Day 26 Forty Day ‘Pray for Iran’ Campaign.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has well over half a million men in its military: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qods Force, Basij Force (mainly youth), and Law Enforcement Forces. These will be the people who are likely to suffer first in any new war and they will suddenly be called the ‘enemy’ by the international media.

Jesus and Paul never called the Roman soldiers the enemy, but rather reached out to them as individuals. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant and in Acts 16 Paul stopped the jailer from killing himself and told him how to be saved. So today, we want to reach out in prayer to these young Iranian servicemen and women in Iran’s military system.

Some, like the 125,000 in the Revolutionary Guards, are ultra conservative, but they are certainly not beyond the love of God. Many others, such as the 200,000 conscripts in the regular army, are ordinary young men and women with varying levels of commitment to their religion. In the army they receive ceaseless indoctrination and are expected to be fervent in the practice of Islam. They can be in serious trouble if they are not, and this makes life very difficult for Christian conscripts from a Muslim background.

Let us pray today for the individuals in Iran’s armed services:

* Pray for senior officers and other leaders. Pray there will be people like Cornelius in the book of Acts. Pray that they will experience the power of God as they seek to look after the needs of others.

* Pray that leaders in the army will stand up to any evil counsel that would plunge the country into crisis and war. Pray that peace will prevail.

* Pray against the recruitment of child soldiers. Tens of thousands of children, some as young as nine, died after being deployed in the Iran-Iraq war.

* Pray for the ordinary soldiers and their families whose hearts might be shaking at the prospect of war. Pray they will receive revelation of the true Lord and Saviour.

* Pray especially for all Christians in the armed services who are forced to work under such difficult circumstances.

Thank you for praying.