Day 24
Libya
Even at the beginning of a new year the people of Libya are yet to have anything good in the country. Successive governments have come and gone. So have UN special representatives and a series of highly touted, ultimately fruitless, summits and forums that promised much, yet delivered so little. Libya ranks 131st out of 137 countries, with weak governance and competing extraterritorial ambitions only serving to strengthen men at arms at the expense of laying the foundations for Libya’s political transformation. The country’s political and security situation has deteriorated. Pray for Libya’s socioeconomic woes and political stalemates to change for a better future. Pray for divine intervention and the rule of God manifested in the country changing the lives of Libyans (The Bible, 2 Peter 1:11).
Libya remains in 4th position in the World Watch report 2022 by Open Doors for severe Christian persecution. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibeh is a Libyan politician who is the current Prime Minister of Libya’s interim Government of National Unity. Incumbent Mohamed al-Menfi has been the president since 15 March 2021. The Libyan Prime Minister suggested holding parliamentary elections at the end of 2022 and to start preparations for polls in June. Libya’s government has been unstable for a decade. The situation for Christians in Libya changed drastically after the Gaddafi regime fell. The country fell into chaos, and weapons and Islamist ideologies flowed across the relaxed borders of Egypt. Islamist militia groups such as Ansar al-Sharia, the Nusra Front, and ISIS firmly embedded themselves in Libya and began to hunt down Christians. The world will never forget that on a beach ISIS beheaded Coptic Christians for their faith in Christ.
Day 24
Malaysia
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched a new reform program, saying the nation needs a “new narrative and a mindset change”. The reforms are geared to particularly address ongoing poverty, while the small percentage of rich people, get richer and control much of the direction of the nation. Praise God for this heart for the poor. Pray that the reforms will achieve their purpose. Jesus taught a great deal about taking care of the poor, and His Kingdom puts the first last and the last first. Pray that many Malaysians will recognize God the Father and the Son Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life (The Bible, John 8:42).
Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed Prime Minister last year, the third in three years. Political uncertainties have been the dominating factor in the life of the nation for the past 2 years and will likely continue to be so until the general elections are held, at the latest, in September 2023. Ethnic and religious divides characterize this nation. Fundamentalist Muslims carry a significant presence in Malaysia. Over the past decade, the government conducted widespread crackdowns to silence, harass and lock up hundreds of critics. A significant criticism of the way the government handled the COVID-19 pandemic has also been divisive. However, perhaps because of the pandemic, the last two years have also seen a significant increase in the number of prayer initiatives and watches across the nation, bringing together Christian Believers in united prayer for their nation and for God to protect and breakthrough.
