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Persecution Watch: Prayer for Ukraine
Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine – vector map
10/31/2020 (Voice of the Persecuted) Dear Prayer Warriors, tonight we will Pray for the Nation of Ukraine.
Once one of the Soviet Union’s most fertile republics, Ukraine was a major producer of Europe’s wheat and a primary source of minerals such as coal and iron. The country’s rich, black soil generated more than 25% of the Soviet’s agricultural output. Since gaining its independence in 1991, the nation has struggled to take advantage of its economic potential and remains largely dependent on Russia for oil and gas. And while Ukraine has become a mixture of ethnicities, traditions, and customs, Ukrainians continue to be a very hospitable people.
During the seventy-one years of Soviet rule, Ukraine endured engineered famines in which an estimated eight million died. The government strictly limited attempts to develop Ukrainian culture, even forbidding the study and use of the Ukrainian language. The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 continues to inflict environmental damage, disease, and death. In 2013, after the government abandoned close trade ties with Europe for more favorable ties with Russia, massive protests began with hundreds of thousands in attendance. When the government passed anti-protest laws, the protests escalated into deadly riots. Though these laws were later annulled, fighting and unrest continued across Ukraine, resulting in a civil war that has since taken thousands of lives. In the midst of this internal chaos, Russia annexed Crimea, adding further confusion to an already divided nation. Attempts at peace and reconciliation have been largely unsuccessful. In addition, the population suffers greatly from HIV/AIDS and alcoholism. Rampant drugs, crime, and prostitution enslave many of Ukraine’s most vulnerable, including orphans.
As the “Bible Belt” of the former Soviet world, the Ukrainian Church has faced a long history of persecution. Though freedom of religion is improving, it is not yet protected in both law and practice. Leadership training and direction are greatly needed among Christians, especially with the rapid growth of thousands of new congregations since 1991. Doctrinal schisms in the Orthodox church and divisions between Catholic and Protestant believers hinder their witness. The pain suffered under Soviet rule and during the most recent conflicts has greatly divided the Ukrainian people. But even amid recent violence, the Church has responded as the hands and feet of Jesus, meeting physical and spiritual needs. This has provided increased opportunities for Ukrainians to know and follow Christ.
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. – John 14:14
• Pray for God’s peace and reconciliation to overcome all hatred, conflict, and war.
• Pray for followers of Jesus to arise as messengers of His hope to the hopeless and the oppressed.
• Pray for repentance, forgiveness, and unity in the Church, across denominations and traditions.
“8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
If you are able, join us in a prayer call where we will pray the word over the Persecuted Church.
We will also continue to pray for:
~ Leah Sharibu and Alice that they will be set free from Boko Haram captivity.
~ Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family, the children, and the church in China
~ To pray for Anita, an Iranian Christian, persecuted by the Islamic regime.
~ For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their Persecution continues
~ The Global Harvest for the Kingdom of God
In Christ love
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Leader
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
Time:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: 712 775-7035
Access Code: 281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God.
The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted and our missions became one. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch is an important part of our own.
With the passing of Blaine into glory on December 26, 2019, Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with our dedicated prayer warrior team.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the call to share the trials they’re facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer.
Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone. We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you.
If you’re new to the call and can’t find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Persecution Watch has a new email address for the prayer team and those who would like to receive urgent prayer requests, weekly call prayer points and notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Please fill out the form below to be included in our new distribution list to receive this important information. We are grateful for your prayers and to the Lord for guiding us as we continue the Persecution Watch prayer call mission.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
3 Dead in Knife Attack in French Church; Terrorism Suspected in 3rd Attack in 2 Months
PARIS (AP) CBN – An attacker armed with a knife killed three people inside a church Thursday in the Mediterranean city of Nice, prompting the government to raise its security alert status to the highest level and double the number of soldiers deployed in the country.
It was the third attack in two months in France that authorities have attributed to Muslim extremists, including the beheading of a teacher. It comes during a growing furor over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were republished by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo – renewing vociferous debate in France and the Muslim world over the depictions that Muslims consider offensive but are protected by French free speech laws.
Other confrontations and attacks were reported Thursday in the southern French city of Avignon and in the Saudi city of Jiddah, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the attack in Nice.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would immediately increase the number of soldiers deployed to protect schools and religious sites from around 3,000 currently to 7,000. French churches have been ferociously attacked by extremists in recent years, and Thursday’s killings come ahead of the Roman Catholic All Saints’ holiday.
“He cried ‘Allah Akbar!’ over and over, even after he was injured,” said Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi, who said a woman and a man died inside the church, while a second woman fled to a nearby bar but was mortally wounded. “The meaning of his gesture left no doubt.”
The assailant in Nice was wounded by police and hospitalized after the killings at the Notre Dame Basilica, less than a kilometer (half-mile) from the site in 2016 where another attacker plowed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd, killing dozens of people.
Shots punctuated the air and witnesses screamed as police stationed at the grandiose doors to the church appeared to fire at the attacker inside, according to videos obtained by The Associated Press. Hours later, AP reporters at the scene saw emergency vehicles and police tape lining the wide Notre Dame Avenue leading toward the plaza in front of the basilica. For a time after the attack, sounds of explosions could be heard as sappers exploded suspicious objects.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the attack, the third one since a trial opened in September for people linked to the 2015 attacks at Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by gunmen who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. The trial is nearing its end, with a verdict planned for Nov. 13, the fifth anniversary of another series of deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris.
Thursday’s attacker was believed to be acting alone and police are not searching for other assailants, said two police officials, who were not authorized to be publicly named.
“With the attack against (teacher) Samual Paty, it was freedom of speech that was targeted. With this attack in Nice, it is freedom of religion,” Prime Minister Jean Castex told lawmakers Thursday.
Earlier, the lower house of parliament suspended a debate on France’s new virus restrictions and held a moment of silence for the victims. Castex rushed from the hall to a crisis center overseeing the aftermath of the Nice attack and later returned to announce the alert level increase. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has defended Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish the caricatures, arrived in Nice later in the day.
Muslims have held protests in several countries and called for a boycott of French goods in response to France’s stance on caricatures of Islam’s most revered prophet, whose birthday was marked in several countries Thursday. Soon before Thursday’s attack, supporters of religious political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam protested in Pakistan against Macron.
In Avignon on Thursday morning, an armed man was shot to death by police after he refused to drop his weapon and a flash-ball shot failed to stop him, one police official said. And a Saudi state-run news agency said a man stabbed a guard at the French consulate in Jiddah, wounding the guard before he was arrested.
Islamic State extremists had issued a video on Wednesday renewing calls for attacks against France.
Many groups and nations, however, issued their condolences Thursday, standing firmly with France.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith condemned the Nice attack and called on French Muslims to refrain from festivities this week marking the birth of Muhammad “as a sign of mourning and in solidarity with the victims and their loved ones.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack in Nice. “We stand in solidarity with the people of France against terror and violence,” the statement said.
Relations between Turkey and France hit a new low after Turkey’s president on Saturday accused Macron of Islamophobia over the caricatures and questioned his mental health, prompting Paris to recall its ambassador to Turkey for consultations.
The attack in Nice came less than two weeks after another assailant beheaded a French middle school teacher who showed the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a class on free speech. Those caricatures were published by Charlie Hebdo and cited by the men who gunned down the newspaper’s editorial meeting in 2015.
In September, a man who had sought asylum in France attacked bystanders outside Charlie Hebdo’s former offices with a butcher knife.
French Roman Catholic sites have been ferociously and repeatedly targeted by extremists in recent years, including the killing of the Rev. Jaqcues Hamel, who had his throat slit while celebrating Mass in his Normandy church by Islamic militants and a plot to bomb Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral. Those attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group, which also is believed to have recruited a man now on trial who plotted unsuccessfully to attack a church on the outskirts of Paris.
Nice’s 19th-century basilica Notre Dame de l’Assomption is the largest church in the city, but smaller and newer than the cathedral 1 mile (2 kilometers) away. The basilica’s twin neogothic towers, standing 70 yards (65 meters) high, are a landmark feature in the heart of the city.
Persecution Watch: Praying for believers in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Population: 20,322 million, Christian 5,157million
Over the last year, Burkina Faso’s northeastern region has seen a brutal onslaught of deadly attacks on Christian churches and villages—including several during and after worship services on church grounds in which worshipers were told to convert to Islam or die. An influx of violent Islamic extremist groups into West Africa’s Sahel region has led to these attacks that killed at least 40 Christians in 2019. These groups are campaigning for attacks on believers, with some who want to create an Islamic state opposing the very existence of Christianity.
Burkina Faso has always been proud of the harmonious coexistence of Christians and Muslims. Nonetheless, many people are complaining that the Islam of today now has little in common with the Islam of their childhood. We have been seeing changes for around 20 or 30 years now. This is due to the fact that for some years now certain Islamic ideologies originating on the Arabian Peninsula have been imported here. Young people are going there to work or study and returning with a particular vision of Islam that potentially has repercussions for our society and the coexistence between the different religions.
Some say the jihadists are simply using Islam as a weapon and that they are in fact motivated by something other than religion. There are those terrorists—whether from Burkina or from outside—who with guns in their hand really want to force the whole of Africa to become Islamic. They want to introduce sharia law to Burkina Faso. But there are also others who are using Islam as a pretext to advance their financial or criminal interests. It is enough to know that they are killing Muslims too. Often the violence in this country is also linked to ancient ethnic rivalries or land disputes. In such cases Islam is no more than a pretext to enable people to advance their material and economic interests by means of violence.
Dozens of Christians have been killed in the last few years. Who exactly is attacking them? Are they jihadists or simply criminals? Often, we don’t even know who it is who is attacking us. We don’t know our enemy. In most cases, no one claims responsibility for the attacks.
- Pray for Christians to be elected to government offices to curb the growing influence of Muslims.
- Pray to the Lord that He will answers the Pastors who are pleading for support from Christians worldwide to deal with the physical and emotional ramifications of growing jihadist violence and from the international community to prevent a disastrous undoing of the religious cohesion that Burkina Faso has been known for in previous years.
- Pray for the Lord’s comfort and grace to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks and that He would be close to the broken-hear-ted.
- Pray that Christians would have the courage and faith to remain firm in Jesus as they face increased hostility.
- Pray for all international forces helping in the fight against extremists in the larger region. Pray that they would be able to help bring stability and prevent the spread of violence to Burkina Faso’s neighboring countries.
- Pray that the word of Christ will overcome the spirit world which is very real In Burkina Faso as manifested in the Occult, Fetishism, Idolatry and Animist groups.
- Pray to the Lord will break the power of the occult in churches that is polluting the message of Christ.
- Pray to the Lord that believers will remain faithful in suffering and forgive their persecutors.
- Pray to the Lord that He will open doors for His believers to evangelize.
- Pray to the Lord that the internet and Christian broadcasts will minister to the believers as well as reach out effectively to Muslims and other unbelievers.
- Pray to the Lord that He will accelerate the grow His church, which in the past 10 years has increased from 3.7 million to 5.1 million.
Again, we want to lift up persecuted witnesses for the Lord and pray for
- Leah Sharibu and Alice, prisoners of Boko Haram, pray that they will be set free.
- Pray pastor Wang Yi to be released from Prison
- Pray for for Anita, a Christian convert recently sentenced to 6 years in prison, who is currently seeking asylum in another nation.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, October 29 in a prayer call for the persecuted church.
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
Time:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: 712 775-7035
Access Code: 281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God.
The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted and our missions became one. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch is an important part of our own.
With the passing of Blaine into glory on December 26, 2019, Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with our dedicated prayer warrior team.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the call to share the trials they’re facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer.
Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone. We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you.
If you’re new to the call and can’t find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Persecution Watch has a new email address for the prayer team and those who would like to receive urgent prayer requests, weekly call prayer points and notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Please fill out the form below to be included in our new distribution list to receive this important information. We are grateful for your prayers and to the Lord for guiding us as we continue the Persecution Watch prayer call mission.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Christian Girl, 13, Forcibly Married, Converted in Pakistan, Father Says
Protest for recovery of Arzoo Raja in Karachi, Pakistan. (Morning Star News photo courtesy of Ghazala Shafique)
Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Karachi, Pakistan are ignoring the kidnapping and forcible conversion to Islam of a 13-year-old Christian girl by a 45-year-old Muslim whose two brothers are police officials, sources said.
Ali Azhar, a neighbor of the victim’s Catholic family, abducted Arzoo Raja on Oct. 13, and her family went to police that same day, said her father, Raja Lal.
“When we failed to find Arzoo, we registered a kidnapping case with the local police station,” Lal said. “On Oct. 15 we were summoned to the station, where we were shown documents which claimed that Arzoo was 18 and had willingly converted to Islam after marrying Ali Azhar.”
Police have shown no interest in arresting the accused in spite of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) records showing Arzoo’s age as 13, as she was born on July 31, 2007, he said. Sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 16 is statutory rape and carries a death sentence or a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison in Pakistan.
Ghazala Shafique, a Karachi-based Christian rights and social activist, said police were doing little in the case.
“Two brothers of the accused are police officials, and they are using their influence to protect him,” Shafique told Morning Star News. “Attorney [Noor Naz] Agha brought this to the court’s notice during the hearing on Saturday [Oct. 24] and also demanded that Ali and all other people involved in the case, including the cleric who signed the Islamic conversion and marriage certificates of the minor Christian girl, be arrested and tried for their crime.”
Agha, a prominent Muslim lawyer, has taken up the case pro bono, a great relief to the grief-stricken parents who have lost their jobs in the search for justice, Shafique said.
“We have asked the police to include the Child Marriage Restraint Act [in the case], but the police are reluctant to include it,” Shafique said. “The court should also ask the police why it has ignored the documents issued by NADRA and Arzoo’s school that clearly state her age. We are also ready for conducting medical tests to determine Arzoo’s age, so why are the police reluctant to produce her in court?”
She said she is demanding that Arzoo be presented in court and that special arrangements be made for recording her statement in a way that would preclude fear from coercion by her abductor.
Shafique said it was the second case of forced conversion of underage Christian girls in Karachi in a year. In October 2019, 14-year-old Huma Younas was kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, she said.
“Forced conversion is often disguised as voluntary conversion and both the provincial and federal governments need to act against this persecution,” she said.
In Faisalabad, Punjab Province, 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz was kidnapped and forcibly married and converted to Islam earlier this year. After sending her to a shelter, a court in Lahore on Aug. 4 ordered her to be returned to her abductor based on forged documents, but she escaped on Aug. 22. She told Morning Star News her abductor had blackmailed her into giving false court statements that she had willingly converted and married him.
In Karachi, the accused in Arzoo’s case, Azhar, was Lal’s neighbor in the Muhalla Railway Colony West Camp Road locality.
Lal and his wife, who have three other older children, have been hard-pressed to feed them after losing their jobs and were thankful for the pro bono legal help.
“Thankfully, our pleas have been noticed by Christian rights activists and political leaders, and they are helping us in highlighting the case,” Lal told Morning Star News. “My wife and I have been running from pillar to post since [reporting the case], but the police are not showing any interest in arresting the accused and investigating the case impartially.”
Police did not respond to attempts by Morning Star News to contact them by phone and text message.
Pending Legislation
In spite of growing concern over a rise in abduction of girls from minority communities, particularly Christians and Hindus, and forcibly marrying them and converting them to Islam, successive national and provincial governments have failed to pass laws against perpetrators.
A bill against forced conversions introduced in 2016 in the Sindh Provincial Assembly remains pending after Islamists threatened violent protests.
Last week a federal government commission on minorities announced that it would draft a bill to curb forced conversions only after consultations with provincial and religious leaders. Christian political and church leaders told Morning Star News that state institutions and government parties should not succumb to pressure by Islamist parties.
“The government should bring the legislation on forced conversion to parliament without capitulating to any party that objects to its contents or underlying spirit,” said National Council of Churches in Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall.
He said that forced conversion is not seen as a crime, much less as a problem that should concern “mainstream” Pakistan.
“But it is a very serious crime against the minority population, and the government must show some spine in addressing the matter,” he said.
Marshall added that Pakistan’s entire legal system, from police to the courts, are violating laws and facilitating such conversions especially of minor girls.
“When the parents present a certificate that the age of the girl is below 18 years, the police usually do not attach this document in the FIR [First Information Report], but we have women protection laws in the country, and we need to implement them,” he said. “Besides that, Pakistan is signatory to several international obligations, and such incidents bring a bad name to the country.”
Pakistan is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that no one shall be subject to coercion to change their religion. The European Court of Human Rights has given some guidance regarding the distinction between permissible persuasion and coercion.
Amir Naveed Jeeva, a Christian lawmaker of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party and a member of the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating forced conversions, said the committee is trying to build consensus on the draft bill.
“One suggestion is to introduce a new marriage rule that includes the mandatory presence of a guardian at the time of marriage and the establishment of shelters managed by the district administrations to house underage girls who want to get married, in order to clear the confusion between force and consent,” he said.
Shunila Ruth, a ruling party Christian lawmaker and parliamentary secretary on human rights, said that forced conversion needs to be addressed at the federal level.
“There is a difference of opinion on the issue at the state level, but things are gradually heading in a positive direction, and we hope that all stakeholders will succeed in formulating a solution to this issue,” she said.
According to data compiled by the Peoples Commission for Minorities’ Rights and the Centre for Social Justice, of 156 incidents of forced conversions which took place between 2013 and 2019, a vast majority of the girls are minors, with numerous cases of girls as young as 12 years old. Muslim groups oppose a minimum age for conversion or marriage, claiming that this is not sanctioned by Islam.
Although intercourse with a girl below the age of 16 is statutory rape, in most cases a falsified conversion certificate and Nikahnama, or Islamic marriage certificate, influences police to pardon kidnappers.
Pakistan ranked fifth on Open Doors 2020 World Watch list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, and on Nov. 28, 2018, the United States added Pakistan to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom.
Persecution Watch: Prayer has no Boundaries
Dear Prayer Warriors, our prayers can go where we cannot. There are no borders, prison walls, or doors that are closed to us when we pray. – Brother Andrew
I was reminded that it is a blessing when we go through any type of afflictions, because our God is a God of All Comfort!
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Romans 5:3-5
“3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Brothers and sisters let us remember our persecuted family tonight and lift them up in our prayers.
We will also continue to pray for:
~ Leah Sharibu and Alice that they will be set free from Boko Haram captivity.
~ Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family, the children, and the church in China
~ To pray for Anita, an Iranian Christian, persecuted by the Islamic regime.
~ For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their Persecution continues
~ The Global Harvest for the Kingdom of God
In Christ Love
Nadia and Merlaine, Persecution Watch Moderators
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
Time:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: 712 775-7035
Access Code: 281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God.
The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted and our missions became one. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch is an important part of our own.
With the passing of Blaine into glory on December 26, 2019, Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with our dedicated prayer warrior team.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the call to share the trials they’re facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer.
Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone. We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you.
If you’re new to the call and can’t find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Persecution Watch has a new email address for the prayer team and those who would like to receive urgent prayer requests, weekly call prayer points and notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Please fill out the form below to be included in our new distribution list to receive this important information. We are grateful for your prayers and to the Lord for guiding us as we continue the Persecution Watch prayer call mission.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
IDOP 2020 Events: Sunday, Nov. 1st and Nov. 8th – JOIN US!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The first and second Sundays in November have been designated as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). Voice of the Persecuted and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team will host 2 special Prayer Conference Call Events for the IDOP on Nov. 1st (12 hours) and Nov. 8th (6 hours).
The number one and often only request of our persecuted family is, “Pray for us!” How will we respond?
The Apostle Paul shared,
“Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he is also at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” (Romans 8:34) Jesus is also interceding for those who lay down their lives for his sake. Will we join Christ in prayerful intercession and answer the requests of our persecuted brothers and sisters?
Persecution Watch Prayer Team and Voice of the Persecuted, will host a 12-hour prayer call on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 at 9 a.m.. (Eastern). We will also host another 6-hour IDOP call on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. Hear their cries and do not remain silent.
We invite and encourage you to call in and pray with us, as ‘One with Them’, for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. Join us, prayer changes everything!
Location: Any location from your phone
PRINT/DOWNLOAD FLYER IDOP 2020 Prayer Conference Call (please share with pastors, church members, prayer groups)
DATE:
Sunday November 1, 2020
Time:
9a.m. to 9p.m. Eastern time
8a.m. to 8p.m. Central time
7a.m. to 7p.m. Mountain time
6a.m. to 6p.m. Pacific time
Sunday November 8, 2020
12p.m. to 6p.m. Eastern time
11a.m. to 5p.m. Central time
10a.m. to 4p.m. Mountain time
11a.m. to 3p.m. Pacific time
Call Number:
712-775-7035
Access Code:
281207#
International numbers and Mobile App links available
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
Available International IDOP Prayer Conference Call Numbers
(Note: If you will be using one of the call numbers below, you may experience issues in your country. If you are unable to connect, try using the VoIP dialer available at this link. Click on VoIP dialer, go to this number 712-775-7035 in the drop down menu—enter access code 281207 (do not add the # symbol)—enter your name and click on the ‘Place Call’ button.)
Australia +61 (0) 3 8672 0185
Austria +43 (0) 732 2781155
Belgium +32 (0) 9 324 29 17
Brazil +55 61 4040-4314
Bulgaria +359 (0) 2 495 1527
Canada (712) 775-7060
Chile +56 (0) 44 890 9161
China +86 (0) 510 6801 0117
Costa Rica +506 4000 3885
Croatia +385 (0) 1 8000 065
Cyprus +357 77 788854
Czech +420 225 852 060
Denmark +45 78 77 36 35
Dominican Republic (829) 999-2585
Estonia +372 614 8061
Finland +358 (0) 9 74790032
France +33 (0) 1 80 14 00 56
GCC/Arabian Peninsula +973 1656 8325
Georgia +995 (0) 706 777 110
Germany +49 (0) 89 143772955
Guatemala +502 2458 1416
Hungary +36 1 987 6821
Iceland +354 539 0323
Indonesia +62 (0) 21 51388813
Ireland +353 (0) 1 437 0318
Israel +972 (0) 76-599-0026
Italy +39 06 8997 2187
Japan +81 (0) 3-5050-5075
Kenya +254 (0) 20 5231033
Latvia +371 67 881 516
Lithuania +370 (8) 37 248962
Luxembourg +352 20 30 10 03
Malaysia +60 (0) 11-1146 0070
Mexico +52 (01) 899 274 5015
Netherlands +31 (0) 6 35205061
Nigeria +234 (0) 1 440 5221
Norway +47 21 93 53 35
Pakistan +92 (0) 21 37130640
Panama +507 838-7821
Poland +48 32 739 96 40
Portugal +351 21 114 3145
Romania +40 (0) 31 780 7760
Slovakia +421 2 333 255 32
Slovenia +386 (0) 1 828 03 25
South Africa +27 (0) 87 825 0107
South Korea +82 (0) 70-7686-0015
Spain +34 931 98 23 70
Sri Lanka +94 (0) 11 5 322961
Sweden +46 (0) 31 781 06 26
Switzerland +41 (0) 43 550 70 55
Taiwan +886 (0) 985 646 917
Turkey +90 (0) 212 988 1713
Ukraine +380 (0) 89 323 9978
United Kingdom +44 (0) 330 606 0527
United States (712) 775-7035
Vietnam +84 (0) 4 7108 0080
The weekly Persecution Watch Prayer Call meets at 9pm EST every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. For more info contact: pwprayercall@gmail.com
Persecution Watch Prayer Call: ITALY
Dear Prayer Warriors, to introduce himself to them, he Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome from the city of Corinth in Greece. With over 1 million inhabitants, Rome was the center of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.
“7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.” Romans 1:7-10
SUMMARY
Italy is home to some of the world’s most famous historical treasures including the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Roman Forum. Central to the Renaissance, Italy is the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. This nation has had an immeasurable and global impact on art, music, and literature, and is often known for its architecture, fashion, and cuisine. Classical villas, the Mediterranean coast, and the northern Alps are just glimpse of the breathtaking beauty that draws millions of tourists every year.
Though Italy has the seventh-largest economy in the world, it is struggling to grow. Both restrictive legislation for businesses and organized crime have contributed to the country’s overwhelming debt (the third largest in the world). Once the seat of the Roman Empire, one of history’s greatest superpowers, today Italy faces many social and economic challenges. Roughly 39% of youth are unemployed, causing many to leave the country in search of greater opportunities. Thirty percent live in poverty; massive debt inhibits the government from properly addressing the issue. Despite the RICO operation in the 1990s that aimed to crackdown on corruption, organized crime still reaches into every strata of social and governmental life. The recent immigration crisis has also brought thousands of refugees from war-torn places such as Syria and Libya to their shores, leading Italy to threaten closing its ports.
This nation has a rich history of faith. The Book of Romans was written to the Church in Rome, which was the center of intense persecution for the early Church. Deeply rooted in Catholicism, it is home to the Vatican – the seat of the Catholic Church. Today, about 82% of the population claims Christianity (most are Roman Catholic). Yet only 15% of Italian Catholics faithfully practice their faith, with the majority seeing it as part of their cultural identity more than as a personal belief. Only about 1% of Italians are Evangelical Christian. Secular materialism, Occultism, and Satanism are gaining influence across the nation. Many regions remain without a strong evangelical church; out of 105 people groups, 24 remain unreached with the Gospel. A better understanding of God’s Word is needed in order to overcome the rampant spiritual indifference that now plagues this nation.
Continent: Europe – Capital City: Rome – Government: Republic – Population: 62,137,802 – Major People Groups: Italian – Religion: 80% Christian, Muslim, 20% agnostic – Language: Italian, German, French, Slovene – Literacy Rate: 99.2%
UNREACHED: 22.9%
Dear Saints, I welcome you to join us on the call tonight to pray for the Nation and harvest of true believers in Italy.
PRAYER POINTS
• Pray for nominal Christians throughout Italy, that they would gain a true understanding of the gospel.
• Pray for Italians enslaved by tradition or disillusioned with church structures to encounter the living Christ.
• Pray for the power of God to be revealed and to set free those lost in the darkness of occult, pagan, and New Age practices.
We will also continue to pray for:
– Leah Sharibu and Alice that they will be set free from Boko Haram captivity.
– Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family, the children, and the church in China
– To pray for Anita, an Iranian Christian, persecuted by the Islamic regime.
– For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their Persecution continues
– The Global Harvest for the Kingdom of God
In Christ Love
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Leader
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
Time:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: 712 775-7035
Access Code: 281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God.
The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted and our missions became one. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch is an important part of our own.
With the passing of Blaine into glory on December 26, 2019, Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with our dedicated prayer warrior team.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the call to share the trials they’re facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer.
Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone. We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you.
If you’re new to the call and can’t find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Persecution Watch has a new email address for the prayer team and those who would like to receive urgent prayer requests, weekly call prayer points and notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Please fill out the form below to be included in our new distribution list to receive this important information. We are grateful for your prayers and to the Lord for guiding us as we continue the Persecution Watch prayer call mission.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 