I hope you all have had a wonderful week and I would ask for your prayers for the following weekly prayer requests we have to share with you today. Thank you all for being so faithful in your prayers.
Iran—Believers Sentenced to Prison
VOM Contacts, Elam Ministries
2 Corinthians 10:15
Five Christians who were released from custody on bail more than a year ago have been sentenced to prison. Behrooz Sadegh Khanjani, Parviz Khalaj, Mehdi Foorootan, Mohammad Biliad and Nazli Makarian were arrested in early 2010 but had been released on bail pending sentencing. Last week, the five were ordered to report to a court in Shiraz to begin serving one-year sentences for threatening the security of the republic. One of the believers, Nazli Makarian, is pregnant; if authorities force her to serve her entire sentence, her child will be born in prison. Pray for these five believers who are facing a year in prison. Ask God to give them strength and endurance. Also pray that Christians in Iran will have a supernatural love for authorities and be faithful witnesses of God’s grace.
Bhutan—Leader Opposes Evangelism
Compass Direct News
2 Thessalonians 1:3
Bhutan’s prime minister recently told Compass Direct News that Christians should not seek to induce others to join their faith and that such actions constitute “the worst form of discrimination.” Reflecting what appears to be the prevailing view of Christians in Bhutan, Prime Minister Jigmi Yoser Thinley said Christians often try to convert Bhutanese citizens with the power of money and an attitude of spiritual superiority. A Christian leader denied these accusations, saying, “No evidence of such allegations has come to our knowledge.” He added that Christian leaders would never defend anyone who indulged in unethical conversions. Christians in this Buddhist nation have long hoped for official government recognition, but this now seems unlikely. A government minister said there was “no legal provision for that” in the constitution. Pray that Christians in Bhutan will continue to grow in faith, even though they are an extreme minority. Pray that their love for others will change the attitudes of those around them.
Uzbekistan—Believer Banned from Travel
Forum 18
Ephesians 6:11
A Christian woman traveling to Russia was removed from a train recently after a routine passport check revealed that she had been banned from leaving Uzbekistan. Authorities removed Lidiya Guseva, of Tashkent, from the train when they learned that she had been fined seven months earlier for bringing “illegal” Christian magazines into the country, a conviction that was overturned on appeal. Cancellation of the exit ban was apparently not communicated to bailiffs after the conviction was overturned, and Lidiya’s name remained on the list of those banned from travel. Lidiya was forced to forfeit her train tickets and take a taxi home in the middle of the night. She is asking the court to reimburse her for expenses, but the court has refused her requests. The U.S. State Department recently singled out Uzbekistan as one of the worst violators of religious freedom, in part because of its legal prohibition of “proselytizing.” Pray for Christians in Uzbekistan, who face increasing pressure from authorities. Pray that they will treat their oppressors with meekness and humility.
