Since South Sudan became independent in 2011, the situation for Sudan’s religious minorities has become increasingly difficult. President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, vowed that the country’s new constitution would be based on Shari’a law alone, making Christians even more vulnerable.

Christians face harassment, surveillance and arrest. The government has expelled around 100 foreign workers, closed several Christian affiliated schools and training centres, and earlier this year announced that no new church licences would be issued. It has bombed civilians in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States, obstructs aid to these areas, and has undermined efforts to monitor fighting in Darfur and to protect and provide for civilians there.

This week please:

• Pray for encouragement for Christians in Sudan, that they would receive peace, strength and boldness;
• Pray for church leaders as they steer their congregations through great uncertainty;
• Pray for Christian students who are frequently arrested and monitored in Sudan;
• Ask God to protect Christian converts who are increasingly under pressure;
• Pray that the government of Sudan would hold wider consultations as it drafts a new constitution, and that the document would reflect the nation’s ethnic and religious diversity;
• Pray for an end to repression of civil society and for freedom of expression and opinion to be respected;
• Pray for peace in the troubled areas of South Kordofan (particularly the Nuba Mountains), Darfur, and Blue Nile; and for a peaceful future for the disputed Abyei region.Pray for children caught up in religious conflict; pray for their strength, protection and growth;