Beirut, LEBANON

Along the calm blue Mediterranean Sea walks a veiled Muslim woman, her arm interlocked with the arm of another woman wearing a bright mini skirt and tight tank top. Beirut is a gateway city full of contrast, a beautiful mosaic of peoples. It’s been called “The Party Capital of the Middle East,” and in years past, “The Paris of the Middle East.”
From its lush Mediterranean coastline, to its snow-capped mountains, to its world-class shopping, to its ancient souks, to its progressive modern thinking to its brutal violence, Beirut is a unique, diverse, and challenging city of opportunity.

• Cry Out that Beirut will be a city of Light where many people encounter Christ to take His Good News to other cities and villages across the Middle East and beyond.
• Cry Out for the oppressive spirit of vanity and self-centeredness plaguing many in Beirut. Pray that people in Beirut find their value in Jesus and not in anything or anyone else.
• Cry Out for forgiveness and reconciliation between the different religious and political groups in Beirut.

Damascus, SYRIA

Damascus is an ancient city that was known during the biblical time of Abraham. It might be the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city and a foundational capital city. It has been a life giving oasis city. The old city is still surrounded by a wall with gates protecting those coming to attack it. It is from this wall that Apostle Paul was lowered in a basket. The city now has expanded way outside those protective walls and is a significant world class city.
The site of the Umayyad Mosque has been a religious center throughout time. The Romans worshipped Jupiter. Christians worshipped the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Muslims took over the site and turned it into a mosque where the head of John the Baptist is said to be entombed.
Damascus is the location where the government of Syria controlled the country. Pray that the government would have wisdom in how to move forward the great divide that has been caused by the civil war and also the evil powers of ISIS.

•  Pray that the strong biblical roots that this city has, with connections to Abraham, and even the radical conversion of the Apostle Paul, could strengthen the Christians living here so that they might walk with Him and be a light into darkness.
  
• Pray that out of ISIS and other radical Islamic groups that God would raise up more Apostle Pauls who would not only come to know Christ, but be amazing witnesses to Jesus’ saving power.

Aleppo, SYRIA

Throughout History Aleppo has been a trading city that is located between the Mediterranean Sea and Iraq. It is surrounded by farmlands. The citadel rises up as a symbol of military strength and power. Before the modern civil war or revolution (Arab Spring), and before the expansion and growth of ISIS, Aleppo was a city where you could find Christian churches next to Muslim mosques. Christians have been in Syria since the earliest days of Christianity (over 2000 years) and the Gospel would have been preached throughout Syria. Christians have now been targeted in the city and even the Armenian Church of Forty Martyrs has been destroyed. The Church here has been under Islamic pressure since the rise to power of Mohammed, but now after 2000 years the Church is threatened with extinction. Aleppo has become a city where some of the largest battles have taken place in the country.

•  Pray that there will be an end to the death and destruction caused by ISIS and the civil war/revolution.
  
•  Pray that Christianity would not become extinct in this city. It has survived so long, pray that bothers and sisters in the Lord would continue to live as witnesses here.
  
• Pray that Arab Christians would be protected from all the forces of evil that would seek their destruction.
  
• Pray Christians would be strengthened, maturing in Him each day even as they face persecution.

​Amman, JORDAN

The Jordanian capital city of Amman is a city of seven jabals, or steep hills, built on the site of the ancient Ammonite city of Rabbah. It is believed to be the place where King David sent Uriah the Hittite to his death (2 Samuel 11). In Roman times it was known as Philadelphia, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis.
Amman is a city of refugees, with a majority of its population originally from Palestine, and a large, highly disputed, number of Iraqi refugees now residing in its neighborhoods. Prior to 1948, Amman was a city of about 10,000 people, but in the past 60 years it has grown to almost 2.5 million! Many Jordanians continue to move to Amman to study and open businesses.

• Cry Out for Christ’s love to penetrate the diverse communities in Amman so that every family and every person will know that God loves them and wants relationship with them through Jesus.
• Cry Out for the Church in Amman to be strong and courageous. Pray they have freedom and boldness to proclaim the Good News to every town and village across Jordan.

Baghdad, IRAQ

Thousands of years ago, Baghdad was famous for being one of the most important cities in Islam, and for being home to many impressive scholars, artists, and poets. A few decades ago, Baghdad was again a thriving city due to its oil wealth, until the Iraq-Iran War began in 1980 and stagnated its economic prosperity. Baghdad was a center of horrific violence during Saddam Hussein’s reign, and in recent years that violence has continued, frightening local families of every religious group, destabilizing this capital city.

• Cry Out for families in Baghdad to find rest and hope in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
• Cry Out that people in Baghdad will seek God with all their hearts, souls, and minds, and pray they experience comfort and forgiveness through the transforming power of Christ.

Najaf and Karbala, IRAQ

Najaf and Karbala are the spiritual heart of Shiite Islam. Karbala is particularly significant to Shiite Muslims because it marks the place where Imam Hussein and 72 of his family and followers were killed in 680 AD. Najaf is where Imam Ali, father of Imam Hussein and also cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, is buried. Many Shiites dream of being buried in the Imam Ali Cemetery in Najaf, said to be the largest cemetery in the entire world.

• Cry Out for God to send laborers to share the Good News in Najaf and Karbala, and in other towns and villages across the Marshlands of Southern Iraq.
• Cry Out for spiritual hunger to be great among Iraqi Shiites, especially Shiite leaders.
• Cry Out that many Shiites find Jesus and begin to follow Him in Najaf and Karbala, so that the Good News will spread to Shiites everywhere from these two important Shiite cities.

Basra, IRAQ

Bosra is the second largest city in Iraq, with 1.7 million residents. The Bosra province has most of Iraq’s oil reserves and is Iraq’s only port in the far south of the country on the Persian Gulf. Although Southern Iraq is relatively safer than Baghdad, families live in fear of gangs and religious militias.

• Cry Out for the small Christian community in Bosra to have boldness to share the Good News with their Shiite neighbors. Pray they will be like Paul when he went to Athens, communicating the Truth in ways the city’s residents can understand.