Ten Prayer requests for Iraq

Christianity in Iraq is slowly disappearing.

After years of violence and oppression, more and more believers are leaving Iraq. In the past 30 years, nearly one million Christians have departed, leaving an estimated 150,000-200,000 in the whole country.

As part of Open Doors ongoing Hope for the Middle East campaign, will you join us in praying for Iraq?

Pray

– Please pray for protection and safety of the civilian families on Iraqi-Turkish borders. The military ground operations of Turkey have extended to neighbouring villages; the Turkish army is opening fire on the villages causing panic and fear among civilians. Since the middle of June, the Turkish army has been targeting PKK, the Kurdish workers’ party, who are located in the mountain areas in Iraq’s northern border region.

– Pray for the young Iraqi graduates. Each year groups of graduates volunteer to work as free lecturers in school, in the hope that they will be hired as official government employees in the future. Many of them faced disappointment when the ministry of education held on to them but didn’t hire them. Please pray for the young volunteers to be able to find a job to meet their daily needs.

– There is a lack of legal punishment for criminals who commit “honour crimes” – harming a woman under the pretext of protecting her honour; for instance, as a punishment for immodesty. This is a factor contributing to the increase of violence and murders against women and children. Pray to end the honour crimes and pray for a society free of violations.

– Pray for wisdom for political leaders in Iraq. Pray that they may lead the country to peace and far from corruption.

– Fear spread among the Iraqi people after a crisis development between the US government and Iran-supported militias in Iraq. The militias targeted the US embassy in Baghdad by missile strikes. The US threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad if the Iraqi government fails to act against the militia groups. This might also limit help from abroad. Please pray for peace and stability for the people in Iraq.

– Pray for the families of 2 women and 5 children who died when a missile hit their home in Baghdad. Pray that conflict on Iraqi soil will end.

– Pray for protection and stability for the Christians in the Nineveh plain. In 2014 Christians in Iraq were the main target of the so-called Islamic state. They were expelled and displaced, their house and villages were destroyed and many of them left the country. The number of Christians decreased dramatically. While thousands of them are now back, the security situation remains unstable. Pray for peace.

– Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq got infected. Pray for medical staff. There is a lack of medical equipment. Ask the lord for their protection and ask Him to strengthen them to continue to serve.

– Please continue to pray for the families of government employees in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Due to an economic and political disagreement between the central government of Iraq and Kurdish authorities, they haven’t received their salaries since the beginning of 2020. Ask the Lord for wisdom for the leaders on both sides to solve the problem that affects so many people economically.

– Ask for the Lord’s mercy for people who are passing through a very difficult financial time. Before the pandemic, poverty was already at high levels. During the lockdown, because of COVID-19, people were forced to stay home. Many people lost their job. The economic situation is worsening each day. This comes on top of the security issues and related fears that people are already dealing with.

Learn More

Iraq is number 15 on the 2020 World Watch List. You can learn more about Iraq’s statistics and challenges on its Country Profile.

You can also hear more about the situation in Iraq on the World Watch Weekly podcast.