Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about the Uyghur People Group.
Uyghur Women
Please join with Youth With A Mission’s global prayer day this month as we lift up a large Muslim people group that is facing a crisis right now.
The Uyghur [WEE-gur] people numbers around 15 million. Their traditional homeland is located mainly in Xinjiang [SHIN-jong] province in Northwest China. In recent years, small numbers of Uyghurs have responded to the gospel, and at this time there are a few hundred Uyghur Christians.
Historically, the Uyghurs and communist China have had ongoing conflicts. But recently, things have escalated dramatically. Under the guise of eliminating Islamic extremism, approximately one million Uyghurs have been detained in “re-education camps,” usually indefinitely. The camps are overcrowded and the Uyghurs are forced to learn communist propaganda. Some detainees have claimed they were tortured. Outside the camps, conditions are not much better. Families are being torn apart and some businesses have closed because owners have “disappeared.”
There is a very small Uyghur Christian community that is also being targeted and most leaders and strong believers have been detained. The Uyghur Christian fellowships, small and fragile to begin with, have been driven almost out of existence.
Although Uyghurs are predominantly Muslim and have been for about 1,000 years, historical findings show that there was once a strong Christian community among the Uyghur tribe. They had many churches and were also involved in taking the gospel to other Central Asian peoples. Many Uyghur Christians believe that God wants to revive the destiny of the Uyghur people in these days. They believe that this involves many Uyghurs embracing the gospel and taking God’s good news across Central Asia. They also believe that the enemy is doing his best to stop this destiny from becoming a reality.
Will you join YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, this month and pray for the Uyghurs? You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, May 9. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to pray for the ending of this oppression and for Uyghurs to turn to Jesus in great numbers. Let’s pray that the Uyghurs would rise up with identity restored, healed and bringing the Good News across Central Asia and the world. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed for the Uyghurs. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.
Xinjiang
Prepare to Pray:
Before you begin to pray, find a table from your classroom or dining room and cover it in blankets, drapes, or other fabric. It should be covered all around and right down to the floor. You may want to put additional blankets or cushions under the table, in the ‘tent’ you have created.
In groups of 3 or 4, have people sit in the darkness under the table for a few minutes at a time. While there, experiencing darkness, discomfort and confinement, bring to mind those Uyghrs who have been forcibly removed from their homes and families, who are persecuted and in terrible fear. Consider those Christian Uyghurs who are in detention even today. Allow yourself to imagine the loss, grief and fear they might be feeling.
As you experience the emotion of this place of darkness and great need, turn your longing towards God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – whose great desire and purpose is to rent open this darkness in order for the light of His presence to be made known. As you leave the shadows of the ‘tent’ where you have been sitting, you might want to make this declaration in faith for the Uyghur people:
“Through Jesus dark death has been destroyed and radiant life is everywhere restored!”
Remain in this heart place of identification and faith for the Uyghur as you move through your prayer time.
Uyghur Children
Pray for Uyghurs People Group:
- Pray for the camps to close and oppression against Uyghurs to end.
- Pray that the Uyghurs would rise up with identity restored, healed and bringing the Good News across Central Asia and the world.
- Pray for governments and those in places of influence. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 21:1
- Pray for those in detention camps. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16
- Pray that the enemy’s plans for these camps would be halted.
- Pray for the families of those in detention camps.
- Pray for Xinjiang Province. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
- Pray for God’s plans for Xinjiang to come to pass and for the enemy’s plans to be cancelled.
- Pray that people in Xinjiang would cry out to God in their time of trouble.
- Pray for Uyghurs in other parts of the world, like Central Asia, Europe and North America.
- Pray for the Uyghur Church, that Christian fellowships would be restored and strengthened. “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18.
- Pray for a spirit of forgiveness and that Uyghur Christians would actively forgive.
- Pray that Uyghur Christians would sense God’s presence and peace. Pray that these believers would pray with hope and fervor.
- Pray for prayer movements to cover the Uyghur’s situation. Pray for God to reveal strategies in prayer for the Uyghurs. “And I will pour on [them] the Spirit of grace and supplication.” Zechariah 12:10
- Pray for Uyghur believers to be released from detention camps.
- Pray for missionaries to the Uyghurs. Pray that God would call missionaries to the Uyghurs and equip them to participate in what He is going to do.
- Praise God for His love for those in Xinjiang and His plans for the Uyghur people.
- Praise God that Jesus has died for the Uyghur’s salvation and restoration.
- Praise God that there are Uyghurs who believe in Jesus and follow Him.
The Uyghur people in China stand in urgent need of prayer in this hour. Forgotten by the world, the Uyghur people’s only hope is that God would move mightily on their behalf.
Anonymous
Take Action
- Our prayers are powerful to get His kingdom to come on the earth! Expand your prayer influence for the Uyghurs:
- Raise the awareness of the need to pray for Uyghurs with others (prayer chains, prayer groups, etc.).
- Post this prayer guide somewhere that will remind you to pray.
- Invite others to pray. Many intercessors are unaware of this situation. But agreement and unity increase the power of our prayers many-fold! Feel free to copy and distribute this prayer guide.
- Conduct research using suggestions below. After conducting research on your own or in a group pray to God and ask Him what He would have you do.
- Stay informed: Frequently do internet searches for “Uyghur detention, Uyghur oppression, etc.” New information is coming out nearly every week. This information can be fuel for prayer. This article was posted in April, 2019: https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=38001
- Watch this BBC news report for an overview of the Uyghur camp situation:
- Watch the video and read the article of one refugee who was detained: http://time.com/5467628/china-uighur-congress-torture/
- Read this research from the Concerned Scholars website: https://concernedscholars.home.blog.
- Subscribe to this online magazine on religious liberty and human rights in china: www.bitterwinter.org and then do a search on Xinjiang or Uyghur. You can also get connected to its social media platform, find articles and videos.
- Take up the cause. Find a way for your voice to help the Uyghurs. If you are in the USA or associated with the USA, write your congress men/women and demand they address the human rights abuses of the Uyghurs.
- Google Uyghurrestaurants in your area and if there are any go and strike up a conversation and encourage the owners and workers.
- Pray for the Uyghurs and other Muslims during Ramadan May 5 – June 4. Participate in 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. Order prayer guides or sign up for emails at this site: https://www.30daysprayer.com/
- If you are interested in prayer and communication ask how you can be part of The Invitation: prayer@ywam.org We need administrator/coordinator; photographers/videographers; researchers; and translators for French and Indonesian.
- Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
- Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.
How We Prayed
April 2019 – YWAM Foundational Values #16 – 18
- We had a request to pray for Bangladesh and YWAM Bangladesh as God leads us.
Uyghur Woman
Future Topics:
- June 13, 2019: Central Europe
- July 11, 2019: Redeeming Cultures
Don’t Miss The Invitation:
- Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
- Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
- Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
- You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
- If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.
