iCommitToPray
Pray for Pastor Ruben, Whose Church Was Burned iCommitToPray Police are still investigating a fire that destroyed “The Church of South India” on March 18. An unknown person or group of people set the fire around midnight. Pastor Ruben and others from the village tried to put out the fire, but the church was engulfed in flames when they arrived. The fire spread very quickly because the church had a thatch roof and walls made with dry grass. Police arrived with extinguishers shortly after being notified, but the musical instruments, speaker system and furniture were all destroyed. Please pray for Pastor Ruben and his 200-member church as they follow Christ in a hostile area.
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“Suraya,” a Christian convert from Islam, was abused by her husband long before she became a Christian. He became even more violent after she turned to Christ, even trying to kill her. A judge had granted Suraya custody of their children, but her ex-husband has kidnapped them. Suraya’s children have been allowed to leave her voice messages, but she hasn’t spoken with them directly. In the messages she has received, the children are often crying for her to remember them. Suraya’s ex-husband does not answer her calls. Please pray that Suraya’s children will be returned soon and that the Lord will comfort them.
Pray for Miriam, the only Christian Left in Village iCommitToPray Miriam, a 93-year-old Christian woman, is the only believer left in her Iraqi village. In 2014 the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) overran the village, forcing thousands of Christians, including her children and other relatives, to flee. Miriam has survived a series of tragedies in her life involving the persecution of Christians, and her village is still a very dangerous place to live. Some nearby Kurds have been checking in on Miriam from time to time and bringing her supplies. In addition, VOM is helping meet her needs through a local church partner. Please pray for Miriam’s health, safety and spiritual encouragement.
Pray for Yklas Kabduakosov, Sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment iCommitToPray Six weeks after a judge sentenced Yklas Kabduakasov to seven years’ house arrest for his Christian activities, he was rearrested and sent to a labor camp. Yklas, a former Muslim, was first arrested in August 2015; he spent 12 weeks in prison before receiving a sentence of seven years under house arrest. The 54-year-old father of eight sought full acquittal, stating that he had not insulted Islam nor “incited religious hatred.” But on Dec. 28, 2015, a court changed his sentence to two years’ imprisonment in a labor camp nearly 280 miles from his home. Please pray for Yklas as he prepares a final appeal.
Please continue to pray for the bereaved and injured following Sunday’s horrific suicide bomb attack on Christians in Lahore.
More than 70 people, Christians and Muslims, were killed and over 350 seriously injured in the blast at a leisure park. A Taliban splinter group admitted responsibility for the attack which was deliberately targeted at the Christian community. A church leader in Lahore, who previously expressed to us fears of such an attack, told us: ‘Once again the Christian community is targeted on Easter Sunday. ‘Gulshan-e-Iqbal is a very attractive and popular park in the northwest of Lahore and on special occasions this park is always overcrowded with children and parents. On Easter Day after church services many Christian families from all sides of Lahore city went to this park to have some recreational time with their children.’ Most of the dead and injured were women and children. The church leader added: ‘Please continue to pray for the bereaved and grieving. We need more prayers! Also on Sunday thousands of Islamist activists went on the rampage in the capital, Islamabad. At least three people were killed and several others injured in violent clashes with government forces. The protesters demanded the immediate execution of Asia Bibi, a Christian whose appeal against the death sentence for blasphemy is pending in the Supreme Court.
Artemisa, who lives with her parents and extended family in a small house in Albania, reads her Bible to the family each morning before going to school. The 7-year-old is one of 200 children who received a children’s Bible during a recent distribution by a VOM partner in the majority Muslim nation. A Christian worker who knows the family says Artemisa shares the Bible stories because her parents and some of her other relatives are unable to read. Please pray that Artemisa and her family will come to know Jesus.
Pray for "Dee," Teenager Living in Safe House iCommitToPray A teenage girl from Laos went home while on break from her high school to share her new Christian faith with her family, but was immediately rejected and disowned for becoming a believer. “Dee,” 16, had once heard many negative things about the Christian faith, but after becoming a believer, she thought it would be okay to tell her parents about what she had learned. Her parents were not happy and tried to force Dee to renounce her faith. When she refused, insisting that she will follow Jesus no matter what happens to her, her parents kicked her out of the home and told her that she is no longer their daughter. Church leaders are helping Dee, who is staying in a safe house, and they ask for prayers for her and say that although she is sad about her parents, she still has a lot of joy and peace. Dee also asks for prayers for her parents and wants them to know Christ.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Benue state, central Nigeria, where Fulani herdsmen have killed hundreds of mainly Christian farmers in recent weeks.
Heavily armed herdsmen killed about 300 farmers between February 22 and 29 in the Agatu local government area of this mainly Christian state, and at least eight others were killed on March 8 in Logo area. Five villages have been ‘utterly destroyed’ and homes looted. An estimated 7,000 people have been displaced and have taken refuge in camps. Government officials say the herdsmen have started to leave voluntarily but locals report the attackers and their cattle are still occupying villages in Agatu. Herdsmen leaders say they were retaliating for the killing of thousands of cows by local villagers – although there is no evidence of this. A fact-finding team which included a human rights lawyer said it suspected the violence was religiously motivated as churches and Christian homes had been targeted while mosques had been left untouched.
In the Buddhist nation of Bhutan, few Christians are reaching out to the Bhutanese majority with the gospel. However, one pastor who spent time in prison for his Christian work is committed to sharing Jesus. “We want to reach out to our people and to share the love of Christ, how powerful it is in our life,” the pastor said. “We want to reach out to the Buddhist background family, to disciple them.” In 2014, Pastor Tandin was charged with receiving funds to spread Christianity and sentenced to nearly four years in prison. His sentenced was later reduced and he spent 49 days in jail before posting bail. The pastor said he was especially encouraged to read all the prayers posted for him on iCommitToPray.com during his imprisonment.
Praise God for Release of Assyrian Christians iCommitToPray Islamic extremists released a group of 43 Assyrian Christians on Feb. 23, after holding the men, women and children hostage for a year. In February 2015, ISIS militants overran dozens of villages along the Khabur River, taking 253 Christians hostage and demanding ransom payments in exchange for their release. In September 2015, the militants released a video showing the execution of three Assyrian Christian men and demanding $10 million for release of the remaining hostages. Most of the hostages have been released over the last few months. However, ISIS militants abducted another large group of Assyrian Christians in August from Qaryatain and are still holding 179 hostage. Please pray for those who have been released and for those who are still being held.
Thank God for the release of our Chinese brother Yan Xiaojie, a pastor jailed for five months for circulating prayer requests on social media.
Pastor Yan of the China Christian Evangelic Mission in Wenzhou city was arrested last August after using social media to forward prayer requests for churches in Zhejiang province targeted for cross removal. His original eight-day sentence was ‘extended indefinitely’ last September (Prayer Alert, September 15) on charges of ‘gathering a mob to disturb social order’. Another church elder, Cheng Chaohua, detained the day after Yan, was released in December. Eight other Christians from Zhejiang remain in detention. Seven are church elders or their wives, including prominent pastor Gu ‘Joseph’ Yuese (Prayer Alert, February 19); the eighth is Christian lawyer Zhang Kai (Prayer Alert, December 11), held in an unregistered jail since July. Meanwhile, Haicheng Christian Gathering in Wenzhou received an official warning on February 2 that its cross would be removed; its electricity and water have been cut off.
Praise God for the release of Cheng Jie, a Chinese Christian who completed her two-year prison sentence on Feb. 17. Cheng Jie was the first of three house church members arrested in 2014 on charges of “illegal business operations” for helping to create, print and distribute school materials at the Hualin Kindergarten, where she served as director. The church-run school was closed after her arrest.
Pray for the Protection of Pastor Emre Karaali iCommitToPray A new development arose in the case against those who conspired to kill Pastor Emre Karaali. In January 2013, Pastor Emre learned that more than a dozen people—including some who had infiltrated his church and even babysat his children—were planning to assassinate him. Evidently, those plotting his death had met with a police chief and military officer. Because of this, the courts indicted these two officers. After waiting for a year for the officers to give their story, Pastor Emre’s lawyer called him and told him that it is no longer necessary for them to give a witness statement, claiming that there is not enough evidence that they had any part in the plot. Though there were phone records showing a connection between the assassins and the officers and earlier court hearings stated the relationship between them, prosecutors do not see the connection as sufficient evidence. This means the decision will have to be appealed, prolonging the case. Pastor Emre has forgiven those who plotted to kill him, yet the case is weighing heavy on his heart. Pray the Lord will continue to be Pastor Emre’s stronghold as he waits. Pray also for justice, ultimately that those responsible will place their trust in Christ.
Freed pastor Saeed Abedini has requested prayer for his relationship with his wife Naghmeh as court proceedings continue in her filing for legal separation.
"I am grateful for marriage counselors who have been helping me but my wife's relationship with me is not good at this point, so we need prayer that she joins this counseling process with us," the 35-year-old pastor wrote Feb. 14 in his first Facebook comments since his release in January from an Iranian prison where he had been held three-and-a-half years because of his Christian faith. "I see there is a LOVE story between us [supporters] as I went through hardship of imprisonment by you showing your support with sending hundreds & thousands of letters of encouragement and LOVE to the prison," he wrote, noting "1000's of cities and countries and locations gathering for prayer vigils, sending gifts to my wife and children.... You created a LOVE story that even Muslims in Iran talked about." His wife Naghmeh filed for legal separation from the pastor Jan. 26, the day he returned to Boise after resting for nearly a week at the Billy Graham Conference Center at the Cove. March 19 is the next court date in the case -- a Focus on Children proceeding designed to help parents and children cope with such issues as separation and divorce. She filed the case, she said, to prevent their children, 9-year-old Rebekka and 7-year-old Jacob, from being transported out of state... Pray for Samina, Who Requested a Bible iCommitToPray Samina attends a sewing center in Pakistan that was opened as an outreach by a VOM front-line worker. Each week, young women from Hindu, Muslim and Christian families attend the center to learn skills that will help them start their own business. Samina approached a Christian woman to ask for a Bible and said she is interested in reading it. Please pray that Samina will come to know Jesus as she reads the Bible...
Pray for our brother, Pastor Gu ‘Joseph’ Yuese, who has been formally arrested in Zhejiang province where Christians fear a new wave of persecution.
Gu was removed from his post as senior pastor of Chongyi Church in Hangzhou and detained last month, but his arrest was only made official on Saturday. He has been charged with ‘embezzlement’. But his family believe he has been arrested because he has spoken out against the authorities’ ongoing campaign to remove crosses and demolish churches. Gu’s church is China’s largest Three-Self Patriotic Movement church, which is state sanctioned. His wife was detained with him in January but has since been released. Meanwhile, Zhejiang officials’ campaign of persecution is entering its third year. On January 28, more than 100 officials broke into two churches simultaneously – Shangye Village Church in Rui’an, Wenzhou, and Funan Church in Jiaxing – and pulled down their crosses. Release partner China Aid now puts the total number of crosses demolished at 1,800, including 18 since the start of this year.
Attack Leaves 10 Dead and Hundreds Misplaced Prayer Alert, February 9th Release International Fulani herdsmen are reported to have attacked farming communities in Benue state, killing 10 and displacing about 300 villagers.
The attack in Buruku local government area happened on Sunday.
Pray for Juliana David Who Was Shot by Fulani Gunmen iCommitToPray Juliana David, a young Christian woman, continues to recover from gunshot wounds she suffered in an Oct. 23, 2015, attack by Fulani gunmen in Plateau state, Nigeria. The gunmen ambushed Juliana and other Christians as they walked down a road toward their farm. They killed one man riding a moped before shooting Juliana in the back and leaving her for dead. Neighbors who heard the gunfire found Juliana and took her to the hospital, where she underwent surgery.
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With Our Prayers. Submit Yours, Pictures, Music, All of Your Loving Here. This Is A Community Effort; We Work in His Name. Prayers will be published, unedited; if you prefer to remain anonymous, please let us know. Scripture on the Prayer Page
Utilizes: New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Archives
June 2020
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