PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors

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PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020

 “If you try to hang
  on to your life, you
  will lose it. But if
  you give up your
  life for my sake and
  for the sake of the
  Good News, you will
  save it.”
  MARK 8:35 (NLT)
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
became a Christian aged 12
    JANUARY                            after discovering her parents’
                                       secret Bible. Pray for wisdom
                                       for Christian parents who
     North Korea                       cannot tell their children about
                                       Jesus for fear that they will
    Wednesday 1 January                accidentally betray their faith
    North Korea’s leader, Kim          to the authorities.
    Jong-un, will celebrate the
    new year with an official          Sunday 5 January
    visit to Kumsusan Palace           Jinsoo* is a secret believer
    of the Sun, the mausoleum          who was discovered during a
    for former leaders. Citizens       house search. When the police
    of Pyongyang will gather           found a Bible in his house,
    at Kim Il Sung Square to           Jinsoo said quite boldly, “I
    ‘strongly boast the people’s       want to freely worship Jesus.”
    revolutionary spirit of Juche      Since this incident, nobody
    ideology’. Pray that the           in the village has seen him.
    idolisation of North Korea’s       Ask the Lord to honour his
    human leaders will come to an      courage, strengthen him in
    end and the glory of Jesus will    his faith and deliver him from
    be revealed.                       every evil attack.

    Thursday 2 January                 Monday 6 January
    North Korea has been number        Chinese surveillance of North
    one on the World Watch List        Korean refugees has become
    since 2002, making it the most     more and more strict. Ask
    dangerous place in the world       the Lord to guide Open Doors
    to be a Christian. Pray that       field workers reaching out to
    2020 will be a year of spiritual   refugees in China and pray
    breakthrough and pray that         for more opportunities to
    God’s people may be free to        introduce them to the good
    worship Him without fear.          news of Jesus Christ.

    Friday 3 January                   Tuesday 7 January
    Open Doors estimates that          Ask God to protect the safe
    there are between 50,000 and       houses in China run with
    70,000 Christians imprisoned       support from Open Doors,
    in North Korea’s labour            where refugees can read and
    camps. Ask God to sustain and      study God’s Word. Pray that
    strengthen these believers,        the training believers receive
    and pray that, despite the         will equip them to build a
    persecution they face, Jesus’      strong church that can bring
    name will be lifted high in the    the gospel to North Korea.
    prisons of North Korea.
                                       Wednesday 8 January
    Saturday 4 January                 Give thanks that Open Doors is
    “My father prayed for more         able to keep 60,000 Christians
    than five years before God         alive inside North Korea with
    gave him the opportunity to        food and medicine, thanks to
    share the gospel with me,”         your gifts and prayers. Ask
    says Kim Sang-Hwa*, who            the Lord to protect the secret
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PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
networks delivering this          Please pray that Qin will be
support and pray that we can      released this year, so he can
reach more believers in 2020.     return to his wife and meet
                                  his son for the first time.

 China                            Monday 13 January
                                  In September we asked you
Thursday 9 January                to pray for Dilnaz*, a sister
At this time of great             from a Muslim background
uncertainty in China, pray that   whose husband was abducted
2020 will be the beginning of     by police in 2017. Praise God
a new cycle of revivals that      that Dilnaz’s husband has
sweep the nation, driven by       been released and is back
the true hope and salvation       home with his family! Ask God
found only in Jesus.              to heal and restore him, and
                                  please keep praying for the
Friday 10 January                 family as they are still being
Pray for the release of ethnic    monitored by the authorities.
minority groups still in
prison camps, for persecuted      Tuesday 14 January
brothers and sisters from         In October we shared the
Muslim and Buddhist               good news of the release
backgrounds, and for China’s      of Ammar*, a believer from
house churches which are          a Muslim background who
increasingly forced to meet in    was imprisoned in a re-
secret. Pray for new wisdom,      education camp in western
boldness and vision for           China. Despite the serious
China’s believers in 2020.        consequences he will face if
                                  discovered, Ammar has begun
Saturday 11 January               to share the gospel again. “I
Pray for guidance, energy and     must tell my Muslim brothers
protection for Open Doors         now because, in their pain,
workers in China as they          they are desperate to find
serve our persecuted family.      the truth and to know God’s
Ask God to lead them to the       love,” he says. Pray for his
believers who most need           protection.
support and encouragement,
and pray that the training and    Wednesday 15 January – UK
resources they provide will       and Ireland
have a big impact.                The 2020 World Watch List is
                                  being launched in Parliament
Sunday 12 January                 today. Pray that MPs new and
Brother Qin*, a believer from     old, from across the parties,
a Buddhist background, was        will attend the event, engage
arrested six years ago for        with the issue of religious
preaching the gospel to his       freedom, and be moved to use
own people. At the time,          the influence God has given
his wife was pregnant with        them to bring change for
their first child. Open Doors     those who are persecuted for
workers who visit his wife to     their faith.
encourage her were told Qin
won’t be released until 2020.     *Name changed for security reasons

                                                                       3
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
Give thanks for
    ANSWERED PRAYER

           Trinity (6) and her mother with
           a letter from a supporter

    Thank you so much for              for Christians and the world.
    your continued prayers for         Jesus bless you.”
    the children and families
    affected by the Samarinda          Seven-year-old Alvaro is back
    church bombings in                 at school! “He is very happy
    Indonesia in 2016. Alvaro,         and excited to start school,”
    Trinity and Anita are              said his mother, Novita. “He
    continuing to heal from the        had already prepared
    awful burn injuries and            everything weeks before the
    trauma they suffered during        school started, like his school
    the bomb attack on their           uniform, and polishing his
    church.                            shoes.”

 Trinity, now six years                When asked if he is treated
 old, and her family are               differently by schoolteachers
 currently in China, where             or friends, Alvaro shared, “No,
 she is undergoing advanced            they are kind to me and don’t
 treatment to fix her fingers,         mock my appearance.”
 elbows and knees. Trinity’s
 mother sent a text expressing         Alvaro has to participate in
 her gratitude for all of the          the morning briefing before
 encouragement they have               lessons start, outside the
 received during this time:            classroom and under the sun,
“Thank you Open Doors, may             just like other students. Pray
 you always be a blessing              for him – when the scars on
4
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
his head and face are exposed PRAY
 to sunlight, it creates a
 burning sensation and pain.     • For joy, strength and
                                   patience for Alvaro, Trinity,
 Alvaro will continue to need      Anita and their families as
 treatment in later years – for    they continue on the long
 now, it’s been postponed, as      journey to healing
 doctors advised against giving
 him anaesthetic to prevent      • For recovery, both
 possible after-effects on his     physically and mentally,
 body in the future. School        for the parents as well as
 for Trinity is still a long way   the children – that even in
 off – her treatment is taking     their darkest hours, they
 priority.                         will continue to hope in
                                   God’s promises
 Alvaro’s father recently sent
 Open Doors a video of Alvaro    • For courage and
 singing with him a song called    protection for Indonesia’s
‘Kau terbaik bagiku’ which         Christians, as Islamic
 means ‘You are the best to        extremist groups become
 me’. Here are the lyrics:         more influential in pushing
                                   for an Islamic nation.
 I have forgotten what’s behind
     me,
 I give myself to you, oh Jesus,
 And I ran to my purpose,
 You give me a new day,
 The old has passed.
 Your plan, oh God,
 Is beautiful to me beyond my
    understanding.
 Your words are yes and amen,
 You are the best for me.

> You can watch the video
at www.opendoorsuk.org/
indonesia

above Your prayers and support have
kept Alvaro (7) and his parents going
                                                                   5
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
Afghanistan                       to be Muslim. Imams in
                                       mosques and madrassas
    Thursday 16 January                state publicly that there is
    The Islamic Republic of            no room for Christians or
    Afghanistan does not allow         churches in Somalia. Pray that
    conversion from Islam. It is       the Lord will continue to build
    seen as apostasy and brings        His church here amid these
    shame on the family and            hostilities.
    community. Pray for change to
    take place within the country      Tuesday 21 January
    and for openness to religions      The Christian community is
    outside of Islam.                  small and under constant
                                       attack. Open Doors estimates
    Friday 17 January                  the number of Christians
    The small number of Christian      in the country to be in the
    converts must remain in            hundreds. Ask the Lord to
    hiding. Increasing levels          send out more workers into
    of violence have created a         the harvest field and pray that
    general sense of insecurity        they will be wise in finding
    and there are no signs             ministry opportunities that
    of improvement for the             express God’s love.
    foreseeable future. Please
    pray for stability and peace in    Wednesday 22 January
    Afghanistan.                       The militant Islamic group al-
                                       Shabaab targets and kills any
    Saturday 18 January                Somalis suspected of being
    Christian converts from Islam      Christian. Foreign jihadists
    face strong pressure from          are also present in the country
    their family, friends, and         and have control over most
    neighbours to recant their         rural areas. Pray that their
    Christian faith. Depending         influence will be diminished.
    on the family, they may even
    fear for their lives. Living       Thursday 23 January
    openly as a Christian is not       Pray that vibrant fellowships
    possible. Pray for courage         will be formed despite the
    and protection over Afghan         dangers. Pray for mature and
    believers.                         godly role-models among
                                       Somali believers and for
    Sunday 19 January                  growing unity among the
    Christian parents often hide       different fellowships.
    their faith from their children
    for fear of discovery. Pray
    that they will find safe ways to    Libya
    share the gospel with them.
                                       Friday 24 January
                                       An armed conflict which
     Somalia                           began in April 2019 over
                                       control of the capital Tripoli
    Monday 20 January                  has killed several civilians and
    The Somali people are more         caused tens of thousands of
    than 99 per cent Muslim and        Libyans to flee their homes.
    society expects all Somalis        Pray that the violence in the
6
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
country will not descend into       Wednesday 29 January
out-and-out civil war.              Pray for converts from Muslim
                                    backgrounds who suffer
Saturday 25 January                 the brunt of persecution in
With the country in a state         Pakistan. Radical Islamist
of anarchy, militant Islamist       groups see them as apostates,
groups are able to attack           and their family, friends
Christians with impunity. Ask       and neighbours see their
God to change the hearts of         conversion as shaming the
the militants and to protect        community.
and encourage Christians in
Libya.                              Thursday 30 January
                                    An estimated 700 girls and
Sunday 26 January                   women are abducted each
Open Doors estimates that           year. They are often raped and
there are only around 150           forcibly married to Muslim
Libyan Christians. In this strict   men in the community. This
Islamic country, conversion         usually results in forced
from Islam to Christianity is       conversions. Please pray
not accepted, so converts           for protection for Christian
from Islam are usually secret       women and girls in Pakistan.
believers. Pray that these
believers will find ways to         Friday 31 January
meet together so they can           Pray for Open Doors
grow in their faith.                local church partners
                                    strengthening Christians with
Monday 27 January                   biblical training, literacy and
Give thanks that the number         livelihood projects, trauma
of Libyan believers from            therapy and emergency aid.
Muslim backgrounds is slowly        Pray for protection for those
growing. Pray that Christian        travelling to rural areas
TV programmes and websites          to reach isolated Christian
will help to disciple isolated      communities with practical
believers, and reach more           support and the hope of the
Libyans with the truth of the       gospel.
gospel.

 Pakistan
Tuesday 28 January
Pakistan is an Islamic
Republic and the more recent
process of Islamisation goes
back as far as the 1980s.
The country suffers from a
plethora of radical Islamic
groups. Please pray for the
new Pakistani government to
pass laws that will protect the
Christians in the country.

                                                                      7
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
Surrendering to
     God’s peace
    Open Doors partners are supporting Momina’s children with
    schooling

    Your prayers and gifts are a       told him, ‘You are responsible
    lifeline to believers living in    for my children.’”
    the most dangerous countries
    in which to be a Christian. For    However, peace kept eluding
    Somali believer and single         her – eventually, she stopped
    mum Momina*, they provided         praying altogether. “I stopped
    vital support when she and         praying for three days,” she
    her children were cut off from     says. “Then I had a beautiful
    her family for choosing to         dream. I saw a very bright
    follow Jesus.                      shining light and heard the
                                       words, ‘You are my daughter.’
    Until Momina met Jesus, she        I asked, ‘Who are you?’ and
    never had inner peace. As a        the voice answered, ‘I am
    mother to six children, her life   your Father, the Saviour of the
    was busy, but comfortable.         world.’”
    She is one of many Somali
    people living in another           “Thank you
    country in the Horn of Africa,
    and, as jobs are scarce in          for feeding my
    those countries, her husband
    worked abroad, sending her
                                        family”
    the money she needed to take
    care of the family.                Momina decided to seek out
                                       others who might tell her the
    But she found it stressful to      meaning of her dream. “There
    raise the children and worried     was a Christian man I knew.
    constantly about them. “I read     I went to him and asked him
    the Quran daily and prayed         to give me a Bible. I started
    regularly, like any good           reading about Jesus, and then
    Muslim. I asked Allah to take      went to church.”
    care of the children, and even
8
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
Her family soon found out         almost broken, and when I felt
she had become a Christian,       I had no one… I am pleased
and the consequences were         that I surrendered my life into
disastrous. Her extended          [God’s] hands. My happiness
family insulted and threatened    before and after being in
her, and her husband informed     Christ is completely different.
all their relatives that Momina   My soul has found rest. May
had changed her religion          God bless those who pray for
and, as a result, she and the     people like me.”
children were dead to him. He
instructed everyone to stop       > You can watch
sending money to her. Momina      Momina tell her story at
had no one to turn to.            www.opendoorsuk.org/
                                  prayernews
But the Lord did not leave her.
He led her to a church which      PRAY
partners with Open Doors,
where she and her children        •   Thank God for his
received support for both their       provision for Momina.
physical and spiritual needs.         Pray that she will find
                                      a way to earn a stable
“As the Bible says, whoever           income
feeds the hungry is blessed.
Thank you for feeding my          •   For wisdom as she raises
family. God bless those who           her children and pray that
feel for us, those who have           they will come to know
received Jesus before us and          Jesus
now stand by our side to help
us; thank you for those who       •   For Open Doors’ secret
feel as we feel and who care          networks providing vital
for us.                               support for isolated and
                                      vulnerable believers in
“Your support reached me              the Horn of Africa.
when I was almost gone,           *Name changed for security reasons

                             Momina teaches her children to pray

                                                                       9
PRAYER DIARY | January/February 2020 - Open Doors
of the women’s Bible study
 FEBRUARY                         groups. Ask the Lord to bring
                                  more new members to the
                                  meetings, and pray that the
     North Korea                  wounds of their hearts will
                                  be healed through the loving
 Saturday 1 February              fellowship they receive.
 North Korean winters are
 particularly harsh, with         Wednesday 5 February
 average temperatures well        Pray for a believer named
 below minus ten degrees          Joo-hee* who was caught
 Celsius. The food situation      and detained by the Chinese
 this year is also more severe    government. Please pray that
 than ever as harvests have       she will be released safely,
 been poor. Pray for North        and that she will know God’s
 Korean believers to survive      protection and providence
 the harsh winter and ask the     through this incident.
 Lord to protect Open Doors
 secret workers smuggling         Thursday 6 February
 food and medicine into the       Pray for Open Doors’ secret
 country.                         workers, who take enormous
                                  risks to serve the church in
 Sunday 2 February                North Korea. Pray for their
 Deep in China’s forests, Open    physical and spiritual health,
 Doors holds secret women’s       for safety as they travel long
 Bible study groups for North     distances, that they would
 Korean refugees. The groups      not be subjected to serious ID
 meet occasionally to study       checks, and that they would
 and memorise the Bible           know the presence of Jesus
 together. Pray that these        strengthening and refreshing
 believers can meet in safety     them every day.
 and learn from God’s Word
 so they can become mature        Friday 7 February
 disciples of Jesus.              Open Doors supports the
                                  broadcasting of Christian
 Monday 3 February                radio programmes into North
 Pray for Sister Yu-mi*, a        Korea to help believers to
 member of one of these           learn from the Bible and
 groups who was recently          become true disciples of
 baptised. According to her       Jesus. Pray that those who
 leader, she had waited for       listen to the programmes will
 the baptism for months and       be protected as they listen
 studied all the materials with   so they can share what they
 passion, and on the day of her   learn with other Christians in
 baptism, she cried throughout    their secret meetings.
 the event. Pray that she
 will grow in the grace and       Saturday 8 February
 knowledge of Jesus.              Underground church leaders
                                  have a vision to see a strong,
 Tuesday 4 February               Spirit-inspired, missional
 Pray for wisdom and              church in North Korea. One
 protection for the leaders       day they want to unite with
10
their brothers and sisters
in South Korea and China
to bring the gospel to the
darkest places in Asia. Pray
with them that the Lord will       Amelia (right) and Mimi (left)
make this vision a reality.        reading the story of Noah

                                  Wednesday 12 February –
 Persecuted                       Brunei
                                  Youth are the future leaders
 Children                         of the country and the
                                  government is focused on
Sunday 9 February – Syria         youth development in the
Christian children in smaller     coming year. Pray for the
towns are often one of the few    church to see how important
Christians in their schools.      it is to disciple and mentor
Normally religious classes        young believers, so that
should be for Muslims as well     they will be God’s channel of
as Christians but, without        blessing for the nation.
Christian teachers, only Islam
and Islamic culture is taught.    Thursday 13 February – East
Pray for Lian (8) who is forced   Africa
to attend Islamic class. Pray     Winnie* (12) has to dress
that this situation will change   like a Muslim because it is
for him and other Christians.     dangerous to be a Christian
                                  in the area where her family
Monday 10 February –              live. It makes her feel bad.
Myanmar                           Pray for the Lord’s comfort
Pray for children’s camps         and protection, and pray that
being organised in many           church leaders will have
places to share the gospel        wisdom to know how to help
with children and help them       Winnie and others like her
grow to know God’s Word. Ask      who are confronted by the
God to bless these camps and      danger of targeted attacks.
work through them to reach
many with His love.               Friday 14 February – East
                                  Africa
Tuesday 11 February –             Kelly* (14) feels immense
Myanmar                           pressure to become a Muslim.
Praise God that 1,000             She doesn’t have the inner-
children’s Bibles have been       strength to tell her friends
distributed nationwide. Pray      she can’t go with them to
for children like Amelia* (8),    the mosque and fears that,
who was very grateful to          if they found out about her
receive one of the Bibles and     faith, they may attack her. She
now reads it every day when       attends church and Sunday
she comes home from school        school. Ask the Lord to give
with her friend Mimi*. Pray       Christians in her church the
that these Bibles will help       wisdom to help Kelly navigate
more children like Amelia and     these difficulties.
Mimi to learn stories from the
Bible and grow in faith.          *name changed for security reasons

                                                                    11
The gospel cannot be
 chained

     Ruth and Musse, whose story was first told
     in Prayer News 265 Feb/March 2018

 “This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to
 the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s
 word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything
 for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the
 salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”
 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-10

 In Eritrea, the government            When friends and relatives
 views Christians as agents            suggested that he should
 of the West and will arrest,          leave his beloved Eritrea, he
 harass and kill them with             refused. “We know we have
 impunity. Musse*, the pastor          a mission and we must live
 of an unregistered church,            for that mission,” he said,
 can testify to this.                  out of pastoral concern for
                                       his flock. But it came at a
 All in all, he spent six
 years in prison. But the
 government had been
 keeping him under                   “We know we
 increasing surveillance
 for over 13 years, keeping
                                      have a mission
 him in a constant state              and we must live
 of vigilance – never able
 to stay too long in one
                                      for that mission”
 location.

12
cost, especially to his wife       failing health. Nevertheless,
Ruth* and their family, being      it was a massive answer
separated from him, as well        to prayer for the entire
as being constantly watched.       family. Musse now remains
                                   under close and constant
 Incredibly, although              surveillance, forced to report
 conditions were harsh in          to his local police station
 prison, Musse says that it        regularly to show that he has
 brought a new stability to        not fled the country. Every
 his faith. “Until you adapt to    time he goes there, he risks
 life in prison, you face some     re-arrest.
‘difficulties’,” he says. “But,
 once I had adapted, I had         “Please continue praying
 consistent prayer and Bible        for us,” Ruth says. “Pray
 reading.                           that we will keep calm; we
                                    need prayers so that we live
“In prison, one of my main          without worry and keep calm.”
 purposes as a Christian was
 to evangelise. You continue       Musse adds: “I would like to
 teaching. Of course, it is        thank all of you very much.
 forbidden to do it openly, but    While I was in trouble and
 we did it at night-time when      faced challenges, you, as
 everybody was asleep. We          my brothers and sisters, set
 even had Bible portions we        aside your own things and
 could study in secret.            prayed for me. I thank you
                                   very much. Most of all, I
                                   would like to praise and thank
                                   the Lord for inspiring you to
    “We saw many                   pray for me. He is the one
                                   that kept us in your hearts of
    conversions”                   prayer. May the Lord bless
                                   all of you who prayed for me
                                   while I was in chains.”
“Sometimes there were very
 problematic people who used       PRAY
 to inform on us. They would
 tell the guards, ‘Musse is        •   Give thanks that God’s
 preaching, teaching and doing         Word is not chained!
 other Christian things.’ There        Pray that the gospel will
 were people like that, yes. But       continue to spread inside
 many are passing through              Eritrea’s prisons
 different frustrations and
 depression. Those people          •   For complete physical
 loved what we taught and              and spiritual restoration
 shared. Some of them even             for Musse, Ruth and their
 tried to cover for us. We saw         family
 many conversions. The gospel
 can’t be chained.”                •   For the Lord’s strength to
                                       persevere for Christians
Musse’s eventual release               still held in Eritrea’s
came about because of his              prisons.
                                   *names changed for security reasons

                                                                    13
Persecuted                      Wednesday 19 February -
                                     East Africa
     Women                           Pray for Esther, whose
                                     husband, family and
 Saturday 15 February –              community all rejected her
 Tunisia                             when she left Islam to follow
 Pray for a young widow              Jesus. Open Doors has built
 with three small children.          her a house and is providing
 Her late husband’s family           her with spiritual care. “Thank
 are threatening to take her         you for coming to my rescue,”
 children away after three           she says. “Knowing that there
 young people in the family          are people who love me and
 converted to Christianity. Pray     are concerned about me is
 for protection over this young      very humbling.”
 family and pray that these
 threats will not take their toll,
 as she has an important role
 in the church.

 Sunday 16 February - Nepal
 Monika* is being persecuted          Esther in front of her home
 by her husband and his family.
 Her husband has threatened          Thursday 20 February –
 to divorce her if she doesn’t       Ethiopia
 renounce her faith. Ask God to      Hellen’s* husband abandoned
 change her husband’s heart,         her when she chose to follow
 and pray for comfort and            Jesus, leaving her to bring
 strength for Monika and for         up three children alone. With
 her son, whose mental health        your support, Open Doors
 has been badly affected.            has paid for the children’s
                                     schooling and helped Hellen
 Monday 17 February - India          set up a tearoom. Ask God to
 Sushila* has suffered mental        bless Hellen’s business and
 abuse and has been severely         pray that her children will
 beaten up for her faith in          grow to follow Jesus.
 Jesus. She has had to quit her
 theological studies because of
 strong opposition from people         Hope for the
 in her village. Pray for her
 healing and restoration.              Middle East
 Tuesday 18 February -               Friday 21 February – Iraq
 Bhutan                              Weeks of unrest at the end
 Pray for women’s                    of 2019 left hundreds of
 empowerment training                protestors dead and led to the
 programmes taking place             resignation of Prime Minister
 early this year. Pray for           Mahdi. Pray for a return to
 safety for those attending the      peace and political stability,
 training and pray that they         and ask God to raise up wise
 will use what they learn to be      and righteous leaders to
 a blessing to their families,       govern the Iraqi people.
 churches and communities.           *names changed for security reasons

14
Saturday 22 February – Iraq         exists there so that the church
Pray for discipleship training      can continue to be a refuge for
run by Open Doors partners          those who love Jesus.
for new believers in Iraq. Most
practise their Christian faith
secretly, for fear of being          India
killed. Ask God to give them
the courage and wisdom to           Wednesday 26 February
share their faith with others.      Pray for the government
                                    of India and its leadership,
Sunday 23 February – Syria          as they plan to make
Pray for the family of two          amendments in Indian laws
priests, Hovsep Petoyan and         which will make professing
his father Abraham, who were        and practising the Christian
shot dead by Islamic State in       faith difficult. Pray that such
Qamishli in November. Ask           laws will not be allowed to
God to comfort Hovsep’s wife,       pass, and that the leaders of
Caron, and her three children,      India will seek freedom and
Hovig, Anna and Cayana. Pray        justice for all.
that the Christians in Qamishli
will not give in to fear.           Thursday 27 February
                                    Pray for those who attack and
Monday 24 February – Syria          persecute the body of Christ
Pray for Christians from            across India. Please pray that
the village of Tal Abyad who        they would come to the saving
were driven away from their         knowledge of Jesus; that they
homes by October’s attacks          would know the truth and the
in northern Syria. After they       truth would set them free.
fled, some houses were
robbed and destroyed so             Friday 28 February
they can’t go back now. One         Manav* and his brother were
displaced family said: “We are      badly beaten by extremists
Armenians and they’ve always        because of their faith in Christ.
aimed to empty the village of       Manav is in hospital and his
Christians.” Pray for justice for   treatment is ongoing. Pray
Christians in that area so they     for their continued healing
can return to their homes and       and comfort, and ask God to
live in dignity and freedom.        change the hearts of their
                                    attackers so that they turn to
Tuesday 25 February –               follow Jesus.
Lebanon
Lebanon has been a refuge           Saturday 29 February
for the poorest and most            Please pray for Ranu*, a
devastated refugees from            widow, and her children, who
neighbouring countries like         are being socially boycotted
Syria and Iraq over the years.      by their community because
But it is now going through         they follow Jesus. Ask the
its own times of turmoil            Lord to comfort them and
and trouble. Ask the Lord to        provide for their needs, and
restore political stability to      pray that their community will
Lebanon and to preserve the         come to faith in Christ through
relative religious freedom that     their witness.
                                                                      15
WORLD WATCH LIST

               #1 North Korea
The power of Amen!
“For no matter how many promises God has made,
 they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the
‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 CORINTHIANS 1:20
What do you imagine is                        met someone from heaven.”
happening when you pray?                      The risks facing such workers
North Korean Christian,                       necessitate prayer. “Our
Timothy*, has firm views.                     prayers give them the visions
                                              and wisdom to see how they
“Each time a Christian in our                 can avoid that risk.
world says ‘Amen’, I think
that has authority. When we                   “Each time you say ‘Amen’,
say ‘Amen’, there is a certain,               that authorises spiritual
invisible, spiritual power in                 power, making step-by-step
there - that makes a huge                     progress. And there has been
change.”                                      change happening in North
                                              Korea – it’s just that we don’t
Coming from North Korea,                      see the physical event yet.
Timothy has first-hand                        But change will happen. The
experience of persecution -                   darkness always tries to
and prayer. “This country is                  cover us, but the final victory
not happy with Christians, not                is always in the hands of God.”
happy with the cross.”
                                                Our Father in heaven, Your
Most North Koreans are also                     kingdom come in North Korea.
extremely poor. “People                         Your will be done. Give your
constantly fight for survival.                  children their daily bread and
When Open Doors is in contact                   deliver them from evil, for
with them and provides                          Your glory. Amen!
physical support, it’s like
receiving help from an angel.                 > You can hear Timothy
When you’re in difficult                      talking about North Korea
circumstances and someone                     at www.opendoorsuk.org/
comes to give you warm                        prayernews
bread – you feel like you’ve                  *name changed for security reasons

Open Doors, PO Box 6, Witney,                         FIND US ON:
OX29 6WG                                              www.opendoorsuk.org
T 01993 460015
E inspire@opendoorsuk.org
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