STRATEGIC TARGETED PRAYER
Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Job 22:27-28: 27 "Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thou vows. 28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
This is a prayer request from Voice of the Martyr's Be-A-Voice Network. This is only one of many instances happening around the world.
Turkmenistan continues to raid Protestant worship services in different parts of the country, according to Forum 18 News Service. One raid was led by Rovshen Allaberdiev, the imam of the Dashoguz Region. Allaberdiev also is the senior official of the regional Gengeshi (Council) for Religious Affairs. He and other officials confiscated Christian books, including Bibles, during the raid. The men took all 22 worshipers to a local government building and pressured them to sign statements that they would not attend the church in the future. "Some people signed and are now afraid to come to services, especially new people," one church member told Forum 18. "We were told it is illegal to meet without state registration. But we told them we have already applied for registration and are waiting for a response."
In a separate raid in another region, police accused a pastor of violating the religion law by praying at a birthday party.
Please Pray!
Please pray that God will protect and encourage the Christians in Turkmenistan. The government believes it can suppress Christianity by intimidating believers and taking their Bibles. Praise God that the gospel cannot be bound! Pray that these believers will stand firm in their faith in the Lord Jesus and lead their persecutors and others into a saving relationship with him.
We also want to remember the Christians (men, women and children) who were murdered by Islamic extremists in Nigeria. Pray for their remaining family members for protection and the peace of God.
Matthew 5:11-12: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5:44: But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . .
Living in the United States, I cannot imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned, tortured, or even have a family member, child or myself killed for Christ's sake. But, there are people around the world who face this reality every day. Pray for Christians everywhere that God's hand of protection will be upon them and that the persecutors will find Jesus and claim Him as their Lord and Savior for it may not be long before the same thing begins to happen in the United States and other western countries!