Most recent prayer requests are on top of this page
Prayer for Tolerance
Gigi, an African from Ethiopia (possibly the first nation to accept Christ), and Scott, whose ancestors were Scottish, Irish and French, send this New Year’s Prayer for you—a prayer for love and tolerance. We’ve served Muslims and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, and now Atheists and Buddhists in Vietnam. Many of these people are the most devout, kind, and loving people you’d ever hope to meet. Some are refugees, fleeing war, famine, tragedies. By us believers showing love and tolerance, these lost sheep may some day know God, the one and only God. Or, they could be lost forever through the bigotry, fear, and hatred we sometimes see throughout the western Christian church. Jesus called us to love (through teaching, praying, feeding, healing throughout all the nations), And that’s why he’s become the focus of our love and worship. For He is worthy. Are we?
A Prayer for School Teachers
God, today I pray for school teachers. I pray that You would strengthen and equip them as they help children to explore and understand the world. I pray for those I know now. Grant them creativity and innovation and a desire and ability to nurture and nourish children mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
Lectio 365
As war breaks out, please pray for Ethiopia to be united, and in peace
Covid-19, long simmering ethnic rivalries, a breakaway region, Tigray, declaring its own local government, and then the explosion: After armed rebels attacked a military base in Tigray, the federal government has responded with a full-out attack. It’s a complicated scenario with long-standing animosities between tribes and between political factions. We lift all sides up in prayer. We pray for immediate cessation of violence, a determined effort to settle differences diplomatically, and an agreement of unity for this long-suffering country. See this report for more details of current news.
A Praise: Thankful for God Using Us During 15 Years in Ministry!
We’ve been so blessed to have children of all ages as the focus of our ministry over the past 15 years. We started in January 2006 in Ethiopia, and moved the full-time ministry to Vietnam in 2018 while maintaining our Family & School Empowerment Centers in Ethiopia.
Thank you, Lord Jesus. We feel so grateful in this season.
Mark 9:36-37: “He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
For more pictures, please see Galleries at Ethiopia-Empowerment.com and ScottDouglasMartell.com .
Pray for our neighbors in Quang Ngai hit hard by Typhoon Molave
Our hometown was hard hit by Typhoon Molave. Please keep the people in prayer. No electricity or four days, many home destroyed, much flooding. Please see news story and more photographs here.
Coronavirus hits close to home
A surge of Coronavirus swept through Ethiopia in August and early September, sending some of our friends and family for long stays in the hospital. One sweet man—a cousin—succumbed to the virsus and died. Another man remains in the hospital in critical condition. We ask for prayers for friends and family as they cope with this new reality. And we all must send prayers throughout the entire global community as it struggles to overcome this deadly virus.
Ethiopia, a developing country facing political and economic upheaval, had only about 1,000 cases in June. On June 1, there were eight reported deaths. Today (Oct. 11) , the total is 1,287. Daily cases peaked near 2,000 per day in August, and have fallen, with some dips and rises, from 600-800 as we write this prayer. Total cases are nearing 85,000.
Prayers for GERD Agreement
Pray that Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan can find common ground this week (Aug. 17-21) about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. For a full analysis of the issue by the Brookings Institute, click here. The nearly completed $5 billion dam has been a source of contention between the three countries. Cairo fears the project will significantly cut its crucial water supplies from the Nile River, while Sudan fears it could endanger the safety of its own dams. Ethiopia says the massive project, which it hopes will make it Africa’s largest power exporter, is key to its development efforts.
Prayer for Ethiopia, facing Pandemic and ‘Plague’
Ethiopia, one of world’s first Christian countries and the cornerstone for peace in the Horn of Africa, needs our prayers. It’s a relatively poor nation faced with COVID-19, at the same time it’s being ravaged by a biblical ‘plague.’ We understand the devastation of COVID-19 as most of us are experiencing it. And we can imagine how it might be for those in poorer, more densely populated countries without the quantity and quality of medical resources found in more developed nations. The ‘plague’ is desert locusts. This spring, just at the beginning of the rainy season when conditions will worsen, the locusts are migrating through the country. Half a million acres have already been destroyed, forcing one million people to require emergency food aid. Read Exodus 10:1-20 for a historical lesson. And see the National Geographic here for what is happening in Ethiopia today. For Ethiopia, this plague could be far worse than COVID-19.
Pray for the Yemenis
Aisha al-Juaidi is my imaginary friend who has suffered in life, and whom I want to save physically and spiritually. This young Yemeni girl is the antagonist in my newest suspense novel, The Terrorist’s Redemption. When I picture her face, I see the face of one of my fifth-grade students at the School of Tomorrow in Addis Ababa, a Yemeni girl taken out of class five years ago and disappearing, most likely home to Yemen. As I read that Yemen has had its first coronavirus case (April 10) my heart goes out to the Yemeni people and send a prayer to the people to this war-torn country. SEE BLOG HERE.
Pray for ALL the World’s victims of the dangerous coronavirus
God, please protect all of us from the coronavirus that threatens the world. It started in China, in one large city, but has now spread throughout the world. There have been 102,257 cases and 3,497 deaths as of March 7, with no end in sight. Remarkably, Vietnam has had only 17 cases, with no deaths reported. Seventeen people have died in the United States. God, show your love to all the families who’ve lost loved ones in China, Italy, Iran, Japan, Korea, and everywhere else where there have been multiple fatalities. Let the world know you, and have peace.
Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash [Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash]
Pray for Family Compassion
Please pray for the son of Debretu, a man with significant disabilities. His mother took care of him all her life, but recently passed away. He stays at the family home, and a sister and her family live nearby. Previously, while the mother was alive, they’d shown no interest in helping the young man. We lift up the family, that God intervenes, changes hearts, makes this a working family unit full of love, compassion and responsibility.
Pray for Belaynesh Family
Please pray for Belaynesh and her family for the loss of son, Teddy, far right. It’s a devastating blow to a mother of four regaining her footing and beginning to empower her family after a very difficult life. But Teddy is in heaven, looking down at his mom, cheering her on. Hearts and prayers to the family.