest and anti-semitic protests on college campuses should guide how Christians pray.

“We are praying God’s presence on those campuses. We are praying for the Holy Spirit to come in and for hatred to be diminished and for love to come in and to take over,” she said.

The hope is that the light already breaking through at some schools will spread to others.

Author and speaker Jennie Allen who has witnessed repentance, revival, and mass baptisms on several college campuses said many students are ready to hear the message of salvation.

“Gen Z is different,” Allen said in an interview on CBN News’ The PrayerLink. “They are open to God, and they want to confess their sin. They’re sick of the world and they want something different. Not all of them, but a lot of them.”

“And I think what the older Church needs to hear and believe is that it’s possible,” added Allen. “God is doing it again. He is awakening His people. And so, to pray and to pull those kids into your life and your home and disciple them because they’re hungry.”

In a nation divided by politics, race, and hot-button social issues, organizers realize that only a unified Church can pray with power. That is why the National Day of Prayer is partnering with the National Unity Weekend movement which brings churches together every June to teach on unity and serve their communities.

Bishop Derek Grier of Grace Church in Dumfries, Virginia is the founder of the group.

“If there was ever a time our nation needed unity it’s right now—particularly before we go into this election season,” Grier told CBN News. “And as the Church unites around the things that we have in common, the things that we disagree over become minor. And with that, people in our various communities can run into the church as a place of refuge.”

A refuge of light that outshines the darkness.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

http://theendtimeradio.com

Nigeria — Armed “bandits” shot and killed Reverend Manasseh Ibrahim on Tuesday, April 23, in Kaduna state as he traveled to a church conference.

The reverend served under the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Kaduna Central District Church. Violence in Kaduna state, often directed toward Christians, has left thousands of believers in a state of fear.

“Christians who are direct victims of banditry and insurgency in Kaduna state are fed up with the inability of the Nigerian government to find a lasting solution to the incessant killings of innocent Christians,” said Yahaya Kinge, chairman of the local Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Islamic Fulani militants have caused countless atrocities throughout northern Nigeria in the last decade, causing the deaths and kidnappings of thousands.

Between the fall of 2022 and 2023, 4,118 Christians in Nigeria died for their faith, and 3,300 were kidnapped, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List. Despite the regular occurrence of violence, witnesses often describe a visible lack of response from government entities.

Witnesses interviewed by International Christian Concern (ICC) staff describe police watching nearby as militants and sometimes members of the community attack places of worship. They also share that different members of the community riot and cause enough damage to prevent trials, keeping Christians accused of crimes in jail.
Sources:persecution

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നൈജീരിയയിലെ ഒരു ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ ഫുലാനി തീവ്രവാദികൾ നടത്തിയ ആക്രമണത്തിൽ 12 ക്രൈസ്തവർ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടു. പുലർച്ചെ രണ്ടുമണിക്കാണ് ഫുലാനി തീവ്രവാദികൾ ആക്രമണം നടത്തിയതെന്ന് പ്രാദേശിക വൃത്തങ്ങൾ അറിയിച്ചു.

മംഗു കൗണ്ടിയിലെ തിലേംഗ്പാൻ പുഷിത്തിലെ കർഷക സമൂഹത്തിൽ, ഫുലാനികൾ ഒരു പ്രകോപനവുമില്ലാതെ മാരകായുധങ്ങളുമായി ആക്രമിച്ചതായി റസിഡൻ്റ് ഇസ്രായേൽ ബംഷക് പറഞ്ഞു. “ഇരകളിൽ ഭൂരിഭാഗവും ആക്രമണകാരികളിൽ നിന്ന് രക്ഷപ്പെടാൻ കഴിയാത്ത സ്ത്രീകളും കുട്ടികളുമാണ്”- ബംഷാക്ക് വെളിപ്പെടുത്തി. ഫുലാനി ഇടയന്മാരാണ് ആക്രമണം നടത്തിയതെന്ന് മാംഗു ലോക്കൽ ഗവൺമെന്റ കൗൺസിൽ ചെയർമാൻ മർകസ് ആർതു പറഞ്ഞു.

പ്രകോപനമില്ലാതെയുള്ള ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ തടയാൻ തന്റെ സർക്കാർ ശ്രമിച്ചിട്ടും, അക്രമികൾ കൂടുതൽ ക്രൂരമായ ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ തുടരുന്നതിൽ ഗവർണർ കാലേബ് മുത്ഫ്വാങ് ദുഃഖം രേഖപ്പെടുത്തി. യാതൊരു പ്രകോപനവുമില്ലാത്ത ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ ആയതിനാൽ ക്രിസ്ത്യാനികളോട് ഉറച്ചുനിൽക്കാൻ മുത്ഫ്വാങ് അഭ്യർഥിച്ചു. സുരക്ഷ കൊണ്ടുവരാൻ തന്റെ സർക്കാർ സുരക്ഷാ ഏജൻസികളുമായി സഹകരിക്കുന്നത് തുടരുമെന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം പറഞ്ഞു.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com

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