As motorists in the West grimace as they watch the whirl of the price at the pump go higher, there has been no mercy from OPEC under its present chair, Iran. The price of crude oil has recently gone up by about 30% and is well over $100 a barrel, and this is immediately passed on to the consumer by the big oil companies. The only way to bring the price down is to increase the supply. There have been calls for an emergency meeting where this would surely be on the agenda, but chair of OPEC, the Iranian, Mohammad Ali Khatibi has said there is no need. He said last week that the price hike was due to the unsettled politics of the Middle East, and especially Libya, not the economics of the oil industry. While this view might not be welcome in the West, this incident reminds praying Christians of the influence Iran wields in the world as a major oil producer, and that the senior figures of the industry need the church’s prayers that they will use this influence wisely. Pray for •Mohammad Ali Khatibi and his colleagues •Security of oil supplies •Justice in economic relations