Madagascar

Pray for Africa

Prayer Points

  • For safety during the possible storm.
  • Protection against  life threatening flood waters
  • Wisdom in handling the situation and finding shelter.
  • A sense of community among locals and the church.
  • For honest government leaders.
  • International intervention if aid is needed.
  • For well-trained Christian workers willing to serve in isolated areas.
  • For supernatural effectiveness by ministries working with youth.
  • For revival in Madagascar’s church.
  • For biblical teaching and leadership development.
  • For greater unity among leaders and churches.

LOCATION
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique

POPULATION
25 612 972 (2017 est.)

RELIGION
Tribal beliefs: 52%
Christianity: 41%
Muslim: 7%

INTERNET USERS
1 300 000 (2017)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
3,6% (2014)

MISSIONARIES (year:2010)
Sent: 340
Received: 2000

LEAST REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
10

KEY CITY

Antananarivo

Population of city:

1 391 433

Urbanization Rate:

4.69% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Majority religion in city:

Christianity

We Pray...

Lord Jesus, we pray for honest government leaders with a vision to bring their country to financial and political stability in Madagascar.

Father, we pray for well-trained Christian workers willing to serve in isolated areas with difficult living conditions in Madagascar.  Lord, we also pray for supernatural effectiveness by ministries aimed at urban youth and outreach to isolated areas. We ask that you will send revival to Madagascar. Lord God, we pray for a new move of the Holy Spirit to reawaken the churches that have such a strong legacy.

Father, please prepare a way for biblical teaching and leadership development as it is urgently needed. We also pray for greater unity among leaders and churches, and that pride and jealousy might give way to humility and Kingdom consciousness. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

State of the Church

Madagascar is ruled by certain traditional beliefs, which in many cases is mixed with Christianity. As mentioned in the overview, Madagascar saw many Christians martyred in the 19th century. It is only later when Protestantism became the religion of the royal and noble families that Christians could have religious freedom on the island. Today Madagascar has religious freedom to all beliefs and persecution usually comes from the family.

The Church is challenged by hunger, AIDS and communities living in places that are hard to reach. Many Christian leaders are also not being trained properly, because of the lack of infrastructure.

Overview

On the 16th of January the large Island of Madagascar was hit by Hurricane Chedza. With Over 50 000 affected by this devastating flood,  further Tropical storms and the consequences of these floods continue to threaten lives.

This is just another concern for a nation appealing for aid as it struggles to deal with the consequences of  severe drought induced famine and an outbreak of the plague, that has affected 1000's since September and left numerous dead.

These disasters have come in a time of political tension as the Prime Minister and cabinet have recently stepped down due to political protests regarding service delivery.

History

In the early 1800’s Madagascar was a kingdom ruled by King Ramavo. He was the first to let Christian missionaries on the island. By doing this, he made many enemies among the people with strong beliefs in their traditional way of life.

When he died, the throne was contested between his nephew, Rakotobe and his first wife, queen Ranavalona. Rakotobe was in favor of the missionaries, whereas the queen was pro-traditional beliefs.

Before the king died, she befriended many people who believed in the traditional way of life and thus she had an army to hold down the palace for a few days after the king died.This resulted in her becoming queen of Madagascar.

After her triumph, she cut all ties with Europe and started to persecute and expel all Christians and foreigners. It is not clear how many were martyred in her 33-year rule.

After she died, her son King Radama II succeeded her. During his 2 years of rule he opened up Madagascar to trade with Europe and welcomed missionaries back. He was later assassinated by tribalists.

In 1896 Madagascar became a French colony, but in 1960 they regained independence. What followed was 17 years of single party rule and three coups. This has crippled the country economically.

However, the newly elected government is poised for recovery. They are working on restoring rule of law, tackling poverty and fostering growth. This is a daunting task, as infrastructure is non-existing in some areas, making it difficult to impose governance.

Madagascar is a resource rich country, although the shortage of infrastructure has kept them from using it to their benefit. This means that with the investment they can restore their economy.

More Resources:

Bibliography