It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her students, and the people of PNG.
Anyone else?
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Wandering Views 
The Hausa are the largest ethnic group in West Africa, numbering over 30 million. They are very influential, both culturally and politically, and have been heavily involved in long-distance trading for many centuries. In comparison to other African tribes, the Hausa have reasonable standards of healthcare, diet, shelter, electricity, and education. However, life for the Hausa is still very difficult: Nearly one-third of the people are unemployed, and only about half of the population can read and write. In the 15th century, the Hausa were introduced to Islam by traders.
Today, the Hausa culture remains strongly linked to Islam, which makes it difficult to reach this people group with the Gospel. There is a lot of prejudice against the Christians of southern Nigeria; thus there has been intense persecution of the Christian Hausa.
Please pray…
Ask God to encourage and protect the small number of Hausa believers in Nigeria and Niger.
Pray that the Hausa traditional Muslim culture will soften, creating open doors for the Gospel to be preached among them.
The Hausa have many practical needs such as education and safe drinking water. Pray that the Hausa would come to know Jesus, the giver of Living Water.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Will be praying, Tychicus. Thank you.
There’s a serious situation in the county in which my son works. Due to the extreme cold, the diesel fuel in some county generators gelled, rendering them unusable if the power should go out. The most serious potential problem is that the county building in which the 911 system is in place is at risk. If that system goes down and no calls can come through, well… I don’t need to say more.
They got the diesel ungelled at some point yesterday, and are experimenting with using different types of diesel to power the generators. Some who work for the county, as my son does, probably did an all-nighter after working all day, trying to prevent a catastrophe. Please pray for the safety of everyone in that area. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Tychichus, I have forwarded that to some of my siblings. My parents met and married, and gave birth to my oldest brother, among the Hausa-speaking tribes. I grew up watching the slides periodically, and my parents’ wedding photo was taken in front of their grass-thatched church building. Other than Mom and Dad, the only ones who spoke English (or understood the ceremony) were the pastor and the witnesses, a missionary couple. Their wedding music was a record of Helen Barth ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD-F8ZK8xQV82wzocTeQkOg )
LikeLiked by 5 people
Tychicus, I am always overwhelmed when I see such large numbers as 30 million. I know nothing is impossible for God and His light overcomes the darkness. I am so use to praying for individual needs that I feel awkward praying on such a grand scale even though I have the information before me. I am praying with faith that God will move. How do you reconcile praying for the masses to praying for individual needs? I do not want to feel defeated by numbers in my prayer life. Maybe pray that I can understand better how to pray for masses.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Belated thanks for your prayer last week after my fall and hard bump to the head Thursday night. I felt extra tired and kind of fuzzy for about a day and a half, but was quite recovered in time to enjoy dinner out with Mrs. B and the national ice dancing competition Saturday evening.
LikeLiked by 8 people