If you are in a hurry and do not have time to read the rich articles in this Connections prayer journal, here is a shortlist of crucial prayer concerns we invite you to pray about.

1 The situation in North Korea and the provocative actions of Kim Jong Un and his regime that could get out of hand and cause war, potentially even involving nuclear weapons. Pray for peace and restraint on all sides and that the North Korean leaders will introduce reforms of their society that will both set their people free and establish better relationships with the international community.

2 Afghanistan- that the Spring offensive of the Taliban will not occur and that their movement would be thrown into confusion, disunity and dissolved so they cannot continue to destabilize the nation.

3 Pakistan- that God would raise up honest, good leaders in the parliamentary election (May 11) process going on now and that the Taliban radicals would not be able to derail this election or harm those who are running as candidates.

4 Children in Prayer Chinese World Consultation (May 16-19)- that Chinese Christian leaders in China and Hong Kong will get the vision and be equipped to empower the 335 million youth and children of their vast population.

5 Middle East Prayer Assembly (October 1-4, Cyprus)- that good delegations from each nation in the region would be able to take part and that a strong, ongoing and interconnected prayer movement for this embattled region will be the result.

6 Malaysian National Election (May 5)- that a new government ruled by honest, caring leaders who put the people first will be put into power and that corrupt, self-serving politicians will be removed.

7 Egypt- for the peace of the Lord to reign over this nation and that it will be able to move to greater freedom and prosperity, throwing off authoritarian Islamic ideology in favor of upholding human rights for all its citizens.

8 Syria- that the civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives will wind down and that there will be a peaceful resolution of this conflict resulting in a new, united government that works for the good of all Syrians.

9 Exposed: Shining a Light on Corruption – 14-20 October 2013 – that this global campaign against corruption will be used of the Lord to save the over US$1 TRILLION that goes missing through mismanagement, illicit business practices and poor governance so it can be used to help the poor and their children and fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals.

10 The International Prayer Initiative for the United Nations and Children in Prayer Global Consultation - “Children and Youth: Investing in the Future” (November 15-20)- that all the arrangements will come together and that UN officials, ambassadors, Christian NGOs working among children, ministry leaders as well as praying youth and children will be able to come from around the world for this historic event.