Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Prayer Requests From VOM
| Prayers for September 5, 2006 From The Voice of the Martyrs |  |
 INDIA  (Compass Direct)The Congress Party-led government of the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh has decided to enact a law banning preaching of any religion other than Hinduism in Tirupati, a "temple town" in large measure under the administration of its shrine. National daily The Hindustan Times reported on August 21st that the state government had made the decision under pressure from Hindu groups that had "expressed resentment over missionaries preaching Christianity near the shrine." The daily quoted Endowments Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy as saying that a bill would be introduced in the state assembly calling for imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 rupees (US$43). The temple administration has jurisdiction over two of the township's seven hills. The state government plans on bringing all seven hills under the purview of the temple administration. Pray Christians will continue to be the feet of those who bring good news to their Hindu neighbors. Pray their boldness, love and courage will bring many Hindus to turn to the One who loved them enough to die for them. Pray the Holy Spirit will move in power to block the plans to bring all the hills under the temple's authority. (Compass Direct) Four Christians, including a pastor, who were beaten up and later arrested on charges of "forced conversion" in Madhya Pradesh state, were released on bail yesterday. Pastor K.K. Jwala of the Sheopur Bible Fellowship church and three members, identified only as Anup, Jijo and Raju Mathew, were released from the Sheopur district jail at 8 p.m. on Monday. A group of about 15 extremists punched and hit the Christians with hockey sticks soon after worship ended at about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday (August 20). The extremists dragged the Christians to the Sheopur police station about 500 meters away, beating them en route. The police promptly arrested the Christians. The four accused were to have appeared before the court on August 30th. The officer in charge of the police station, Hukum Singh Yadav, also allegedly beat Pastor Jwala at the facility. Give thanks to God for the release of the four Christians. Pray that no matter what the court decides, they will praise their Savior for His guidance and protection. Pray the Holy Spirit will move powerfully throughout India, overcoming the darkness of Hinduism with the light of Christ.  NEPAL (VOM sources)After facing much persecution at the hands of militant Hindus for some time, a Christian orphanage located in South Central Nepal has recently been mercilessly targeted by the Jota Lal Sahena gang, a group of local armed radicals. Information acquired by The Voice of the Martyrs indicates the band of outlaws warned the orphanage staff it must pay an enormous bribe. The ultimatum persists despite the orphanage workers pleading with the gang that they lack sufficient funds to pay the bribe. Refusing to respond to this illegal activity or bringing the outlaws to justice, Nepali police remain steadfast in their decision to offer the orphanage no protection. Pray God will move in power to protect these children who are precious in His sight. Pray the Lord will give the children and workers His amazing peace as they trust in Him. Pray the militants will be so moved by the witness of God's power that they will desire to know the One who loves them and has called them to repentance and the deep joy of forgiveness.  SAUDI ARABIA (Compass Direct)Saudi Arabia deported four East African Christians last month after they were detained while leading a prayer service in Jeddah. Arrested on June 9th, the church leaders were beaten and imprisoned for more than a month in torturous conditions. Masai Wendewesen, deported to his native Ethiopia on July 16th, told Compass that the Christians were never formally notified of the charges against them. But according to his Saudi work sponsor, the four had been jailed for "preaching to Muslims, planting churches and gathering ladies and gentlemen together for prayer," the Ethiopian said. The Christians were working in Saudi Arabia as chauffeurs and truck drivers. Proclaiming Christ to Muslims and building churches are forbidden in Saudi Arabia, where "apostasy" – leaving Islam – is a crime punishable by death. According to an August 25th report from Compass Direct, the four were inundated with questions about Christianity from their fellow prisoners. One prisoner said, "They would wake us up from our bed at night to ask us questions. We didn't think about the pain, we just preached the gospel." Give praise and glory to our loving Father who used these men in such a powerful way. Pray their sharing will awaken a deep hunger in those who heard them and will bring many into God's Kingdom. Pray for Muslims everywhere, pleading with God to break the chains that bind them to a false god.  VIETNAM (Compass Direct)Following an August 15-18 visit to Vietnam by U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom John Hanford, indications are that Vietnam will be taken off the U.S. list of the world's worst religious liberty offenders. With the planned September 2nd release from prison of key Hmong Christian leader Ma Van Bay – described as "propaganda exercises" by one human rights advocate – various releases by the Vietnam News Agency signal that Vietnamese officials expected Ambassador Hanford to take good news of religious liberty progress back to Washington. Vietnam's presence on the list of "Countries of Particular Concern" has remained a barrier to its membership in the World Trade Organization. According to representatives of the majority of Protestants in Vietnam – who remain unregistered and thus illegal – while there have been some modest and spotty improvements, there is still no clear indication of a breakthrough or even that reform is uniform and systematic. They also note that not one of the many officials who have broken Vietnam's laws in mistreating Christians has yet been charged. Pray God will comfort and strengthen all believers in Vietnam who continue to suffer for Jesus' sake. Pray the Lord will speak to the hearts of the Vietnamese authorities, convicting them that everything hidden will be revealed. Pray God will open the eyes of our own government officials and give them courage to demand the release of all Vietnamese imprisoned for their steadfast faith in Jesus.  LAOS (Asia News)Two Protestant Christians have been arrested in Southern Laos to stop them from pursuing their evangelization work, according to a report from the Lao Human Rights Movement (LHRM), which is critical of Vientiane's Communist regime. In a story published by Asia News (www.asianews.it), the two men - A-Kouam, 60, and A-Vieng, 35 - were taken into custody on August 11th and are being held in Depone in the Southern province of Savannakhet. The Asia News story says, "According to reliable sources cited by the LHRM, 'the arrest and imprisonment of the two Christian men is meant to stop the spreading of the Christian religion, especially among religious minorities.' "The Paris-based LHRM lamented the fact that in Laos 'freedom of religion is still very limited and religious minorities are victims of intimidation, threats, arrests and violence, both physical and moral.'" In the last few years dozens of Protestants have been arrested in Laos. Pray Jesus will bring the comfort of His presence to these two men. Pray they will know that Christians all over the world are lifting them before the throne of our Almighty God. Pray for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit to bring the light of Christ to Laos | |
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