Thank you for joining us this week as we at the Baptist World Alliance pray for our global Baptist family and for God's work around the world. If you pray along with us weekly, you will pray for every country in the world each year!

Do you have a personal prayer request today? Your global Baptist family stands ready to intercede for you as well. Click the button below to share a prayer need.
Denmark

1 BWA Member Body
Baptist Union of Denmark
  • 55 Churches
  • 5,188 Members

Pictured is General Secretary Elijah Brown with BWA Executive Committee Member Lone Møller-Hansen during his visit to Denmark in 2019.
Praise:
We give thanks for the Myanmar Baptist refugee churches in Denmark who are standing together in prayer for and support of the many people impacted by political unrest in Myanmar.
Prayer:
Pray that pending legislation that would force all sermons not given in Danish to be translated and submitted to the government would not move forward. This would have a profoundly negative effect on religious freedom for Baptists and all other religions. Pray that Danish, EBF (European Baptist Federation), and BWA advocacy efforts would be successful. 

Finland

2 BWA Member Bodies
Finland Swedish Baptist Union
  • 14 Churches
  • 1,065 Members
Finnish Baptist Union
  • 15 Churches
  • 835 Members

Pictured is a Finnish choir leading worship during a General Secretary visit in 2006.
Praise:
Join us in thanking God for the spectacular beauty of creation in this region.

Prayer:
Join us in prayer for church and ministry leaders seeking to minister in innovative ways as they respond to COVID-19.
Norway

1 BWA Member Body
Baptist Union of Norway
  • 103 Churches
  • 6,651 Members

Pictured is Jan Sæthre with BWA President Paul Msiza (2015-2020) at the 2020 March Executive Meeting in Falls Church, VA, USA.
Praise:
Join us in thanking God for the faithful leadership of Baptists within Norway, including that of BWA Executive Committee Member and BWA Vice President (2015-2020) Jan Sæthre.
Prayer:
We give thanks that the EBF and BWA Sent Mission Conference scheduled to take place in Norway in July 2021 was able to be successfully rescheduled to July 2023. Join us in prayer for this timing transition and for the Lord's continued favor on the event.

Sweden

1 BWA Member Body
Uniting Church in Sweden
  • 650 Churches
  • 61,000 Members

Pictured is Christer Daelander (second from left), recipient of the 2018 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award.
Daelander
Praise:
Join us in thanking God for the centuries of peace and the commitment to equality that exist in Sweden. The nation has not been at war since 1814 and is a world leader in gender equality. 
Prayer:
Join us in prayer for leaders as they stand for a Biblical worldview in the midst of a secular culture. 
We also join in prayer this week for the people of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland.
This month Japan marks the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Makoto Kato, President of the Japan Baptist Convention, invites us to join with them in remembrance and prayer.

“Looking back over these 10 years, we cannot express how much we are thankful for your prayer and support. The restoration of the affected area is still on the way, and the influence of radiation from nuclear disaster has continued. Ten years after the great disaster, we are still overcome by the fear, anxiety, pain, and grief that it has brought," says President Kato.

Each year, the convention shares a prayer written by churches in the affected region. Would you join them in prayer? A portion of their prayer is included below:

"Lord, please give us comfort and peace. Ten years ago, in the confusion and anxiety amid the disaster, we often lost sight of your presence. We thank you that, in spite of that, you kept your eyes on us and stayed with us in those moments. Help us to turn our hearts toward those who suffer under new hardships all across Japan and the world, and make us strong as we walk in the church’s mission to be salt of the earth and light of the world.”
Thank you for your prayers for our Executive Committee Sessions last week. It was an incredible time to gather online with Baptist leaders from around the world. Together we celebrated the provision of the Lord, presentation of three new conventions to the global Baptist family, addition of new team members, and the strengthening of our ministry with BWA Women. Would you take a moment to read this brief summary of the sessions and join me in thanksgiving for all the Lord is doing?
Heaven in the Soles of My Feet

Father, Son and Spirit
your name is more than one and three.
You are who you are
and the one who is
always more than the sum of all the numbers.
You are body
impossible to pin down
and at the same time I see you in my neighbor's hand and eyes.
Yes, I feel you in the wind.
You are the forest dove and the pheasant,
the burning bush and the fruit box from Gaza,
you are my surfboard and my ancestors’ rod and staff.
You are the heaven in the soles of my feet 
and the one that gives the crust of the earth its smooth layer.
You are the golden plover of paradise.
With your son as captain 
and with the winds from the west
we sail off into your lake
against your Himmelbjerg*, heavenly mountain.

*Himmelbjerget (The Sky Mountain) is a 147 meters mountain and is one of the highest points in Denmark.
(by Bishop Elof Westergaard, Denmark; English translation by Kari Veiteberg)