Praying for Ethiopia as we count the Omer

Ethiopia is full of heritage and culture, especially historically spreading the gospel and faith. Counting the Omer Day 2; we are praying for 50 countries in Africa over the 50 days of counting the Omer. Our first day was all about the African country of Ethiopia.

Our family focus verse during our time counting the omer is: n

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,⁴⁶ and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.”

Luke 24:45-48

We are continuing to learn about and pray for the countries in the Horn of Africa and near the Red Sea. These countries were the first countries for the Gospel to spread throughout the rest of Africa and to the world and also see a lot of conflict for believers. It really sets the stage for understanding what it means to be wholly dedicated to our faith and to pray for the persecuted.

• Pray for Ethiopia and its Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed
• Pray for those spreading the gospel there and those imprisoned for their faith (listen to the podcast at the bottom of this post for specific names!) Pray for people to live a faithful life to the Word of God and not just follow tradition.
• Pray for their country’s leadership.
• Pray for unbelievers in the country.
• Pray for the widows, orphans, and suffering in the country.
  • Pray for rain and an end to suffering because of drought.
• Watch a movie, documentary, or video to learn more about the country as a whole. I have embedded a few below.

We are answering the following questions about every country we are learning about and praying for.

• What percent of the country professes to know our Messiah?
• What does a typical congregation or gathering of believers look like?
• How is the gospel been received their in the past? With hostility or graciousness?
• Is there anyone we can find to try to help or pray for in a meaningful way from that country?
• Define the political boundaries of the country.
• Look at the design of their flag.
• What is a traditional food?
• What are common bugs and animals in the area and general geography?

Ethiopia has an amazing history connected to faith. There is even a very different Biblical cannon used there. I found this to be the most important focus for understanding Ethiopia.

A great quote I want to emphasize in the the first bit of the first video below.
“Persecution has its own way of purifying the church. If you’re not a serious believer you don’t want o be persecuted for something you don’t believe in”

There are many different churches and places of worship in Ethiopia, but I found this to be very fascinating. It opened up a conversation about how the churches used to be hidden inside of the forests but now the trees expose where these Ethiopian Orthodox churches are.

We also made Ethiopian Azefa for lunch. It was a great way to eat lentils on a warm day. We also discussed the spongy bread with the kids, but that will be another day.