INTERNATIONAL DAY of PRAYER for the PERSECUTED
International Christian Concern acts as a bridge between believers in free countries and believers in persecuted countries. We seek to serve the persected Church in strength and breadth through effective advocacy, assistance and awareness. In honor of International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted, we publish this program to help raise awareness of Christian persecution, as well as provide direction in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you would like to know more about our work, please visit: www.persecution.org, or submit questions and comments to icc@persecution.org.
INTERNATIONAL DAY of PRAYER for the PERSECUTED What does the persecuted Church need most? “We appreciate any help, my friend. There’s no better help than writing some letters and say, ‘Brothers, we are with you. We are with you, feel it, and we are praying. we stand with you and just fight the battle.’ That’s what a suffering Church needs to hear.” -Underground pastor to an ICC rep There is a war against Christianity, and despite what you may or may not hear in the media, it is not slowing down. Believers are incarcerated, beaten, tortured and harassed by their neighbors and governments, all for the sake of the Gospel. This program highlights the four darkest places on earth, and a story of a Christian from the country. We encourage you to remember their names, rand note that they represent hundreds and thousands of other Christians just like them. Please petition on their behalf to God the Father. Today, we pray for courage, strength, safety and freedom. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Mala’s story A mob of angry Hindu’s descended on Mala’s house and insisted that she sign papers declaring she would no longer be a Christian and would convert back to Hinduism. When she refused they dragged her from her house and beat her with large, heavy flashlights. Her injuries were so severe she was immediately hospitalized. When the hospital released her, Mala and her husband had nowhere to go; the mob had also destroyed their house and stolen all their belongings. When they reported the incident to the police they received death threats from the angry Hindus and went into hiding, knowing there was nothing the police could do to bring swift them swift protection. In India, Christians are treated as second-class citizens, and are routinely discriminated against, harassed, beaten and arrested; the police refuse to intervene, and often arrest Christians for reporting attacks, rather than the attackers themselves.
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Political unrest in Assam is slowing down the rebuilding of seven homes for families that were attacked. Please pray for political unrest to subside aid may be sent.
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Pray for Gracie, one of our orphans, who sturggles with her health. Pray for her full healing, and for the health of our other orphans.
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Pray for Pastor M. as he heads to court soon. He is accused of forcably converting people from Hinduism to Chrisitanity.
Jinhye’s story After her father was murdered, Jinhye and her family fled the tyrannical country. Forced to spend an entire year in hiding, refugees taught her and her mother about a man named Jesus Christ. They were discovered by Chinese police, and sent back to a North Korean prison where they were tortured. She was scheduled for a leg amputation due to the wounds, but miraculously, she was healed before her surgery. This testimony allowed her to share her faith in Christ while in prison, and four years later, she was finally able to escape to the United States. Jinhye’s escape is an exceedingly rare case, and an estimated tens of thousands of Christians remain in hiding in North Korea, where even a page of the Bible can have you, your children, and your grandchildren locked into a labor camp for life.
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Pray for the Christians living in secret, that they would have the courage to maintain and even share their faith.
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Pray for the thousands of believers in prison camps, that God would protect and stregthen them.
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Pray for the safety of Christian missionaries working in secret along the North Korean border who are helping refugees and bringing relief to the underground church.
Yelmi’s story A decade ago, radical Muslims attempted to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, and as a result, 10,000 Christians have been murdered since. Yelmi was walking home after visiting his father, an evangelist who ministers to Muslims in Northern Nigeria. Sadly, Iliya didn’t make it to his home. Radical Muslims ambushed him and beat him to death. He is survived by his wife and their two daughters. Iliya’s case is an no isolated incident. Radial Muslims are erasing Christianity from Northern Nigeria. The main target: churches full of worshiping congregations. The radicals drive explosive-packed cars into churches, killing some and injuring many. This year alone, more than 100 Christians have been killed while attending service. This war on Christians in Northern Nigeria has forced thousands of Christians to live their homes and those remaining behind live in the state of terror.
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Pray for the Christian community in Bauchi, who has suffered multiple attacks. Pray that the Holy Spirit would comfor them in their time of need.
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Pray for the Nigerian government to start taking control of the violence in Nigeria.
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Pray for the U.S. government and U.S. Church to take action on behalf of our suffering Nigerian brothers and sisters.
Viviane’s story “I will not leave you! I will not leave you!” Viviane Magdi screamed through tears as she grasped desperately to her fiancé Michael’s lifeless body. Viviane had been with Michael just an hour before when marching in Cairo with hundreds of other Christians over the destruction of a church. However, the initially peaceful demonstration turned horrific as a massacre— committed by the military and radical Islamists—unfolded. “Don’t let me go, stay with me, don’t be scared,” Viviane recalls Michael saying only minutes before his death. More than 60 Christians have been killed in post-revolution Egypt as a result of religious-based violence. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, once suppressed under President Hosni Mubarak, have taken control of the government and are threatening to make Islamic Sharia law the country’s principle source of legislation. The future of Egypt’s ancient Christian community is bleak.
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Pray for the safety of Christian minorities during this turbulent political change.
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Pray for courage and strength among Egyptian Christians.
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Pray for a radical change in the country’s leadership, that they will uphold religious freedom laws.