Prayer List for April 19, 2009

Sunday, please pray for Chinese Christian, Shi Weihan. “Shi Weihan is scheduled to stand trial on Thursday, April 9 at 9 a.m. local time at the People’s Court of Haidan District, Beijing. Shi has been in prison since March 19, 2008 for printing and distributing Christian books and Bibles without government permission. The official charge is for ‘illegal business practices,’ however, a judge has held, at least twice, that there is not sufficient evidence to convict him on this charge. Nevertheless, police have continued to hold Shi Weihan in custody in order collect additional evidence hoping to gain a conviction.” (Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for the construction of a church in Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is supposed to have freedom of religion, “Authorities called for a five-month halt to construction of a church in northern Bangladesh, for fear of huge conversions. The construction of the Ishai Fellowship Church began in early November 2008, but after Muslims protested, the mayor halted construction. ‘The local Muslims fired all the cylinders of the society to stop building a church in this vicinity. They want me not to work for the expansion of the Kingdom of God here. They persuaded the city council authority to stop [construction of] the church,’ Mashi, a pastor of Calvary Ishai Fellowship, told Compass. ‘The mayor of the city council told me that I did not have any building plan and permission from them to build a house here, so I should stop the construction work.’” (Open Doors)

Tuesday, please praise God for the release of Brother Sani. “When a Nigerian court sentenced him to three years in jail back in late 2007, Brother Sani cried out to God for help. And thankfully, the Lord heard his cry. Today, having served less than half his sentence, Sani is a free man!” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please praise God that the Georgia House of Representatives has “passed a resolution in favor of home schoolers in Germany. Home schoolers in that country face hefty fines and the potential loss of their kids if they home school. One German family, the Romeikes, are seeking asylum in the U.S. after facing persecution for home schooling.” (OneNewsNow)

Thursday, please pray for Iranian Christians, Brother Mohsen, his wife Feresthe, and their 12-year-old son. Iranian police arrested Mohsen for his conversion to Christianity from Islam and to get the names of his contacts. After torture which damaged his face, spinal cord, and teeth, he became so ill that the police released him. He and his family escaped to Turkey where they applied to the UN for refugee status. It can be very difficult for those fleeing “Islamic justice” to receive approval from the UN because some of the worst oppressor governments serve on the hearing committees and they cover for one another’s oppression. (Open Doors, me)

Friday, please praise God that Make Way Partners evangelist, Philip, has been released in Sudan and has about 70 mostly Muslims attending his services in Darfur. Please pray that the organization’s supply trucks will be released without ransom from a group in Juba, Sudan. (Make Way Partners)

Saturday, please praise God for the release of a Christian convert in Saudi Arabia. “On March 28, Hamoud Bin Saleh, a Saudi Christian arrested in January for writing about his conversion from Islam and criticizing the Saudi kingdom's crackdown on individual rights, was released from prison, according to Compass Direct News. Saleh is reportedly forbidden to travel outside the country or appear in the media. In a recent post on his blog, Saleh attributed his release to several human rights groups that campaigned on his behalf. ‘A nation which lives in this system cannot guarantee the safety of its individuals,’ he blogged, according to Compass Direct. In Saudi Arabia the penalty for converting from Islam, also called apostasy, is death. Still, in recent years, there have been no known cases of Saudis formally been convicted and sentenced to death.” (Voice of the Martyrs, Compass Direct News)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Voice of the Martyrs will be holding a meeting in New Lenox, IL, May 16. For more information, go to www.persecution.com.

Prayer List for April 19, 2009

Sunday, please pray for Chinese Christian, Shi Weihan. “Shi Weihan is scheduled to stand trial on Thursday, April 9 at 9 a.m. local time at the People’s Court of Haidan District, Beijing. Shi has been in prison since March 19, 2008 for printing and distributing Christian books and Bibles without government permission. The official charge is for ‘illegal business practices,’ however, a judge has held, at least twice, that there is not sufficient evidence to convict him on this charge. Nevertheless, police have continued to hold Shi Weihan in custody in order collect additional evidence hoping to gain a conviction.” (Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for the construction of a church in Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is supposed to have freedom of religion, “Authorities called for a five-month halt to construction of a church in northern Bangladesh, for fear of huge conversions. The construction of the Ishai Fellowship Church began in early November 2008, but after Muslims protested, the mayor halted construction. ‘The local Muslims fired all the cylinders of the society to stop building a church in this vicinity. They want me not to work for the expansion of the Kingdom of God here. They persuaded the city council authority to stop [construction of] the church,’ Mashi, a pastor of Calvary Ishai Fellowship, told Compass. ‘The mayor of the city council told me that I did not have any building plan and permission from them to build a house here, so I should stop the construction work.’” (Open Doors)

Tuesday, please praise God for the release of Brother Sani. “When a Nigerian court sentenced him to three years in jail back in late 2007, Brother Sani cried out to God for help. And thankfully, the Lord heard his cry. Today, having served less than half his sentence, Sani is a free man!” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please praise God that the Georgia House of Representatives has “passed a resolution in favor of home schoolers in Germany. Home schoolers in that country face hefty fines and the potential loss of their kids if they home school. One German family, the Romeikes, are seeking asylum in the U.S. after facing persecution for home schooling.” (OneNewsNow)

Thursday, please pray for Iranian Christians, Brother Mohsen, his wife Feresthe, and their 12-year-old son. Iranian police arrested Mohsen for his conversion to Christianity from Islam and to get the names of his contacts. After torture which damaged his face, spinal cord, and teeth, he became so ill that the police released him. He and his family escaped to Turkey where they applied to the UN for refugee status. It can be very difficult for those fleeing “Islamic justice” to receive approval from the UN because some of the worst oppressor governments serve on the hearing committees and they cover for one another’s oppression. (Open Doors, me)

Friday, please praise God that Make Way Partners evangelist, Philip, has been released in Sudan and has about 70 mostly Muslims attending his services in Darfur. Please pray that the organization’s supply trucks will be released without ransom from a group in Juba, Sudan. (Make Way Partners)

Saturday, please praise God for the release of a Christian convert in Saudi Arabia. “On March 28, Hamoud Bin Saleh, a Saudi Christian arrested in January for writing about his conversion from Islam and criticizing the Saudi kingdom's crackdown on individual rights, was released from prison, according to Compass Direct News. Saleh is reportedly forbidden to travel outside the country or appear in the media. In a recent post on his blog, Saleh attributed his release to several human rights groups that campaigned on his behalf. ‘A nation which lives in this system cannot guarantee the safety of its individuals,’ he blogged, according to Compass Direct. In Saudi Arabia the penalty for converting from Islam, also called apostasy, is death. Still, in recent years, there have been no known cases of Saudis formally been convicted and sentenced to death.” (Voice of the Martyrs, Compass Direct News)

North Korea Freedom Week is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from April 26 - May 2, 2009.

Voice of the Martyrs will be holding a meeting in New Lenox, IL, May 16. For more information, go to www.persecution.com.

Prayer List for February 22-28, 2009

Sunday, please pray for Rev. Walter Hoye and his family. “A pro-life African-American pastor has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for sharing a pro-life message outside local abortion centers. Walter Hoye was previously found guilty of violating what pro-life attorneys call an unconstitutional city law designed specifically to target him.” (Debbie’s emphasis) The sign he held said, “God loves you & your baby, Let us help you.” “Oakland officials had enacted the law, which has been heavily criticized as an unconstitutional limit on free speech. The ordinance prohibits contact within eight feet of women entering abortion businesses without their consent.(Thursday), Hoye was sentenced by Judge Hing of the Alameda Superior Court to serve 30 days in county jail . The court will allow Hoye to serve his time by an alternative method such as community service. However, Hoye will be forced to pay a $1,130 fine and has been ordered to stay away from the abortion business and no longer help women find abortion alternatives. Allison Aranda, a staff attorney with the Life Legal Defense Foundation, a pro-life law firm representing Hoye in the case, says an appeal is forthcoming.” (LifeNews, http://townhall.com/columnists/StarParker/2009/02/16/root_of_nations_economic_crisis_is_moral_crisis)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Sri Lanka. “The Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Heritage Party), which is led by Buddhist monks, introduced the (anti-conversion) bill under the title "Prohibition of ForcibleConversion of Religion Bill" on Tuesday, January 6. Though proponents claim that the bill would only restrict "fundamentalist" groups from using monetary rewards or coercive methods to convert people, the language is so broad that it would criminalize any form of humanitarian assistance from religious groups.” In India similar bills have precipitated attacks on Christians. (International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of China. “As public anger mounts due to unemployment and government corruption, Chinese authorities are reacting with increased social and political control, Compass Direct News sources report. Concerned by the growth of unregistered house church groups, the government is ramping up its efforts to identify Christians and to publicly portray Christianity to the public eye as a subversive foreign force. Despite this situation, growth of the Christian church continues. One Beijing pastor reports more than 1,000 new converts were baptized last year in his church alone.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct)

Wednesday, please pray that the new Awami League-led Grand Alliance which has come to power in Bangladesh will reopen investigations into a bomb blast against a Catholic church. The party includes no radical Muslims and has given non-Muslims hopes for justice. (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray that justice will be done in the heinous murder of 3 Christians in Turkey. “A Turkish court has charged two more men for instigating the murder of three Christians in Malatya in 2007 Huseyin Yelki, a former employee of the Christian publishing house where the Christians were killed, and Varol Bulent Aral an ex-journalist suspected of ties to a group that tried to engineer a political coup.” Others hope that these men will turn informant and lead them to those who ordered the murder. (Open Doors)

Friday, please praise God that “(c)hurches in Northern Iraq have reported that nearly 300 new believers from various non-Christian backgrounds were recently baptized.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please pray for the Christians of Jos, Nigeria. “Christians in Jos are traumatised by the religious riot of November 28. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reports that 129 Christians, including five pastors, were killed. About 45 churches were torched and looted, and more than 30,000 people were displaced during the violence.” Open Doors is providing aid. (Open Doors)

Prayer List for February 15-21, 2009

Sunday, please pray for the Christians of North Korea, the world’s worst abuser of Christians, and of almost everyone else. North Korea requires its citizens to worship its ruthless dictator, Kim Jung-Il.(Open Doors)

Monday, please pray for six Christian brothers in Egypt. “On Jan. 22 a judge sentenced six Christian brothers to three years in prison with hard labor for resisting arrest and assaulting authorities. Last September, police officers raided a café in Port Sa’id, because they were open for business during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. When they tried to defend their café, the brothers were arrested and charged with resisting arrest and assaulting authorities. There is no law inEgypt under which the brothers could be prosecuted for opening their café during Ramadan.” (Open Doors)

Tuesday, please pray that Christian relief efforts in Gaza will result in the turning of the people against their radical government and to the Lord. “The Bible Societies in Israel and Palestinian Areas launched a joint initiative called “Standing in the Gap,” offering practical as well as spiritual relief for the suffering Gazan people. Open Doors is co-supporting a part of the program which is called “Love your Neighbor/Comfort my People.” It is not for Christian families only but also will be used in reaching out to Muslim neighbors in Gaza.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for Christians in Bangladesh. “A gang of Muslim extremists armed with machetes attacked a Christian family, leaving them with serious wounds. The attackers later filed charges of assault against the injured believers.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please pray for Somali Christians in Kenya. “Jailed for defending his family against Islamists, Somali Christian Salat Sekondo Mbwerba was freed after Christians paid a fine. Following his release, the extremists shot him, leaving him for dead.” It is not clear whether he survived or not from the report. (Open Doors, me)

Friday, please pray for the Christians of Colombia. “Not only are they caught in the crossfire between the country’s warring guerrilla factions, but believers are often also singled out as prime targets.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please praise God that the Democratic conference committee of the House and Senate removed a controversial clause from the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Stimulus Package. That clause refused stimulus money for renovation for buildings that allowed religious worship. This was obviously an attack on the freedom of students to worship on college campuses and would have resulted in colleges restricting the First Amendment rights of students to worship. I cannot help compare it to most Islamic countries that do not allow Christians to repair churches so that they will look shabby and fall into disrepair while the mosques are allowed to prosper. Was this a secular version of that? (Jay Sekulow, me )

Prayer List for February 1-7, 2009

Sunday, please praise God that an Egyptian Christian has won the legal right to change his identity papers from Muslim to Christian. “Fathi Labib Yousef, who had long ago converted to Christianity, spent 31 years officially identified as a Muslim but has now won a rare legal victory to be officially registered in his “new” faith. According to Compass Direct News, changing one’s official religious identity from Islam to any other religion in Egypt is extremely difficult. Religious reversion cases are difficult to win, but it is far more difficult for Muslim-born converts to Christianity to officially change their religious status.” (Open Doors, Compass Direct News)

Monday, please praise God that a German couple’s jail sentence for homeschooling their children was overturned. Please pray that Juergen and Rosemary Dudek’s retrial will result in a change of heart among German government officials. HSLDA Staff Attorney Michael Donnelly says “he remains concerned that there is no indication that German authorities are changing their position on stamping out what they call ‘parallel societies.’ There continue to be signs that the German government is cracking down on homeschooling families,” he said. “A recent letter from one family in southern Germany contained threats from local school authorities that unless the family enrolled their children in school, they would seek fines in excess of 50,000 euros (nearly $70,000), jail time and the removal of custody of the children. German policymakers must create regulations or laws to protect homeschooling families from this persecution. This kind of behavior by a so-called Western democracy is unacceptable. It is this kind of repression that is forcing families to flee Germany and to seek protection in other countries, like the Romeike family, who have applied for political asylum in the United States.” (Home School Legal Defense Association)

Tuesday, please pray for a “Christian pastor in Meherpur district (Bangladesh, who) suffers continued torture and harassment at the hands of 4,000 Muslims. Jhontu Biswas, 31, said residents of Fulbaria town accused him of misleading Muslims by distributing Christian booklets. They confronted him on Dec. 9 as they gathered for the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival of sacrifice. ‘They also accused me of converting poor people by offering money,’ said Biswas. ‘They called several local journalists in that massive assembly to publish news against me and my activities. They took my photograph and interviewed me but did not publish anything in their respective newspapers.’ Biswas denied the accusations against him, and the Muslims threatened to harm him and others who converted from Islam to Christianity.” (Open Doors)

Wednesday, please pray for the people of Mexico. “Mexico is in danger of a ‘rapid and sudden collapse’ due to criminal gangs and drug cartels, according to a troubling new report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats. Criminal activity in Mexico has killed more than 5,300 people in the past year, including members of warring drug cartels, law enforcement officials and bystanders, many of them slain close to the U.S. border.” As lawlessness increases so do attacks on Christians who stand against evil, as we have seen in Colombia. Please especially remember those Christians who are standing for Christ in Mexico. (Jim Meyers, Newsmax.com, me)

Thursday, please pray for Believers from a Muslim Background who are coming to the Lord throughout the Muslim world. They face ostracism, rejection from family and culture, torture, and death. Yet more and more are coming to the Lord with hungry hearts. (Arab World Ministries)

Friday, please pray for ministries who are engaging and befriending Muslims at colleges and universities throughout the West. Please pray for the Lord to pour out His spirit upon these young people. (Arab World Ministries)

Saturday, please praise God that the abduction of “two teenage Christian sisters in Pakistan is over, but difficult times still loom ahead. Parvisha Masih, 18, and Sanam Masih, 14, who were kidnapped and assaulted last November” are at home now. Please pray that the Lord would help them recover from the trauma and that those around them would love them rather than shun them. (Open Doors)

Prayer List for January18-24, 2009

Prayer List for January18-24, 2009

Sunday, please pray for the people of Gaza and Israel. Over 700 have died in Gaza. Hospitals are poorly staffed and supplied, but this matters little to Hamas who started the attacks. Now rockets have been launched into Israel by Hizbullah from Lebanon though the Lebanese government is decrying these attacks. Please pray for the Christians who are often victims of the terrorists and victims of the Israelis since the terrorists stage themselves among the Christians. The terrorists use Christian bodies as propaganda against Israel and decrease the number of Christians at the same time. (Open Doors, various news, me)

Monday, please pray for Pakistani Christians Emanuel and Amin Masih. Emanuel Masih “of Faisalbad, a father of six and a former street sweeper, is trying to commute his prison sentence after police officer Omer Draz tortured him and had him imprisoned on trumped-up charge originating from a quarrel between their sons nine years ago.” Emanuel’s brother-in-law Amin was arrested on the same charges. Draz tortured the two for a month, leaving Emanuel paralyzed in the arms and legs. “The two men were eventually released on bail. In the intervening (9) years, they continued to attend court hearings. But on May 24 they were arrested and given a 5-year prison sentence along with a fine of 25,000 rupees. Lawyers appealed the decision in September at a Faisalbad court. Emanuel Masih could be released from prison due to an article in Pakistan criminal law that requires proper facilities for an incapacitated person. Without the use of his arms, Emanuel Masih could not survive in prison unless Amin assisted him.” Both men are totally innocent of a crime, however. (Compass Direct News, International Christian Concern)

Tuesday, please pray for 27-year-old Bangladesh Christian, Sujan Chakma, his wife, Shefali, and their 6-year-old son. Since Sujan became a Christian, his Buddhist neighbors have beaten him, threatened to beat and imprison him, and have ostracized and refused him work. On days he doesn’t work, his family cannot eat. They have also pressured him to divorce his wife. He fears to stay in his home at night. (Compass Direct News, International Christian Concern)

Wednesday, please praise God that Pakistani courts returned a Christian teenager, Nousheen Bibi, held in slavery by a Muslim women to her mother. (Jawar Mazhar, International Christian Concern)

Thursday, please pray for a Brazilian homeschooling couple, Cleber and Bernadeth Nunes, who have been taken to court for homeschooling. In Brazil Homeschooling is illegal in spite of the illiteracy of 70% of teens from 15-19 years old. The Brazilian Congress is considering legalizing homeschooling.(Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow)

Friday, please pray for the surviving families “of a brutal attack December 26 in a church in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. According to news reports, attackers used machetes and killed dozens of people at a church in remote eastern Congo. The Ugandan army accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of the massacre. The accused Ugandan rebel group, which has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal wars, denied responsibility, according to a report.” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please pray that the American people would recognize the pressure that is being put on companies to make contributions to organizations promoting and trapping people in homosexuality. “In the last two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and $500,000 to the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The $1,000,000 was to be used to help promote homosexuality in the workplace. Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.” “The Media Daily News reports that Campbell's will continue to use its advertising dollars to support homosexual publications pushing the homosexual agenda and same-sex marriage. AFA had asked the company to remain neutral in the culture war.” (American Family Association)

Prayer List for the Persecuted Church: December 21-27, 2008

Sunday, please pray for the churches of Kabacan, Philippines. “Police in Kabacan, a city in the Philippines, defused the third bomb targeted at a religious institution in three days on Saturday, (Nov,29). The bomb was the second attempt on the Iglesia ni Cristo Church, in addition to another grenade that was thrown at a Jehovah's Witnesses church days earlier. (International Christian Concern, Inquirer.net)

Monday, please pray for the Christians of Iraq. “Thousands of Iraqi Christians have found threats like this under their front doors or stoops, in stairwells or shoved through their courtyard gates: ‘Be informed that we will cut your heads and leave your dead bodies with no organs and no heads in your stores and houses. We know your houses and we know your family. We will kill you one after the other. Depart the Muslim areas.’" (International Christian Concern, Worldmag )

Tuesday, please pray for the Christians of Orissa, India. “The Orissa state government continues to participate in the anti-Christian pogrom by forcing Christians out of relief camps without ensuring their safety once they get back home.” (International Christian Concern, Christian Post)

Wednesday, please pray for the Christians of Orissa, India. “Christians in Orissa state are anticipating Christmas with fear as Hindu extremists have called for a state-wide bandh, or forced shut-down on all sectors of society. This “bandh” is planned for Christmas day and could provide Hindu extremists the pretext for attacking anyone publicly celebrating the birth of Christ. The state’s chief minister has said there should be no such shut-down but stopped short of prohibiting the Hindu extremists’ plan. The Hindu extremist umbrella organization Sangh Parivar has vowed to press ahead with the bandh, reported newspaper Outlook India on Nov. 20.” (Open Doors)

Thursday, please praise God for His wonderful gift, Christ Jesus.

Friday, please pray for 45-year-old Christian convert from Islam in Bangladesh, Laila Begum, and her family. She “said that on Nov. 1 several Muslim neighbors demanded that she pay them money. Begum told Compass Direct News that she had borrowed the equivalent of $30 last year from a Muslim neighbor and this year paid her back with interest. When she told the group of Muslim neighbors that she was not going to pay any more money and they began beating her. ‘“Suddenly they got equipped with sticks, iron rods, knives and machetes,” she said. The family informed local governing council members about the attack, but the council demanded $300 to settle the matter and also threatened them, she said. “The local council officials also told us that if we file any case in the police station, our houses will be burnt to ashes and we will be evicted from the locality.’” (Open Doors)

Saturday, please praise God that “Gospel for Asia missionary, N. Chauhan, has escaped from his kidnappers after being abducted from a marketplace in Madhya Pradesh, India and taken to a secluded house where he was beaten. He was able to escape the next day when his abductors allowed him free to relieve himself. He ran nine miles to the home of a fellow believer, losing his captors in the forest.” (International Christian Concern, ANS)