THE AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH www.barnabasfund.org
prayer
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
to help you pray for the persecuted church
SEPTEMBER 1 - 4 Thank you for your prayers for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, which make such a difference to them. We sometimes have to change or omit their names for security reasons, and we have only limited space to share their stories. But the Lord knows the people and places we are praying about. Thank you for your understanding. Please do not feel limited by the specific prayer requests, but pray as you feel led.
September Saturday 1 As Syria implodes into chaos and civil war, the sad story of a Christian family from Homs highlights the desperate plight of the country’s Christians. Their home is occupied by opposition fighters, who have looted or destroyed most of their furniture. They are struggling to make ends meet: the father lost his job in Homs and went to Damascus for work but was then laid off again, while the mother had to leave her small shop behind when the family was driven from the city, and the oldest daughter’s wages do not even cover her commuting costs. The middle daughter is recovering from a gunshot wound, and the youngest daughter cannot attend college. Pray for these and so many other Christian families whose lives have been devastated by the conflict, that the Lord will sustain them through each day. Sunday 2 A double suicide bomb attack in Damascus on 10 May has reinforced Syrian Christians’ doubts about their long-term future in the country, as militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda enter Syria from Iraq. A group called the al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the 2
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attacks, which left more than 50 people dead. The group has also been behind other bombings across the country. Lift to the Lord in prayer our brothers and sisters in Syria, and pray too that the Lord will turn the hearts of Islamist militants and that they will be restrained from committing further attacks. Monday 3 Pray for two Christian women from the UK who are taking an important test case to the European Court of Human Rights tomorrow. Nadia Eweida, a British Airways check-in clerk, and Shirley Chaplin, a nurse, were both barred from wearing a cross openly in their workplace on the grounds that it breached company uniform policy (although BA allowed the Muslim hijab and Sikh turbans and bangles to be worn). The women claim that they are victims of religious discrimination. Pray that the case will establish the right of Christians to wear symbols of their faith openly at work. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said in the House of Commons on 11 July that he supported this right and that the Government would change the law if necessary to uphold it. Pray that he will follow through on this undertaking. Tuesday 4 An extended Christian family in Pakistan is facing immense and vicious pressure from attackers and getting no help from the police. On 29 March a 13-year-old girl was drugged and raped by three men. Then on 8 May one of the rape suspects along with five other men broke into the family’s home and beat up several family members. The following day a pregnant woman gave birth to two stillborn babies. The attackers have also claimed ownership of the Christian family’s land and forced them to stop building on it. Initially the police refused to register the rape case, and they have already declared one of the
SEPTEMBER 5 - 8 accused, a retired inspector’s son, innocent. They have not arrested any of the intruders. Pray that the family will find strength in this ordeal and that justice will eventually be done. Wednesday 5 Give thanks that 31 Christian farming families in Rangpur, southern Punjab, Pakistan, who lost everything, including their crops, in the catastrophic floods of August 2010 are back on the road to self-sufficiency with help from Barnabas. Last November Barnabas provided them with seed and fertiliser for sowing winter crops of wheat, and four months later they were able to reap abundant harvests. One of the recipients said, “It was a joyous time for me and my family. I felt free because I was under no debt any more.”
Barnabas provided seed and fertiliser to this Pakistani Christian couple affected by the floods of 2010, and now they have a good harvest
Thursday 6 Give thanks to the Lord that with the help of Barnabas Fund hundreds of Christian children in Pakistan, whose families lost much or everything in the floods of August 2010, have been enabled to return to school. Hundreds of Christian families started receiving monthly food packages from Barnabas soon after the floods;
in many cases this was the only support they received. As a result they no longer had to let their children work, and were also able to send them to school and pay for uniforms, school fees, pens and paper. Pray that the children of all the supported families will be able to go back to school, and that they will grow strong in their faith, knowing God’s nearness in their difficult circumstances. Friday 7 “The blasphemy laws of Pakistan hang over Christians and other minorities like a sword on their necks.” Thomsena Anjum, who had to flee Pakistan to Britain following a false blasphemy allegation against her son, addressed a meeting in the UK parliament on 15 May. A Barnabas Fund staff member was in attendance as MPs and peers heard about the plight of Christians in Pakistan and Egypt. Pakistan’s “blasphemy laws”, which prescribe the death penalty for “defiling the name of Muhammad”, are often used against Christians and other non-Muslims to settle personal disputes. Pray that those who attended this meeting will be moved to act by what they heard, and that the British government will put pressure on Pakistan to change these unjust and repressive laws. Saturday 8 Pray for a senior church leader in Sri Lanka who is in danger after speaking out against human rights abuses by the government. Rayappu Joseph has defended the beleaguered Tamil people in the north and east of the country, who suffered grave abuses during the long civil war and are now marginalised and mistreated. In particular, he has highlighted the disappearance of 146,000 people during the war and has called for international intervention in Sri Lanka. Open threats have been made against him, with a Buddhist political party calling for his arrest and prosecution; he has also been questioned by the police. The regime ruthlessly silences dissenters, BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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SEPTEMBER 9 - 13 and many of its opponents have been killed. Pray for Rayappu’s safety and that his concerns will be addressed. Sunday 9 A Sri Lankan Christian schoolboy was severely beaten by a Buddhist monk and left bleeding from the ear when he professed his faith in the classroom on 11 June. Amila Tharanga Thilakaratne (14) is the only non-Buddhist in his class and suffers discrimination because of his faith. The monk forced him to sit at the front and recite the names of Buddha’s parents, and when Amila said he was a Christian, the monk attacked him. Amila received no medical treatment and was warned to tell no-one about the incident. His father filed a complaint with the police, but he is doubtful that any action will be taken against the monk and concerned that Amila may be expelled for reporting the matter. Pray for Amila as he recovers from this ordeal, and pray that justice may be done for him. Monday 10 “The Castro government … extend their arms like an octopus, to repress not only Cuban civil society but also all believers.” These are the words of Carlos Lamelas, a former prisoner of conscience who left Cuba in 2011 following 20 years of persecution and attacks. He was one of a group of Cuban church leaders who have recently called on the US government to put the country on their list of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. The number of incidents has increased sharply in 2012: pastors have been physically attacked, with one suffering brain damage in a brutal assault; people have been prevented from attending services and 4
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churches threatened with closure. Pray that the international community will press the Cuban government to grant greater religious freedom to Christians and others. Tuesday 11 Lift up to the Lord our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East and North Africa in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. In most parts of the region their position in society was already wretched and their freedoms minimal, and none of the recent political changes has been good for them; in many places they are suffering more severely than before. They have no prospect of relief in the foreseeable future. Pray that they may know God’s peace and strength at this difficult and challenging time, and that they may stand firm in their faith and have wisdom in responding to developing events. Pray too for their protection against those who want to harm them or drive them out of their homelands. Wednesday 12 Pray for Christians in Egypt as they face a turbulent future after the election of an Islamist president in June. The candidate of the main Islamist party, Mohammed Morsi, emerged victorious from the second ballot against the former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq. Many Christians, wanting to prevent the establishment of an Islamic state, had supported Shafiq and faced harassment and hostility as a result. Morsi has promised to be a “president for all Egyptians”, but during the campaign he also undertook to apply Islamic sharia uncompromisingly. With the army still wielding great power in Egypt it is unclear how much freedom he will have to promote his agenda. Pray for positive political change, and that the rights of Christians and other minorities will be upheld and strengthened. Thursday 13 “You came at just the right time for us… My family had no food to eat for dinner.” An Egyptian Christian mother expressed her
SEPTEMBER 14 - 16 thanks for a food package funded by Barnabas and supplied by one of our partners. As political turmoil increases in Egypt and the economy teeters on the edge of collapse, prices have soared and food has become scarce. Many Christians in Egypt were already very poor, often as a result of discrimination against them, and their plight is now even more desperate. Barnabas is also enabling some of them to set up small businesses to support themselves. Pray that the Lord will meet all their needs at this tumultuous time.
This Christian family in Egypt received emergency food aid from Barnabas
Friday 14 “Cries of grief and wailing could be heard from the Christian families with shouts of ‘we are innocent’, while the Muslim side broke out into jubilation and shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘god is great’)” A Christian activist in Egypt described the reaction when twelve Christian men were sentenced to life imprisonment, while eight Muslims jointly charged in the case were acquitted. They were tried on 21 May in connection with an outbreak of sectarian violence in Minya in April 2011; two Muslims and two Christians were killed, ten Christians were hospitalised, and scores of homes and businesses belonging to Christians were looted and torched. The verdict was slammed by human
rights activists as a “serious miscarriage of justice”. Pray that the case will be re-examined and justice upheld (Proverbs 17:15). Saturday 15 A church leader and twelve families in his congregation were viciously attacked by Hindu extremists in the village of Mitrapur, Orissa state, India on 15 June. The leader was set upon on his way home and was left seriously injured and bleeding on the ground. Around 50 Hindus then attacked the whole Christian community, injuring 20 people, tearing the clothing from some of the women, and looting homes. The Christians fled the village. A few days before, police had seized homemade bombs and dynamite from another village in Orissa; intelligence reports suggested that these were being collected in preparation for another antiChristian onslaught. Around 90 Christians died and tens of thousands were displaced from their homes in anti-Christian riots in Orissa in 2007-08. Pray for those injured in the recent attack, and for peace and protection for Christians in Orissa. Sunday 16 Over 400 Christians have fled their homes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir as a result of growing pressure from the Muslim majority. On 23 May, a 119-year-old church in Srinagar was torched by Muslin extremists while the guard was away. A local church leader filed a case with the police but was advised not to “play up” such incidents. In another example of antiChristian hostility, three Christians were beaten up in a market place where they had been handing out Gospel tracts and sharing their faith. The Christians were detained, and two of them face up to five years in prison, accused of “promoting BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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SEPTEMBER 17 - 21 enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, birth, residence”. Pray that they will be cleared and that there will be relief from harassment for Christians in Kashmir. Monday 17 Christians in Karnataka state in India continue to endure intense pressure and hostility from Hindu extremists and the authorities. On 21 June three Christians were handing out Gospel tracts when Hindu activists came up and started verbally abusing them. They grabbed all the tracts and called the police, who arrested the Christians, although they were later released. Three days earlier a pastor in Muddebehal was accused by the police of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. He was ordered to stop his evangelistic work, close down his church and leave the area, or else report everything he was doing to the police every single day. Pray that the rights of Christians in Karnataka to practise their faith will be upheld, and that the authorities will reject the hostile accusations of the extremists. Tuesday 18 A mainly Christian neighbourhood in Ambon in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia, came under attack in violence that started on 14 May. A bomb exploded, injuring dozens of people, and homes and cars were set alight. Dozens of families fled, fearing further attacks. In Picuan, North Sulawesi, the only church in the area was set alight, and scores of homes and cars were torched on 9 May. These incidents are especially concerning because of the recent history of brutal anti-Christian violence in these regions; between 1999 and 2001, thousands of Christians were killed by Islamist militants in a genocidal war. Pray for stability and peace throughout Indonesia, and for protection for the Christian minority. Wednesday 19 Violence against Indonesia’s Christians has been less severe since the end 6
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of the Islamist campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2001. But they continue to be targeted: churches face much opposition and harassment, and many have been forcibly closed or destroyed. At least half of the country’s 32 provinces have added elements of versions of sharia to their legislation in response to Islamist pressure. Give thanks to the Lord that a recent survey has revealed a sharp drop in support for Islamic political parties in the country and increased backing for moderates. Pray that this welcome development will continue, and that Indonesia, which was once a model of good relations between Muslims and Christians, will resist Islamist pressure to make it an Islamic state. Thursday 20 Praise God that a former “most wanted” terrorist who made the explosives to blow up several Indonesian churches twelve years ago has finally been brought to justice. Umar Patek was sentenced on 21 June, having been found guilty of murder, bomb-making and terrorist offences. Around 19 people, mainly Christians attending services, were killed in attacks on 25 churches by Islamist militants on Christmas Eve 2000. Patek also made the explosives for the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed 202 people, mainly Western tourists. Pray that his conviction and sentencing will deter further Islamist attacks on Christians and others. Friday 21 Church buildings continue to be an easy target for anti-Christian hostility in Indonesia. The authorities in the district of Aceh Singkil, in the semi-autonomous province of Aceh, have ordered 20 congregations to tear down their buildings, threatening to do so themselves if the Christians refuse to comply. The decree intensifies the pressure on local Christians, who have also suffered the recent closure of 16 small places of worship, not classified as churches. Islamist groups have been protesting against the
SEPTEMBER 22 - 25 presence of Christian places of worship in the district, and Christians believe that the authorities have yielded to this pressure. The churches have appealed to the president for help; pray that they may be allowed to worship the Lord in peace. Saturday 22 Praise God that Pastor Yerzhan Ushanov has been cleared on appeal in Kazakhstan, having been given a hefty fine after he prayed for the healing of a sick man who visited his church. The leader of New Life Protestant Church in Taraz had been found guilty on 5 September 2011 of “causing severe damage to health due to negligence”. Yerzhan strongly denied the allegations against him and said that the man for whom he had prayed “did not suffer at all”. The positive outcome in this case is unusual in Kazakhstan, where Christians have been coming under mounting pressure as a result of restrictive new laws that came into force in October 2011. Pray that it will set a precedent for greater religious freedom in Kazakhstan.
Kaduna state. Men armed with rifles poured into the streets and prevented help from reaching the wounded. Pray that God may be a shield around our brothers and sisters as they gather in His name (Psalm 3:3).
Churches in Northern and central Nigeria are being targeted by suicide car bombers
Monday 24 In late July fighters from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram attacked twelve villages in Plateau state, Nigeria. Fleeing from the violence, local Christians took refuge in the house of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria. The house Sunday 23 Cry out to the Lord for was bombed and more than 50 people were the safety of Christians in Northern burned alive, including the pastor’s wife and Nigeria and the Middle Belt facing the children. Boko Haram has been responsible for grave threat of violence and murder. many of the attacks on Christians in Nigeria in Targeted attacks on churches have pursuit of its goal of establishing an Islamic state intensified in recent months. For in the North. It has made clear that Christians are example, on Sunday 3 June a suicide not welcome there, threatening to eradicate them car bomber killed at least 18 people from the region. Pray that the Nigerian authorities and injured more than 40 others in an will provide better protection for the churches and attack on two churches in Yelwa Tuda, will succeed in containing and defeating Boko Bauchi state. A week later gunmen Haram. opened fire on a congregation in Biu, Borno state, killing a woman and Tuesday 25 Despite the danger of bombings injuring several other worshippers, and shootings, Christians in Northern and central while another bomber killed around Nigeria are continuing to attend church. After ten people at a church in Jos, Plateau one suicide attack in Jos, Plateau state, a local state. Then on 17 June another 74 pastor said, “We still don’t relent. We cannot people died in three co-ordinated stop attending Sunday services, because if we bombings at three churches in do, it means we have helped them to achieve BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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SEPTEMBER 26 - 30 their objective... God remains our protector.� The pastor of one of the churches in Yelwa that were attacked on 3 June asked Christians not to retaliate in any way but to pray to God for peace. Praise the Lord for the courage, endurance and faithfulness of these Christians, and pray that He will watch over them and not let their foot slip (Psalm 121:3-4). Wednesday 26 Christian farming communities in Nigeria are also at risk of violence. On 5 July Muslims destroyed 43 Christianowned farms in Plateau state, while two days later nine Christian villages around the city of Jos were attacked; dozens of people died. On 8 July mourners at a funeral for the victims were gunned down, including two Christian politicians. Security forces blamed Muslim Fulani herdsmen for the violence, although the involvement of Boko Haram is also suspected. A local Christian leader said that the Nigerian government was failing to protect Christians. Pray for healing and peace for those injured and bereaved in these attacks. Thursday 27 Barnabas Fund has been at hand to alleviate the distress of persecuted Nigerian Christians in various ways. In Kaduna state we sent aid in June to 81 Christians who had lost their houses, personal property or businesses or sustained injury in violent attacks and to 80 widows and orphans and three converts from Islam. In Kano state we are helping to reconstruct ten destroyed churches. And in Jos, Plateau state, seven congregations received trauma workshops to help them cope with the devastating losses they have experienced. Pray that the violence against Christians in Nigeria will cease and those who have suffered will be able to forgive their persecutors and rebuild their lives. Friday 28 Pray for Farshid Fathi Malayeri, an Iranian pastor and convert from Islam, whose 8
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six-year jail sentence, issued in March, has been upheld following an unsuccessful appeal. He was convicted of being the chief agent of foreign organisations in Iran and of administering funds for foreign organisations, but these charges were obviously a pretext for locking up the pastor on account of his faith. He was arrested as part of a major crackdown on the country’s house church movement on 26 December 2010 and has been detained ever since. Please pray that the Lord will intervene to bring about an early release for Farshid and that he will have the strength to endure his sufferings in the meantime. Saturday 29 A Christian artist, Vahid Zarday, and his heavily pregnant wife, both converts from Islam, were among those detained in a raid on a house church by plain-clothes security officers in Mashhad, Iran. Vahid, who has collaborated with a number of famous Iranian artists and received awards as a music composer, was taken to an unknown location, while his wife was temporarily released because of her condition. Vahid had been arrested five years ago because of his Christian faith; at that time he was interrogated for 48 hours and subjected to mental torture, which affected him long afterwards. Pray that the Lord will give Vahid and his wife peace and keep them and their baby safe from all harm. Sunday 30 On 29 May a Farsispeaking church in Tehran, Iran, was ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to stop all its activities and close the building. The shutdown has sparked concerns that a wave of closures of Farsi-speaking churches across Iran is pending, in what appears to be an attempt by the Iranian authorities to stop Iranian Muslims from hearing the Gospel in their own language. In recent months
OCTOBER 1 - 4 a number of churches have already been ordered to stop their Farsilanguage services. Pray for wisdom for the targeted congregation and that they will find another place to meet together. Pray that any plans for further church closures will be frustrated and that Christians in Iran will be able to hold services in peace.
October Monday 1 Give thanks that Eshan Behrooz, a convert from Islam to Christianity, has been released from prison in Iran after eight months of captivity, including 105 days in solitary confinement. The 24-year-old student was first arrested on 8 July 2010 with other new converts to Christianity. Because he refused to renounce his Christian faith, he was held in custody for three months and released only on bail of US$60,000. On 23 October 2011 he was arrested again and transferred to an unknown location. During his imprisonment he suffered many mental and physical problems. Pray that Eshan will be protected from any further arrests, and that he will be healed from all his hurts. Pray too that all converts from Islam in Iran may be strengthened by the Lord. Tuesday 2 “Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, ending Friday (8 June).” This was the message two Christian leaders from the Syrian city of Qusayr said they heard ringing out from the minarets in early June. It echoed an earlier ultimatum allegedly issued by a military chief of the armed opposition. The rebel leadership in the city denied ordering Christians out, but most of Qusayr’s 10,000 Christian residents have fled, either to nearby villages or to Damascus. The city has been the site of intense clashes: Atallah Ibrahim Bitar, a church minister,
was shot dead while reportedly taking food to people. Pray that those who have been forced from their homes will know the Lord’s provision and peace. Pray also for those who mourn Atallah. Wednesday 3 Kidnappings, woundings and brutal murders have further scarred the Christian community in Syria during the current conflict. Some families have preferred to ask the kidnappers to kill their loved ones immediately rather than risk their being hideously tortured by the militants. Sometimes they are simply caught in the crossfire. In one tragic incident, Marie Khala, a university student, and her father, Josef, were killed in a bomb blast that hit their car. Josef had refused to allow his daughter to go to her class alone, because of the shelling and fighting in and around their village. Pray for the Lord’s protection for His people in the midst of these acute dangers.
Emergency aid sent from Barnabas for displaced Christian families in Syria
Thursday 4 Thank the Lord for a rare case of justice for the Christian community in Egypt. A Muslim policeman who shot six Christians on a train, killing one of them, in January 2011 was sentenced to death by a court in Minya on 14 May. Amer Ashour Abdel-Zaher had chanted “Allahu Akbar” (“god is great”) before opening fire on the Christians, who were sitting together. Fathy Ghattas (71) was killed instantly; the other BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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OCTOBER 5 - 8 five sustained severe wounds. The sentence surprised Christian activists in Egypt; one said, “Usually killers of Christians literally get away with murder.” Pray that crimes against Christians in Egypt will be penalised appropriately and justly. Friday 5 Christians in Egypt can be objects of suspicion and scorn even when they are doing good work for the wider community. A charitable medical centre in Aswan that performs free heart operations on children, Muslims and Christians alike, is now under threat from radical Muslims. They want it closed down because it was founded by a Christian surgeon, the world-renowned Sir Magdi Yacoub, an Egyptian who emigrated to the West and has pioneered research in heart and lung surgery. The centre has a government permit to practise, and its Muslim director has said that closing it down would be a big loss to Egypt. Pray for its preservation, and for greater respect for the contribution made by Christians to Egyptian society. Saturday 6 An Egyptian Muslim leader issued a fatwa in July forbidding Muslim taxi drivers and bus drivers from transporting Egyptian church leaders to their churches. Dr Yassir al-Burhami is a prominent figure in Egypt’s Salafi movement, which has made clear its wish to impose a strict interpretation of Islam on Egyptian society, similar to the one practised in Saudi Arabia. Its political party, al-Nur, won around 30% of the votes in last year’s parliamentary elections. Pray that it will not succeed in achieving its aims, and that Christian leaders will not suffer even greater discrimination as a result of this statement. Sunday 7 Give thanks that 547 Christian families in Sri Lanka and Orissa, India, are now living in new homes, built with help from Barnabas Fund. And another 65 families could 10
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move back into their damaged houses after they were repaired. The Christians had all been homeless for years, living in miserable conditions, such as unsafe huts that were so low they could not stand upright and that were often swelteringly hot in the summer. Those in Orissa had become homeless in 2007 and 2008 after extremist Hindus attacked and burned down their houses. In Sri Lanka, Christians had lost their homes during the long civil war that ended in 2009. Pray for God’s
A Sri Lankan boy stands in the new house built for his homeless Christian family with help from Barnabas
blessing on the next phase of the building projects to provide further houses for homeless Christians. Monday 8 In a welcome development for Christians in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, police have detained two members of an extortion racket who have been threatening to blow up pastors’ churches and kill their families. The men were caught in the act of extorting money from Sundar Thapa, chairman of the Federation of Nepali Christians and pastor of a church in Samakhusi. Their victims had sought help from the police, and a timely response to their concerns prevented any possible violence. Christians face
OCTOBER 9 - 13 many forms of harassment in Nepal. Give thanks that in this case the authorities have taken action on their behalf, and pray that they may be kept safe from further attacks. Tuesday 9 Pray for the safety of Christians in the northern half of the African continent in the face of a growing threat from militant Islamism. In June a senior US general said there were indications that Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and alQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are pooling money and explosives, and training fighters together. These are three of the continent’s most violent Islamist groups, which have carried out deadly attacks on Christians and other targets (see 24 September, 10 October and 24 October). The position of Islamists in North Africa has recently been further strengthened by the rebel takeover in Mali and a breakdown of law and order in Libya. Pray that they will not succeed in driving Christians out of the region. Wednesday 10 Militant Islamists are tightening their grip on northern Mali following their takeover of the region earlier this year. At first the violent insurgency was driven by an alliance of Islamist groups and separatist rebels. But then fighting broke out between them, and in July the Islamists, who include al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, drove the separatists from their last stronghold and conquered the whole of the north. They are now recruiting, arming and training increasing numbers of fighters. Many Christians in Mali have been forced to flee their homes; some have gone to the Malian capital, Bamako, and others have fled abroad. Barnabas Fund has provided food, medicine and housing costs for some of the displaced families. Pray that they may all find safe refuge, and that the progress of Islamism in North Africa will be reversed.
Thursday 11 Give thanks that thousands of Christian children who are living in contexts of persecution can attend school in a Christian environment through help from Barnabas. Without the support these children would experience belittlement, discrimination and pressure to convert to another religion. A coordinator of a Christian nursery in North Africa, which has received support from Barnabas for two years, wrote, “What you’re doing saves our kids from many major problems with the Islamic teaching.” At the nursery 18 Christian children are learning to write, draw and count using Biblical stories. The children pray before meals and for their parents and friends, and the teachers pray with them and teach them how to pray. Pray that these schools will be protected from attack and that the children will grow up strong in their faith and witness. Friday 12 Video footage of a convert from Islam to Christianity being slaughtered by Muslims has been shown on Egyptian television. Although the date and location of his martyrdom are unclear from the film, it is reported to have taken place in Tunisia. The young man is held down by masked men, one of whom chants Muslim prayers condemning Christianity, and then his head is cut off with a knife. The footage of this brutal killing is an alarming indication of the potential threat to religious freedom in the Islamist political order that seems to be emerging from the Arab Spring. Pray for the family and friends of the murdered convert in their bereavement, and for those responsible for his death to be held to account. Pray too for protection for Christian converts in Arab countries. Saturday 13 “Our template is clear, a 100 per cent Islamic constitution, without communism or secularism or Western influences.” With this statement on 7 July the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, signalled his intention of BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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OCTOBER 14 - 16 strengthening the authority of sharia law in Sudan following the secession of the South in 2011. The small Christian minority in Sudan will be even more vulnerable if sharia is enforced more strictly. In the past year they have already seen churches and other Christian buildings destroyed, and Christian converts from Islam have had their property and even their spouses taken away. Pray that our brothers and sisters will be strengthened to stand firm in the Lord in the face of this intense pressure.
This church building in Sudan was flattened by the authorities
Sunday 14 In one striking example of the harsh and arbitrary persecution of Christians in Sudan, a church in the capital, Khartoum, was flattened by the authorities on 18 June. Bulldozers supported by police demolished the building while a number of Christian women watched helplessly; they were permitted to retrieve only a few chairs. The authorities claimed that the church had no legal documents and status and that it belonged to Christians from (now independent) South Sudan, but these claims were denied by a local church leader. He said, “The authorities do not respect the rights of non-Muslims… It seems 12
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that the policy of Islamic state is being implemented.” Pray that the Lord will comfort the congregation in their distress and that the rights of Christians will no longer be so blatantly disregarded. Monday 15 Pray for a Chinese church leader who has apparently been silenced after challenging the authority of one of the statecontrolled denominations. Thaddeus Ma Daqin, a leading member of the organisation, announced his resignation from it at a service in July in front of senior officials. But soon afterwards he disappeared, and it was reported that he had been forced to take “a period of reflection” in private that might last for months. One of his friends said, “He has chosen belief over freedom.” The official churches in China are subject to tight control and arbitrary treatment, but it is rare for their high-ranking members to reject them altogether. Pray for the safety of this courageous leader, and for greater religious freedom for all China’s churches. Tuesday 16 On 1 July a Christian woman suffered a fractured skull in a brutal attack on a congregation in Nghe An province, Vietnam. She was taken to intensive care following the assault by a group of thugs, who were believed to have been paid by the authorities to carry out the attack. Dozens of people were injured. Over the last 18 months the authorities have deployed various tactics to try to stop the Christians in the province from attending services: they have been threatened and had stones thrown at them, and some have been arrested. But the Christians have remained steadfast and continue to gather together. Pray that those who suffered injuries will make a full recovery and that the church will be left to worship in peace.
OCTOBER 17 - 21 Wednesday 17 Tanks, threats and violent thugs failed to deter 10,000 brave Christians in Nghe An province in Vietnam from taking part in protest marches in support of religious freedom on 15 July. On the day before, the authorities deployed armoured vehicles outside the house of a local church leader, while police and hired hooligans were sent to patrol the streets and intimidate people. Individuals were targeted in the run-up to the demonstrations: a prominent Christian journalist was stabbed, and the police attempted to detain a high-profile Christian lawyer. The authorities also blocked the ferries to the march meeting points, but thousands of Christians set out the night before and walked many miles to arrive on time. Praise the Lord for the courage and determination of our brothers and sisters, and pray for greater religious freedom in Vietnam. Thursday 18 A grandmother from a mainly Christian ethnic group was gang-raped and tortured by Burmese soldiers when they invaded her village on 1 May. The 48-year-old Kachin woman had taken refuge in a church building in Luk Pu village after most of the other villagers had fled. Around ten soldiers beat her with rifle butts, stabbed her with knives, stripped and sexually assaulted her over three days. After they left, she was found semi-conscious by some villagers and taken to hospital. She has since been reunited with her family but is deeply traumatised and mentally disturbed. Pray for the healing of her physical and psychological wounds, and that Christians in Kachin state will be delivered from the ravages of the Burmese army. Friday 19 Those who accept Christ in Laos often have to pay a high price. On 14 June, two members of the Lao security force, Khamsorn and Tonglai, were discharged from their posts because they had become Christians. Following the men’s conversion at the end of May, their
family members also decided to follow Jesus. Pray that the Lord will provide for Khamsorn and Tonglai’s families following their loss of employment, and strengthen them all in their new faith. “Those who honour me, I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30). Saturday 20 “The rioters were threatening people’s lives by torching churches and blocking roads… We couldn’t tolerate them as they were destroying government and people’s properties.” The Zanzibar Commissioner of Police was reporting on violent riots by supporters of a separatist Islamist movement in May. The Association for Islamic Mobilisation and Propagation (UAMSHO) set fire to a number of churches and other Christian property, in protest against the arrest of some of its senior members. Give thanks for a strong response by the authorities – 30 members of UAMSHO were arrested in connection with the riots – and pray that they will be able to prevent a repeat of such violence in the future. Pray too for protection for the small Christian minority on the Muslimmajority island. Sunday 21 “S” a young Christian woman from Eritrea, was abducted and sold to Bedouin traffickers who beat her so severely that she is now permanently disabled. They also subjected her to extreme sexual violence that left her with gynaecological infections. Her mother was forced to borrow US$15,000 to pay for S’s release. S is one of many Christian women from Eritrea who have suffered severe physical and sexual abuse at the hands of people traffickers in their desperate flight from persecution. Barnabas Fund is funding a new BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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OCTOBER 22 - 25 ministry in the Holy Land that is helping these women recover and rebuild their lives. Pray that the ministry will be able to help the women effectively, that the Lord will heal them bodily and emotionally from all wounds, and that they may become strong women of faith. Monday 22 Barnabas Fund is enabling 120 Christian workers (40 per year over a period of three years) to continue serving the Lord in desperately poor, rural, Muslim-majority areas of Sierra Leone. Each pastor receives training in farming and animal rearing and is given two goats, two bushels of rice and two of groundnut, and farming tools. They are also given two mosquito nets and a bicycle for evangelism in their communities. Pray that the pastors will be able to provide for themselves and their families. Ask the Lord to bless their work as they care for believers and share the Gospel. Tuesday 23 Pray for Zablon, a young African Christian, who has a calling to serve amongst Muslims. He presents a Christian radio programme to which more than ten thousand people in East and Central Africa listen every Friday evening, many of whom are Muslims. Barnabas Fund is funding a three-year college training course in radio production and programming and Arabic to help him sharpen his skills. Pray that the course will enable Zablon to reach many Muslims with the Gospel and also to build up the churches. Wednesday 24 “As worshippers worshipped God in some churches, others were fighting for their dear lives and some were dead in others.” A Barnabas Fund contact in Muslim-majority northeast Kenya described the scene as two churches in Garissa were targeted in a coordinated attack 14
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on 1 July by suspected al-Shabaab militants; at least 17 people were killed and around 65 injured. The first and most serious attack was at the African Inland Church, where gunmen shot dead two police guards before throwing grenades inside and opening fire on the congregation. Pray that the bereaved will be comforted and the injured healed, and for better protection for churches in Kenya.
Daniel Muge was injured in a gun and bomb attack on a church in Garissa, Kenya. Barnabas paid for his surgery
Thursday 25 Pray for a church elder who sustained gunshot and blast wounds to his chest during the attacks in Garissa (see 24 October). Daniel Muge was hit by two bullets, one near his spine and one near his heart, and he underwent a six-hour operation by a leading cardiothoracic surgeon at a hospital in Nairobi. This was funded by Barnabas, who sent an emergency grant to help Christians affected by the attacks. The grant was used not only for medical costs but also to provide help with burial expenses and food for bereaved families. Give thanks for Daniel’s good prognosis and pray for his complete recovery. A Barnabas partner said, “Only Christ could have helped his situation and we truly thank you for funds that enabled us to save this one life from the terrorists’ bullets.”
OCTOBER 26 - 30 Friday 26 Christians suffer grievously under the anti-blasphemy laws enforced by some Muslimmajority countries. Since the Arab Spring such laws have been proposed in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Kuwait, Egypt and Tunisia. Then in June a draft blasphemy law was prepared by MPs in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, following violent protests by Muslims against a magazine article that they believed was insulting to Islam. The law prescribes lengthy imprisonment and hefty fines for vaguely worded offences such as “swearing at or mocking Allah”. Many Iraqi Christians fled to this region to escape persecution in other parts of the country, but if this law is passed it will put them at greater risk. Pray that the bill will be rejected and that Christians and other minorities in Iraqi Kurdistan will be able to live in peace. Saturday 27 Thank God that the Emir of Kuwait has rejected a bill passed by the country’s parliament that prescribes the death penalty for insulting Islam. But his decision may be overridden by MPs: when the bill first came before parliament in May it was passed overwhelmingly, and if they approve it again by a two-thirds majority vote it will become law. Although the death sentence would apply only to Muslims who refuse to repent, the bill also states that Christians and members of other minorities who are found guilty of blasphemy would be given a minimum jail term of ten years. Pray that this legislation will be abandoned, and for protection for Kuwait’s Christians from repressive laws. Sunday 28 Christian migrant workers in Kuwait often endure a miserable existence. Many live in crowded labour camps in the desert far from any city. They may start work on farms at 4.30 am and toil all day in
very bad conditions; then they return to the camps at 5.30 pm for dinner and fall asleep from exhaustion. They are paid only about £10 (US$15, €13) per week. Pray that these downtrodden Christians will put their hope in God (Psalm 42:5) and receive justice. Monday 29 “Your programme was so easy to understand because the pastor was giving examples right out of daily life, from people who are like us.” A viewer in Turkey was speaking about a teaching programme broadcast in Turkish through Christian satellite television, which has received funding from Barnabas for many years. Christian TV is reaching hundreds of thousands of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, strengthening them in their faith. It is a lifeline for many, who are living in countries where they are despised for their faith and where Christian resources are difficult to obtain. Pray that God will inspire the programme-makers to continue to create relevant and encouraging programmes, which will touch the hearts of many Christians in these regions, and that they can continue to be broadcast. Tuesday 30 “I have full confidence that the Lord will show His glory and that very soon we will join you again in the meetings. Through prayers we will succeed.” These brave words were spoken by a Christian convert from Islam in Lebanon, whose family is facing pressure and persecution from relatives and Muslim leaders because of their new faith. They and another convert family have been threatened with expulsion from their homes if they continue attending Christian home groups, and the groups’ leader was warned not to visit them any more. Give thanks to the Lord for their perseverance and confidence in Him, and pray that they will soon be able to enjoy Christian fellowship again. BARNABAS PRAYER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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OCTOBER 31 Wednesday 31 Pray for Barnabas Fund’s Proclaim Freedom campaign, in which we are seeking to bring the plight of the persecuted Church to the attention of those in authority. Through a petition and other initiatives, we want to press our governments to promote freedom of religion, human rights and justice in other countries, especially for the millions of persecuted
Christians, and for those who incite or engage in anti-Christian hatred and violence to be held accountable. We are focusing on this campaign in our resources for this year’s Suffering Church Sunday (4 November) and in our Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church tomorrow. Please join with us in praying for freedom and justice for our Christian family throughout the world.
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