When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. (Deuteronomy 25:18,NIV)
In Deuteronomy 25, the Amalekites attacked unexpectedly, not during battle but by striking those who were weary, injured, and unable to fight after a long journey. They killed, plundered, and pursued their own purposes without mercy. God revealed their satanic nature and pronounced judgment, commanding their complete destruction.
Today, many nations around the world are effectively at war because of terrorist attacks by illegal armed groups. The dictionary definition of terror refers to the use of violence to threaten or instill fear. It is the act of individuals or groups with specific objectives using murder, kidnapping, abduction, assassination, and looting to create a state of public fear. Some terrorism is committed to achieve ideological or political goals, while other attacks occur without clear objectives, targeting random civilians and innocent people.
According to the 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an Australian think tank, there were 5,226 terrorist incidents worldwide in 2021, while deaths decreased by 1.2 percent to 7,142. The report showed that terrorism is highly concentrated in specific regions of the world, with most incidents occurring in countries already experiencing violent conflict. The ten countries most affected by terrorism, all located in conflict zones, accounted for 97 percent of total deaths.
In 2021, terrorism-related deaths were recorded in 44 countries, down from 55 in 2015. Nearly half, 48 percent, of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where terrorism remains a severe threat. Four of the ten countries with the highest number of terrorism-related deaths, Niger, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burkina Faso, are in this region.
The Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa has become the fastest growing base of some of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups. After suffering military defeats in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State (ISIS) shifted its operations to the Sahel. Since 2007, deaths from terrorism in this region have increased tenfold, making it the new epicenter of global terrorism. While ISIS-related deaths slightly decreased from 2,100 to 2,066, the report still identified the group and its affiliates as the world’s deadliest terrorists in 2021.
The factors most closely linked to terrorism vary depending on a country’s social and economic situation. In most nations, terrorism was tied to the lack of basic human rights. In OECD countries, social inequality, access to weapons, and high levels of militarization were significant factors. In other countries, weak institutions, communal grievances, and political instability were identified as the main drivers.
》Prayer Point
1. Many nations across the world suffer under the terror of illegal armed organizations. Let us pray that these groups, who use violence to threaten and instill fear while ruthlessly killing through terrorism, may recognize their sin and receive mercy to turn back. Let us pray that in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and among all nations, fear of God would prevail so that terrorism may cease.
》Scripture Prayer
Isaiah 2:2-5, 12-19(NIV)
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Let us pray that the wicked schemes of sinners who carry out terrorism in darkness and deceit, driving countless people to death, would fail. May the devil’s plots, working behind them, be exposed so that those driven into suicide bombings and others caught in danger would turn to the Lord and find life.
2. Let us pray for God’s intervention to stop terrorism in nations already suffering under the weight of mass killings through conflict and war. Before the day of the Lord comes when He will judge between nations and settle disputes for many peoples, let us pray that those who seek to achieve their purposes by spreading fear would humble themselves, repent, and come to worship the Lord.
3.Let us proclaim that only the gospel of the cross of Christ has the power to shatter the darkness. Let us pray that those who commit acts of terror would lay down their weapons, never again practice war, and instead be transformed into instruments of righteousness for God, walking in His light.
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