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Environmental Missions Prayer Digest
May 2010 |
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Greetings!
"How do you pray about an oil spill?"
That's the question our friend Ed Brown asks in a worthy blog posting about the BP spill off the Gulf Coast. He writes, "We know historically - and many of us know personally - that God will sometimes step in to help in a situation like this, not because we deserve it but because we don't. He will act for his own sake when he does not have to act for ours. This is mercy. And we need it."
This issue of the Environmental Missions Prayer Digest directs our attention to an oil drilling region so beset by constant oil spills that it no longer makes the news: Ogoniland in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Job asks a question of his own, after a long meditation on the wonders of drilling through the earth's crust (Job 28:3-4, 10-15):
They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the
farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for
ore. They sink a
mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They
descend on ropes, swinging back and forth. . .They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. They dam up the trickling
streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.
"But do people know where to
find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
No one knows where to find
it, for it is not found among the living. 'It is not here,' says the
ocean. 'Nor is it here,' says the sea. It cannot be bought with
gold. It cannot be purchased with silver.
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Pray for the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta
Oil has not been a blessing: spills, piracy, sabotage, corruption, pollution, executions, adverse economic impact
 I have a suggestion for actor Don Cheadle. Having starred in Hotel Rwanda, and having co-authored Not on our Watch (about genocide in Darfur), he should consider Ogoniland on the Niger Delta in Nigeria as his next afrocentric project. He could even play the lead role of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmental activist executed in 1995 after having criticized the government's tie-in with Shell Oil.
The Ogoni, numbering about 500,000, have benefited little from the drilling that takes place just off-shore or in the swamps of the delta. Most oil jobs are filled by outsiders. Income flows to the hands of the corrupt government and to the corporation. Development projects among the Ogoni are difficult to launch as the government often accuses projects of being "MOSOP-inspired," a reference to the often-militant Movement for the Survival of Ogani People.
Operational oil spills were at a low in 2009, but spills caused by sabotage or piracy reached a new high. Last year, Shell reported 13,900 metric tons spilled into the Niger Delta. Militants or thieves storm off-shore rigs or punch holes in land-based pipelines. Spills over swampland are particularly difficult to stem or to clean-up.
Please
pray:
for
the cause of the Ogoni people, that it might be peaceably promoted and justly addressed
for divine mercy on an oppressed people
The Joshua Project claims 90% adherence to Christianity among the Ogoni, in a country with a long history of Christian activity. Pray the church, both in Nigeria and worldwide, would love their Ogoni brothers and sisters in practical ways.
for an end to the environmental devastation of the Niger Delta.
Photos: Ed Kashi
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Pray for creation care awareness among Muslims
Rabat, Morocco becomes first Muslim city to officially host Earth Day celebrations
Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco actively promotes environmental care, particularly among youth. | April 22th's Earth Day may have marked the 40th Anniversary of that event, but for the North African country of Morocco, it was a day of firsts-- first African, first Muslim, first Arab nation to officially commemorate Earth Day. The National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development was announced with projects designed to address desertification, ecosystem conservation, waste treatment, and use of plastic bags. The Kingdom of Morocco has vowed to plant one million trees in 2010, and derive 42% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Please pray:
- for the success of the National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development
- for the success of the king's own Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and particularly for their education projects among youth.
- for Morocco to influence other Muslim countries in their region and around the world.
- for the spread of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ among Muslims in North Africa and around the world.
Photo: Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
Links:"Morocco leads the green revolution," Todd Baer, AlJazeera
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What should we pray for next month?
We are always asking that question of God, not only because we need to publish a new prayer digest next month, but because we want to be praying for that ministry, people group, or issue where God Himself is ready to act. If you would like to suggest a prayer focus, please contact us.
Who else could be praying?
The "Forward E-mail" link below represents one of the best ways to mobilize prayer for environmental missions. Who among your friends and contacts would like this invitation to pray?
God bless you,
Lowell & Robynn Bliss
Eden Vigil
Links: Contact the editors, Eden Vigil website, Donations to Eden Vigil
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