Prayer Points – Afghanistan Drug Production on the Increase – 12/10/02

According to IRNA, the 2002 poppy harvest in Afghanistan may reach as much as 3,400 tons worth 1.2 billion dollars.¹   Most of this bumper crop will come from the three warlord controlled provinces.   It is noted that the heroin produced from Afghanistan will eventually end up in European and American markets.   But what is not mentioned is the devastation that heroin use has on the populations of the Middle East.   The problems of drug use in Iran and Afghanistan continue to be extremely problematic as these countries face political unrest and unemployment rates of 25% or more.   Families are destroyed as limited resources are quickly depleted to satisfy the drug habits of fathers and sons.  

“Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34 

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”  Proverbs 16:25

Let us pray for the people of Afghanistan as they struggle to recover from 25 years of oppression and war.  Pray that God would soften and change the hearts of families and warlords involved in the production and use of drugs.  Petition the Holy Spirit to heal addictions and destructive behaviors through the forgiveness found in Jesus.  Finally, let us bow before the Throne of Grace asking that Afghanistan would once again be open to the Gospel, that the harvest of souls would surpass that of poppies and that Afghanistan would become a beacon of Christian hope in the Middle East.

Pray for the people of Iran that are also affected by the devastation of drug abuse.

¹ http://www.irna.com/en/politic/021210001216.epo.shtml