May 2018 Prayer Partner Message

Posted May 1, 2018

Dear Praying Friends,

There is a lot to pray about right now. For those concerned with the wellbeing of immigrants—especially those who have fled persecution in their countries of origin—there has been a lot of troubling news in the past few days.

All the news can be paralyzing—so much that I sometimes forget or feel too busy to do the most important thing that I can, bringing these situations to God in prayer. So I want to challenge you—and myself—to set aside some time today to pray through these situations:

Pray for children who have been forcibly separated from their parents and placed into the care of the federal government as a result of a new “zero tolerance” policy for immigrants (even those who are there to request asylum) apprehended at the US-Mexico border. Play for their quick reunification, and pray against the long-term impacts of trauma on these children
Pray for the roughly 22.5 million refugees in our world today who have been forced by persecution to flee their countries. Pray that the various governments of the world would respond with compassion, and that the Church in every country would lead the way in providing care, support, and love
Pray for those who have come to the US as refugees in years past and now, as a result of a dramatic decline in US refugee admissions, are unable to be reunited to close family members. Pray that God would comfort and provide for them and would protect their relatives who may still be at risk of persecution
Pray for the President, his cabinet, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Supreme Court and every other governmental entity responsible for making decisions that directly impact vulnerable and persecuted people, that God would give them wisdom and courage to do what is right
Pray for peace in the various countries that so many individuals and families have been forced to flee in recent years

As you pray, I also wanted to suggest a few practical ways that you could respond.

Add Your Name. The leadership of the Evangelical Immigration Table sent a letter to the White House today expressing serious concerns about new policies that are separating children from parents among asylum-seeking families at the US-Mexico border and urging our government to resume a robust refugee resettlement program. You can add your name to this letter here—and then invite others to do the same.
Help Inform Others. We’ve launched a new blog, Telling a Better Story, as a way to help share the stories of refugees and other immigrants as well as how local churches are being transformed as they reach out to their immigrant neighbors. This week, Kevin Singer looks at the biblical reasons that all Christians are, in a sense, refugees. In an earlier post, Jairo de Oliveira tells how his church in South Carolina began reaching out to refugees. Read, share—and maybe consider submitting your own story for potential publication.
Come to DC. If you can join us in Washington, DC on June 19 (the day before World Refuge Day), we’d be happy to help set up meetings on Capitol Hill with your Members of Congress and/or their staff. Please see https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/worldrefugeeday2018/ for more information and instructions to register.

And, as we take action, please do not stop praying—it’s the fuel that sustains any response.

In Christ,

Matthew Soerens
National Coordinator, Evangelical Immigration TablE