VOM-USA Prayer Update for November 11, 2011
Thank you all for joining us today to pray for these prayer requests we're highlighting this week.
Afghanistan--Bringing Bibles and Peace to Afghanistan
Source: VOM Contacts
Matthew 20:34
A VOM radio partner continues to make inroads in Afghanistan despite intense spiritual warfare. "We never get discouraged when people swear at us," the radio partner said. "We get discouraged when people ask for Bibles and we can't give them one." In response to recent violence, the radio team produced a program that focused on the peace of God and Jesus' compassion as demonstrated in the gospels. The radio partner has frequent contact with listeners in Afghanistan through follow-up phone calls. Muslim listeners lament their nation's appetite for violence, but they compliment the radio team as being among the few who care about Afghanistan. The radio partner said the team is "encouraged to keep sowing" God's Word. Praise God for the advances the team has already made, and pray for their continued protection and success.
China--TSPM Pastor Jailed
Source: China Aid Association
Psalm 101:4-6
A pastor certified by China's officially sanctioned Three-Self Church (TSPM) was sentenced to five days of administrative detention in September for "fraudulently harming society in the name of religion." Since 2006, Liu Xiuying has served as a preacher in Shandong province at Chazhuang Church, a church approved by the local Three-Self Patriotic Association. In May, police and members of the Religious Affairs bureau seized Liu during a Sunday service. Liu was taken to a police station, where her interrogators slandered her religious beliefs and accused her of believing in cults and heresies. Please pray that Liu will be able to resume her pastoral work freely. Pray that Chinese officials will view Christianity as a positive influence on society and that their hearts will be won to Christ. Pray also for other pastors who have been arrested, whose identities are being kept confidential.
Kenya--Somali Christian Beaten in Kenya
Source: Compass Direct News
Psalm 17:8-10
A 25-year-old Somali Christian refugee was beaten and left for dead by six of his Muslim countrymen on Oct. 27. Hassan's assailants hit him with an iron rod and knifed him before stripping off his clothes and dumping him at the entrance to a Presbyterian Church of East Africa building. Hassan received Christ at age 7, and his widowed mother is a convert from Islam. Muslims in their refugee neighborhood concluded that they were Christians after the widow repeatedly turned down invitations to attend the mosque. "What happened to my son is the climax of the threats that I have been receiving from my Muslim neighbors," she said. Hassan has eight younger siblings, and the family will have to relocate. Pray for Somali Christians like this family, who are threatened by neighbors as well as the militant al-Shabab terrorist group. Pray that Hassan will get the medical attention he needs.
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The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is on November 13, 2011. Will you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ? Visit http://www.persecution.com/idop to learn more.