Over the weekend I received an urgent prayer request from our friends over at Gospel for Asia. The prayer request concerned a pastor who was kidnapped and was in need of prayer for a quick release. I'm happy to report that a short time later that the pastor was released. CBN News shares the following report today.

He heard the decree from his window: “For the next thirty days, anyone who prays to anyone other than the king will be thrown to the lions.”

I am happy to share with you that our weekly Persecution podcast is available now for your listening pleasure.

Syria (MNN/OD) ? With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad possibly losing his grip on power, and rebels making major inroads, a possible end to the bloody civil war may be in sight. The United Nations estimates more than 10,000 have been killed in the violence since the crisis began in March 2011. Another report puts the total at more than 17,000, including 1,261 last week.

One of the most active websites of The Voice of the Martyrs is our Kids of Courage page. Recently I was encouraging my radio audience to check out the Kids of Courage page even if they don't have children because the resources there are awesome.

Nigeria (MNN) ? Six more people were killed late last week at the hands of Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.

As we all go into the weekend, please pray for the following prayer requests and please also pray for all of the victims in the Aurora, Colorado shooting. May you draw near to the Lord in prayer, and He promises to draw near to you. James 4:8

International (MNN) ? Christians around the globe are gearing up for increased persecution.