October 2015
Open Doors USA
John 5:25
Prayer Force Alert |
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Prayer Force Alert October 2015 Open Doors USA Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25
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Shyam Darji, a Christian worker in Nepal, is being targeted by Hindu radicals because of his ministry activities. The radical group Shiva Sena Nepal published his name and photo in a local newspaper, “outing” him as a Christian convert. In a notice datedAug. 8, the radical group warned him that they will “take actions in financial, physical, social or moral forms whichever is possible against you and your family wherever and whenever we find you; therefore, do give up such activities or be ready to face our action against you.”
The wife of imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini is on a 21-day "Daniel" fast and is organizing prayer vigils internationally Sept. 26, the third anniversary of her husband's imprisonment in Iran for his Christian faith.
Naghmeh Abedini, in asking Christians to pray for her husband and the persecuted church, also is promoting a letter-writing campaign to ask United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to advocate for Abedini's release when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks Sept. 28 at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Naghmeh Abedini will attend a prayer rally for her husband and other persecuted Christians at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at Calvary Chapel in Old Bridge, N.J. In advance of the U.N. sessions that began Sept. 15, she addressed over 100 members of parliaments from 50 nations who held a meeting on international religious freedom in New York, urging the lawmakers to take action in their home countries to encourage her husband's release. Imprisonment is taking its toll on the 35-year-old pastor, his wife said on Facebook today (Sept. 16), but he was encouraged to learn of the prayer vigils today from a family member, the first visitor Iran has allowed him in two months. "His face lit up and he was encouraged to hear that so many are praying for him. He was encouraged to know that a date that brought so much pain had become a day when Christians united together to pray for him and the persecuted church," Naghmeh Abedini wrote. "I made sure that he was told that I had not given up the fight … for his release. That despite government shortcomings, none of us were giving up. That we were getting on our knees and praying and fasting for him each day leading up to the prayer vigil. I knew that during the short prison visits he needed to know that he was not forgotten..." A Christian in the Egyptian army is reported to have been shot dead by other soldiers at his battalion headquarters.
The charity Coptic Solidarity reports that 22-year-old Baha Saeed Karam was shot dead in Marsa Matruh on August 23. His brother reportedly said that Baha had argued with Muslim soldiers in his unit and received death threats. Two months earlier, 23-year-old Baha Gamal Mikhail Silvanus was found dead with gunshot wounds: he was the only Christian in his unit stationed at Suez. His family have dismissed official claims that he committed suicide – and say that other soldiers regularly pressured Baha to convert to Islam.
There is still time to sign our #everyright online petition to help uphold Christians’ religious rights in Egypt. Paper petition forms should be returned to us by September 30. Pray for "Michael," Christian Convert from Islam iCommitToPray VOM workers met “Michael,” a Christian convert from Islam, during a recent VOM-sponsored event. He was very well known as a Muslim, and after accepting Christ and beginning to challenge other Muslims about their faith, his father repeatedly threatened him. During the event, Michael stood at the podium for about 20 minutes, “singing to God and testifying of His goodness.” On the day of the event, Michael’s wife also placed her faith in Christ. Pray for Michael and other Christian converts from Islam who face persecution for their faith. Two Christians Arrested for Spreading the Faith Prayer Alert, September 11, 2015 Release International Bountheung Phetsomphone, 43, and Neuy, 40, who are both married with three children each, are being held in jail in Khounkham in Khammouane province. They were arrested on September 2 during a lunch visit to a family in Nong-hang village. Five police agents raided the home, apparently after a tip-off from local officials.
Local sources say that police in Khounkham have been monitoring Christian activities closely for several years, due to concerns over the church growth. Bountheung and Neuy are reported to have brought hundreds of people to Christ through their witness. Christians make up just two per cent of the population in this communist country.
Please pray for our Christian family in Punjab, after police detained a believer accused of 'blasphemy' by business rivals – and beat local Christians in their search for him.
Allegations against Pervaiz Masih, 35, arose last week after he won a contract to supply sand in Garra village, Kasur district. Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets and threatened to burn him alive. Pervaiz and his wife's main income comes from working in a brick kiln. When Pervaiz went into hiding, police raided several Christian homes to try to find him. They beat and insulted local Christians, including a pregnant woman and another with a newborn baby; police also detained two of Pervaiz's brothers temporarily. Pervaiz later surrendered himself to police – and is now being held in the district jail. Police have reportedly said that Pervaiz has confessed to the charges against him: local Christians insist the allegations are false and his 'confession' has been extracted under duress. His family has had to flee Garra: his wife says she fears for her life, citing the murder of brick kiln workers Shehzad and Shama Masih last year (Prayer Alert, November 5).
Dear ... Prayer Warriors,
Please pray for this urgent request from [the Wilsons]. Missionaries who are in the areas that are being attacked by ISIS are asking to be showered in prayer. ISIS has taken over the town they are in today. He said ISIS is systematically going house to house to all the Christians and asking the children to denounce Jesus. He said so far not one child has. And so far all have consequently been killed. But not the parents. The UN has withdrawn and the missionaries are on their own. They are determined to stick it out for the sake of the families even if it means their own deaths. They are very afraid, have no idea how to even begin ministering to these families who have had seen their children martyred. Yet he says he knows God has called them for some reason to be His voice and hands at this place at this time. Even so, they are begging for prayers for courage to live out their vocation in such dire circumstances. And like the children, accept martyrdom if they are called to do so. These brave parents instilled such a fervent faith in their children that they chose martyrdom. Please surround them in their loss with your prayers for hope and perseverance. One missionary was able to talk to her brother briefly by phone. She didn't say it, but I believe she believes it will be their last conversation. Pray for her too. She said he just kept asking her to help him know what to do and do it. She told him to tell the families we ARE praying for them and they are not alone or forgotten -- no matter what. Please keep them all in your prayers. This came this morning...Just a few minutes ago I received the following text message on my phone from Sean ... who leads Crisis Relief International (CRI). We then spoke briefly on the phone and I assured him that we would share this urgent prayer need with all of our contacts. "We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically. This is the city we have been smuggling food to. ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working. Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night. The UN evacuated its staff in Erbil. Our team is unmoved and will stay. Prayer cover needed!" Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of the people of Northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians across this region. May I plead with you not to ignore this ... [Please share this with as many] friends and Christians you may know. Send it to your prayer group. Send it to your pastor and phone him to pray on Sunday during the service - making a special time of prayer for this. We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians. Thank you for all your prayers !!!! Dr. Becky Peters, Professor of Education Director of Lutheran Teaching Programs, Colloquy, & Lutheran Placement Concordia University Irvine "Save my daddy."
That's American Pastor Saeed Abedini's kids' plea to Iran. Their father suffers in one of the world's deadliest prisons, in chains for Christ. He's been abandoned by President Obama and targeted by Iranian prison raids. We must not abandon Pastor Saeed. We're aggressively engaged in a multipronged strategy for Pastor Saeed's freedom through our global offices, on Capitol Hill, and at the United Nations (U.N.). Iran's president will be on American soil - the soil where Pastor Saeed belongs - in just a matter of days for major U.N. meetings. We've launched a massive letter-writing campaign to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to pressure Iran to release Pastor Saeed - a U.S. citizen. Pastor Saeed's family is writing letters. We're sending critical legal letters. Your letters helped free two pastors in Sudan. Now, Pastor Saeed needs your voice. Write a letter (or sign ours), and we'll send it. But we only have three days. Send a NEW Urgent Letter for Saeed: Demand Pressure on Iran.Jay Sekulow ACLJ Chief Counsel An entire community of believers is grief-stricken by the murder of Mohammad Yousf Bhat, a Christian convert from Islam who was shot to death at his home in Kashmir. On July 1, four gunmen wearing uniforms and masks pushed their way into Yousf’s home before shooting him to death. Yousf had been involved in sharing Christ with Muslims for more than 15 years and was a key Christian leader in the region. He leaves behind a wife and three children. |
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Utilizes: New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Archives
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