Christians around the world are being asked to pray for Nepal this weekend.
It’s a critical time for the Himalayan state as Nepalis go to the polls next Thursday to elect a new Constituent Assembly.
The assembly will draft a new constitution for the country, which has emerged from a decade-long civil war that claimed an estimated 13,000 lives until the government and the Maoists signed a peace deal in 2006.
But as we have seen elsewhere in the world, elections can bring trouble which makes this Sunday’s Global Day of Prayer for Nepal even more pertinent.
Nepal has experienced much political turbulence in recent years and there are fears these elections will bring a renewed bumpy ride.
The UN reports a significant number of districts have experienced a surge in clashes between different political party supporters in the run-up to polling day.
New chapter
Seven people have died in attacks and a bomb at a mosque killed two more.
Yet although Nepalese Christians are concerned about next week, they also have a purposeful sense of hope.
`We would like to encourage the national and international Christian community to join together in praying for Nepal,’ said a spokesperson for the prayer event.
`We believe the Lord is doing a new thing - Isaiah 42:19 - and beginning another chapter for the Himalayan nation of Nepal. Please pray for our nation.’
Tearfund has seven partners in Nepal working in a variety of areas such as advocacy, children’s rights, health programmes and support for people with disabilities and leprosy.
Through the support of the local church, work is being done with those who have been displaced by conflict, those living with HIV and people with TB.
• Please pray that the run-up to the elections will be peaceful and that the results are not a source of disagreement and cause for violence.
• Pray for the wisdom of those drafting the new constitution.
• Pray for unity among the Nepali churches and Christian organisations.
• Pray for reconciliation, harmony and tolerance between ethnic groups in Nepal.
• Pray for the work of Tearfund’s partners.