Urgent call to prayer for Myanmar

Members of the LCA/NZ are being urged to pray for peace in Myanmar, where the military has staged a coup d’état and taken control of the country.

Following an overwhelming victory by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in elections held last November, the military has disputed the result, detained elected leaders including Ms Suu Kyi, and instigated a 12-month state of emergency.

LCA International Mission works closely with four churches in Myanmar through the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Myanmar and Pastor Matt Anker, LCA Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission, has invited Australian and New Zealand Lutherans to join in praying for a ‘peaceful resolution’ to the unrest in the South-East Asian nation.

‘Please join us as we pray for a peaceful resolution to this latest unrest in Myanmar, and for our brothers and sisters in Christ as they live in times of increased uncertainty and insecurity’, Pastor Matt said. ‘May our Heavenly Father send his holy angels to watch over the churches of Myanmar and the entire country and use this moment as an opportunity for the gospel of forgiveness, life and salvation to be proclaimed even more widely in this troubled country.’

Pastor Matt said one of Myanmar’s church leaders shared with him details of the current situation there. ‘He said: “I went outside this morning and the streets are not busy though a few vehicles are running. The public bus will stop their services early evening today. And internet and communication is coming back with limited access. The association of commercial banks announce they will close and stop their services due to slow down of internet (not mentioning any political problem). The army arrested almost all of the elected representatives from NLD from different parts of Myanmar starting from early morning today. Some of them were released in the afternoon and sent back home. The detainees didn’t say anything much due to security reasons. The military-owned TV station announced that they will transfer the power once they convene another election without mentioning time.”

‘He concluded, “Thank you for your prayers … we want to see things resolved in a peaceful way”.’