The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME)

Prayer Update, May 6 2011    

Baghdad   

A prayer for security and comfort

Following the killing of Osama Bin Laden, security across Iraq, as in many countries, has been increased for fear of a surge in extremist attacks. 

Al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it will step up attacks in the wake of Bin Laden's death.

Several bombs have struck in and around Baghdad in the past two days, as the country's army and police were placed on high alert. Yesterday, up to 27 people were killed and almost 80 injured when a suicide bomber sped his car into a Police HQ in the the city of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad.  

Please pray for all those involved, for strength, comfort and blessing at this time. Pray they will be slow to anger, and know the peace, compassion and grace of God in their lives. Pray for the safety of all.

A prayer for communication

In other news, it was announced this week that the 22-member Arab League Summit, which was due to meet in Baghdad in March, has been postponed until next year. It's said the decision is a result of the current climate in the Middle East, and the desire to have as high and broad a representation as possible. Please pray that the summit, an opportunity for many to come together for frank talks, will be back on track in good time. And may opportunities arise in its absence for alternative meetings to bring the leaders together.

Blessings

And this week, praise God for the first book fair in Iraq for 20 years. The Baghdad International Book Fair has been hailed by organisers and attendees as the country's return to the global literary scene. It featured more than 200 publishing houses from 32 countries, displaying around 37,000 books.

Abdulwahab al-Radhi, president of the Iraqi Publishers' Association, told news agency AFP that the last book fair was in 1990, before Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Since then, and with the violence that followed the 2003, it has not been possible to hold another.

Thousands of Iraqis visited the exhibition. One woman, a 53-year-old civil servant, said that following the 2003 invasion, Iraq fell into an 'intellectual coma - but the country is slowly waking up.'

Prayers

Please do keep praying for the people of Iraq, pray that this book fair will be the first of many events to offer a glimpse of normality, culture, and peace in this broken society once more.

Amid all this, please remember too our congregation at St George's Church and the staff and patients of St George's Clinic. Pray they have a blessed week, feel the joy and love of God in their lives, and the kindness of neighbours.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.   

If you have a prayer for our work which you'd like to share,  I'd love to hear from you.  

Every blessing   

Jenny Williams