Pray For…Iraq

Stats
•Population – 29,671,605
•Percentage of Evangelicals – 0.1%
•Total Number of People Groups – 33
•Number of Unreached People Groups – 33
•Language Spoken – Arabic, Kurdish, Turkoman
•Major Religion – Muslim (97%), Christian, Other
•Human Development Rank – N/A
•Persecution Index – 17

Home to the ancient Babylonians, Iraq has a long, rich history. After the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Britain occupied Iraq until it gained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. In 1958, it was declared a republic, but in actuality it functioned like a dictatorship being ruled by a series of autocratic leaders until 2003. Iraq has been in economic decline and conflict for about the past 30 years which has affected education and health services among other things. Conflicts have not only arose outside Iraq’s boarders, such as with Iran, but also from within between ethnic groups (i.e., Kurds and Arabs), religions, and amongst religions (i.e., Sunni and Shi’a). In 2005, a constitution was approved and representatives were elected to a Council democratically. However, Iraq has been plagued with uncertainty even since the installation of a national government. Many Christians have fled Iraq since 2003 due to instability and persecution. Those remaining still face widespread persecution. The number of known Christians are few. All 33 of Iraq’s people groups are unreached of which 30 do not have any known Gospel witness. There has been progress made with the country and within the church, but there is much still left to do. (Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Food Programme, Operation World, IMB Global Research)

•Pray for the people of Iraq who have endured over 7 years of war that God would work in their hearts and bring stability to their country.
•Pray for the future of Iraq as a country and the spread of the Gospel within it.
•Pray for the peoples of Iraq that God would send laborers to share the Gospel of Christ.
•Pray for God to strengthen our brothers and sisters as they endure in the name of Christ.