Pray

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”

- Hebrews 13:3, NASB

Prayer Points

Please keep these issues in prayer as you go through this week and check back each week for new prayer points! If you would like to receive these prayer points every week by e-mail, sign up here. We encourage you to subscribe to our prayer points so that you can easily print or forward them electronically to your church, prayer groups, friends and family.

5/10/2012 Kuwait (World Net Daily) Dissing Muhammad Could Cost Life in Kuwait-

"The Kuwaiti parliament voted overwhelmingly for the strict blasphemy law. If approved by Kuwait's supreme leader, the law will impose the death penality on Muslims who insult Allah, the Quran, Muslim prophets, or Muhammad's wives," World Net Daily reports. Blasphemy is defined as anything from denying Muhammad as God's true prophet to opposing Islam. Punishments for Christians and non-Muslims, though not fatal, are still extreme, with a minimum 10-year prison sentence if convicted. "Blasphemy laws have been on the rise in recent years and are increasingly posing a threat to free speech and human rights in the Middle East," said Aidan Clay, ICC's regional manager to the Middle East.

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Pray for the courage of Kuwait's Christians, that they would continue to share the Gospel in light of these new consequences.

Pray that these hardships would cause the Kuwaiti Church to grow exponentially.

Pray that as Christians are jailed, that more and more Kuwaiti officials and officers would come to know the Lord.

5/14/2012 Iran (MohabaNews) Imprisoned in Iran: One Man's Story-

Ali Golchin, a Christian Iranian, was imprisoned for 87 days on charges of evangelism and actions against national security. Upon his release, Golchin fled Iran with his family, hoping to escape the intense persecution of Christians in his home country, including threats, arrests, and solitary confinement. Although it was explicity clear that he was arrested for holding a Bible and leading house churches, his lawyer explained that "keeping a Bible...[is not] a crime. And as a Christian, being in contact with other Christians as a teacher is not illegal!" Golchin was kept in solitary confinement for his entire jail sentence, with no contact to the outside world or other prisoners. "It is a place to put the prisoner under severe mental pressure," Golchin said.

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Praise that God would intervene on behalf of imprisoned Christians, and that their charges are dropped.

Pray for Golchin, that he and his family would be safe outside of Iran.

Praise God for Iranian lawyers like Golchin who fight for the rights of Christians.

5/16/2012 Indonesia (CDN) Seventeen Churches Forced to Close in Indonesia-

Christian churches have been forced to seal their doors, some even demolished, after the election of a hard-line Islamic governor. Hundreds of Islamists protested for the destruction of the churches, claiming that the local Christians had illegally increased the number of churches allowed by law, according to an agreement signed in 2001. "The number of Christians has reached 12,000. Some houses are forced to function as churches, and some buildings are only semi-peranent," said Jeirry Simampow, Diakonia Secretary of the Indonesian Fellowship of Churches. While building permits are rarely invoked in the area, officials have been cracking down on Christians since the election of Islamic governor, Zaini Abdullah of the militant Aceh Party.

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Pray for Christian minorities of Indonesia, that their faith would be strengthened in this time of uncertainty.

Pray that the Lord would provide a place for Christians to meet.

Pray for the protection of these Christians, that no harm would come to their bodies or spirits.

5/16/2012 Pakistan (Compass) Convert in Pakistan Brutally Beaten, Tries to Rebuild Life; Islam Hunts Him-

Muhammad Kamran, a Christian convert from Islam, has been running for his life after his Muslim ex-wife confessed of his conversion to family and friends. After becoming a Christian in 2009, Kamran kept his faith a secret for fear of the consequences of his ultra-conservative Muslim family, and even married a Sunni Syed woman. "After some days of our wedding, I shared my faith with her and was delighted when she told me that she would stand by me. But my hope was dashed the very next day, when she told both our families that I had turned away from Islam," Kamran said. He received daily threats from both families, and was attacked by an unidentified group one day, incurring injuries that affect him to this day. Currently, Kamran is remarried to a Christian woman and is expecting a child; they are all constantly threatened by Kamran's family, and must move frequently in order to stay alive.

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Pray that God would protect Kamran, his wife and their unborn child.

Pray that Kamran and his wife would be a living testimony to the provision and faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

Pray that God would reveal himself to Kamran's family, and end their quest to kill him.

5/17/2012 Uzbekistan (VOM) Bibles Confiscated and Homes Raided in Uzbekistan-

Christians in Uzbekistan meet under the threat of police raids, due to ambiguous religious laws in the country. After hosting a church meeting in her house, one woman received a fine equal to 60 times Uzbekistan's minimum wage. In addition to increased house raids and jail time, their religious literature is under intense censorship, often destroyed, while Muslim literature is left untouched.

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Praise God that the Uzbekistan church is alive and active despite these oppressions.

Pray for integrity in laws and courts of the country, that Christians would not  be discriminated against.

Pray for the Christians who were victims of a recent raid, that God would provide the funds for their extreme fines.

5/18/2012 Nigeria (American Spectator) Nigerian President Says Islamist Violence Blown Out of Proportion, Thousands of Dead Christians Disagree-

While Nigeria's constitution protects religious freedom and practice, it has not been able to protect citizens from violence against individuals. "Since 1999, more than 14,000 Nigerians have been killed in religiously-related violence between Muslims and Christians," reported the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Boko Haram and Islamic radicals have reported to be extremely violent in Northern Nigeria, leading to religious wars in the country. Although President Goodluck Jonathan has been active on this issue, including a recent terrorist leader arrest, critics say it is not enough to keep the country's future out of risk.

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Pray for the protection of Nigeria's Christians.

Pray that the president and other officials will work to improve safety of all its citizens.

Pray that Christians will not act violently towards their neighbors.

5/18/2012 North Korea, Iran (ICC) Bibles to North Korea and Iran-

International Christian Concern has a critical and immediate need for funds to get Bibles into North Korea and Iran. We have the opportunity, but we do not have the funding in our Bible account to pull it off. In North Korea, we send Bibles by high-altitude hot air balloons. They are timed to explode at different intervals all over North Korea, raining down thousands of Bibles at a time. In Iran, Christianity is exploding their, with a corresponding hunger for Bibles. We have already paid for teh Bibles in Iran, but we still have a need for their transportation.

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Pray that God would place provide the funds quickly for this important project.

Pray for God would direct the hot air balloons in North Korea, so that their placement is available to a person seeking the Word of God.

Pray for the protection of those who receive a Bible in both North Korea and Iran, as the consequences are severe.