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LIBYA COURT SENTENCES 23 TO DEATH FOR ISLAMIC STATE CAMPAIGN
A Libyan court sentenced 23 people to death and another 14 to life in prison on Monday for their role in a deadly Islamic State militant campaign that included beheading a group of Egyptian Christians and seizing the city of Sirte in 2015. Read more
Urgent Prayer for the Younger Generation
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Tuesday June 6, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Many parents across the nation are infuriated with what is being taught to their children at school. No longer is sex education about the basics but very explicit sexual acts. After learning and reading how children are being subjected to things parents would never consent to, it’s not hard to see who the ruler of this world is. Many consider this an American issue, but it’s global, and demonic. We need to pray for our vulnerable younger generation.
Here are only a few examples, but there are many.
What is a Woman
Too many are not awake or don’t want to believe their leaders would do anything to harm us, even Christians.
1 Peter 5:8, NIV Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:18, NIV And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the LORD’s people.
1 Peter 1:13, NIV Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-9, NIV for you know very well that the day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our LORD Jesus Christ. (Amen)
Isaiah 52:1, NIV Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.
Revelation 3:2, NIV Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
Matthew 24:42, NIV “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Mark 13:37, NIV What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Luke 21:36, NIV Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Ephesians 5:14, NIV This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Isaiah 60:1, NIV “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Romans 1:18-32 – God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here
- UPDATE (March 17, 2023): Ryan Koher, a pilot for the U.S.-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and two of the ministry’s South African volunteers were released from a Mozambican prison Tuesday afternoon, the organization announced. The trio had been held at a high-security prison inside the southeastern African country for four months. Their release is a provisional one and they are required to remain in the country, while their case is still ongoing, according to MAF. Koher is said to be “doing well” following his release and has spoken multiple times with his wife, Annabel, and his two sons since his release, the ministry said. Source
The Harvest
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
The Lord’s servant,
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Scriptural Prayer for the Persecuted and Global Church
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Saturday, June 3, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I reserve 7,000 in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”
- Thanksgiving for the remnant; pray persecuted church continue to be zealous for the LORD, separating from ways of the world.
1 Kings 20:5-6 “The messengers came again and said, ‘This is what Ben Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything of value and carry it away.’”
- Pray church would not give in to demands of the enemy but trust in the LORD. King Ahab was ready to give his wealth and family, but even that was not enough for the enemy.
- Pray church would recognize and not give into compromising with Satan.
1 Kings 20:14 “‘But who will do this?’ Asked Ahab. The prophet replied, ‘This is what the LORD says: The young officers of the provincial commanders will do it.’.”
- Pray for God given strategies to defeat the enemy in the natural and spiritual.
1 Kings 20:22 “Afterward the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, ‘Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again’.”
- Pray the church would be strengthened continually, in knowledge, wisdom and understanding, through reading of the Word, prayer and fellowship.
1 Kings 20:34 “‘I will return the cities my father took from your father, Ben Hadad offered. You may set up your own market areas in Damascus as my father did in Samaria’.”
1 Kings 20:42 “He [Isaiah] said to the king, ‘This is what the LORD says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined to die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people’.”
- Pray against ungodly treaties with the enemy. Pray for leaders who would not do so, thereby punishing all the people.
- Pray Christian girls and young women would not be deceived into marrying someone other than a Christian. Give them discernment.
Psalm 38:12 “Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception.”
- Pray church would escape the traps set by the enemy. Pray for protection.
Psalm 38:14 “I am like a deaf man who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot open his mouth.”
- Pray hurtful words would not hurt those who trust in Adonai; pray we would set a watch over our mouths.
Psalm 38:18 “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.”
- Pray for a spirit of repentance.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Pray the persecuted church would have peace that passes understanding.
Romans 5:3 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance”
- Pray the persecuted church would be able to rejoice when are suffering.
Romans 5:5 “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
- Pray church would not be discouraged but have abundant hope.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Pray for the harvest of souls.
- Pray for more understanding on how much we are loved by our creator.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here
- UPDATE (March 17, 2023): Ryan Kolher, a pilot for the U.S.-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and two of the ministry’s South African volunteers were released from a Mozambican prison Tuesday afternoon, the organization announced. The trio had been held at a high-security prison inside the southeastern African country for four months. Their release is a provisional one and they are required to remain in the country, while their case is still ongoing, according to MAF. Kolher is said to be “doing well” following his release and is with his wife, Annabel.
The Harvest:
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Valerie Creekmore, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Photo by LEONARDO DOURADO on Pexels.com
Persecution Watch: Praying for Believers in Mozambique
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Thursday, June 1, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Mozambique: Population: 33 million, Christians 18.6 million
Christians face persecution from the growing presence of Islamic militants, particularly in the northern region of Cabo Delgado, where insurgents such as the Islamist group al-Sunnah wa Jama’ah (affiliated with so-called Islamic State), and fighters with links to Somali group al-Shabaab, are enforcing a reign of terror. They have burned down churches and schools and tens of thousands of people have fled from the northern part of the country. People either stay in the region under daily threats of abduction, or they flee their homes and communities and fend for themselves. Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in camps for internally displaced people. Many are traumatized by the violence, and those who are forced into marriage, or the militia are often plagued by shame or stigma.
In other parts of the country, Christians who convert from Islam or traditional African religions often face pressure from their families to renounce their faith. Many Muslim families living in Mozambique force suspected female converts to marry a Muslim man to keep them away from Christian activities. Married women face divorce if they convert to Christianity. In some cases, they lose custody of their children and may be denied their due inheritance.
In some areas, drug cartels persecute Christians and target church youth workers in particular. Tensions in the country are exacerbated by government restrictions on freedom of religion, such as bans on all religious influence in public educational institutions and cumbersome registration requirements for religious groups.
One story of persecution by Al Shabaab: “What happened there is those evil people came and destroyed us,” says Lorena (name changed) of the day when al-Shabaab militants attacked her community. “They put us in poverty, now we have nothing… They hung us out to dry. We had things, but when they arrived, they destroyed and burned them and left us in poverty. The entire village was caught off guard when the insurgents struck. The men were out fishing, and the women and children were in the village going about their chores. “We heard that al-Shabaab were coming. So, we left our village and fled to our fields. But our husbands were out fishing, they captured them when they came to shore.”
The militants killed all the men, forcing the women and children to witness their brutal attack. The survivors fled the village, losing their homes, community, and livelihoods alongside their loved ones.
Lorena is still traumatized by the attack. “When I remember what happened, I cry and tears come because I lost many things,” she says. But her faith in God remains. “In no one else I trust, only in God and Jesus Christ. Because He did not leave me.”
In short, yes. In 2021, Mozambique entered the World Watch List top 50, and persecution has continued to worsen. This year, Mozambique has risen nine places on the World Watch List, reflecting the mounting pressure on Christians, particularly in the northern part of the country where jihadists operate.
Violence in the north has become more widespread and brutal, with Christians being particularly targeted. The northern province of Cabo Delgado is now in the grips of Islamist insurgents who have killed between 2,500 and 3,300 people in the area. Around 800,000 people have been displaced in an attempt to escape the violence.
- Please pray to God that He will convict President Filipe Nyusi and his cabinet to become protectors of all citizens.
- Pray for the Lord to protect and encourage the Christians, particularly in the Cabo Delgado province from Islamic insurgents.
- Pray to the Lord to encourage and strengthen Christians as they try to cope with the brutal violence from radical Muslims and militant groups.
- Pray to the Lord to wreck the plans of militant groups and radical Muslims to establish Muslim controlled regions within Mozambique.
- Pray that churches and their pastors will minister, take in, believers who had to flee to save their lives.
- Pray to the Lord for those children who have been abducted into forced marriages, and militant groups. Let them know Your love for them and intervene to give them freedom.
- Pray to the Lord that His hand of protection is on women who are suspected to be Christians and are forced to marry Muslim men to prevent them from living their faith.
- Pray for the families that have been displaced by Muslim violence to find shelter, food, water and security.
- Pray for MBB Christians to be protected from family and community leaders trying to force them to renounce their Christian faith.
- Pray for the persecuted believers who are at risk in reaching out to the lost, let them be a light in the darkness.
- Pray for NGOs to reach out to the displaced and traumatized families with both physical and spiritual support. Pray for protection of NGO workers as they operate in a volatile environment.
- Pray that the Lord will appear to many Muslims in their dreams and connect them with believers who can lead them to faith.
- Pray to the Lord that will bind the forces of darkness and watch over His church to grow and multiply in spite of adversity.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here
- UPDATE (March 17, 2023): Ryan Kolher, a pilot for the U.S.-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and two of the ministry’s South African volunteers were released from a Mozambican prison Tuesday afternoon, the organization announced. The trio had been held at a high-security prison inside the southeastern African country for four months. Their release is a provisional one and they are required to remain in the country, while their case is still ongoing, according to MAF. Kolher is said to be “doing well” following his release and is with his wife, Annabel.
The Harvest:
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Biblical Prayer for the Persecuted Church
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Saturday, May 27, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
- Pray believers would delight in the LORD, for He is worthy.
Psalm 37:1 “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong.”
- Pray believers would be content if their real needs are met.
Psalm 37:8 “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil”
- Pray church would not be angry and fret when persecuted or talked about negatively.
Psalm 37:11 “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”
- Pray for great peace for those being persecuted.
Psalm 37:15 * But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.”
- Pray the wicked desires of those plotting evil against the church would fall to the ground and not be accomplished but will turn upon themselves so that they may repent.
Psalm 37:17 “For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.”
- Pray the power of wicked leaders be broken.
Psalm 37:19 “In times of disaster they will not wither, but; in days of famine, they will enjoy plenty.”
1 Kings 17:6 “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook.”
- Pray for supernatural provision; pray also for NGOs and others to find those in need and help them.
1 Kings 17:13 “Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.’ “
- Pray the church would be obedient to God’s voice even when it doesn’t seem logical. Pray they would not fear, but trust in the power of Yah.
1 Kings 17:21 “Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried unto the LORD ‘O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’ “
- Pray believers would perform mighty signs and miracles to glorify God, encourage believers and bring unbelievers to a saving knowledge of Messiah.
Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
- Pray for the harvest of souls, to the Jew first and also for the Nations.
Romans 1:17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ “
- Pray for an increase of faith among believers.
Romans 1:24 “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.”
- Pray against the spirit of homosexuality and perversions.
Romans 1:25 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
- Pray for truth in the media; pray believers are not deceived by what they hear and even see but test the spirits.
- Pray against spirit of idolatry. So many people worship sports figures, movie stars, music groups or the people in them, etc. Some worship their children, spouses, and others.
Philippians 3:13 “Not that I have already attained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
- Pray church would persevere and grow in maturity in the LORD.
We are continuing to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
Alice Loksha Ngaddah was kidnapped in February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
Leah Sharibu prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
Pastor Wang Yi to be released from Chinese prison.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their persecution continues. Pastor Nadarkhani is serving the second year of his six-year sentence, recently reduced from ten years.
Anita to make an easy transition into her new culture and that the Lord will be gracious in bringing her family members where they too will be able to freely worship our Lord without fear.
The Harvest
“I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18)
Valerie Creekmore, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Persecution Watch: Praying for Believers in Myanmar
(Voice of the Persecuted) You’re invited to join us on Thursday, May 25, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Myanmar: Population: 55.2 million, Christians 4.4 million
The situation in Christian areas has taken a turn for the worse since the military took control in February 2021. Fighting has increased across the country and the Christian minority is bearing the brunt of these attacks. More Christians than ever have become internally displaced people or refugees and are living in camps or churches without adequate food and healthcare.
The daily reality is that Christians do not enjoy the same rights and legal protection as the Buddhist majority. Christians are often victims of violent attacks conducted with impunity. Even in predominantly Christian states like Chin State and Kayah State, long-established churches have suffered attacks and Christian aid workers and pastors have been killed. Government forces attack Christian villages and churches, while Buddhist monasteries remain largely untouched.
Converts to Christianity also face persecution from their Buddhist, Muslim or tribal families and are shunned from community life. Communities that aim to stay ‘Buddhist only’ make life for Christian families impossible by barring their access to community water resources. Non-traditional church groups experience opposition too, especially those located in rural areas and those who are known for proselytizing.
The ongoing civil war between Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups and the military is disproportionately affecting Christian communities in majority Christian states such as Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Kayah states. In Kachin State and Northern Shan State, where fighting is escalating, Christians are being killed, detained, and forced to flee.
Converts from a Buddhist, Muslim or tribal background face the strongest pressure to renounce their faith, especially from their family and community. The small number of Christian converts from a Muslim background who live among the Rohingya Muslim community are especially vulnerable, and face persecution both because of their ethnic affiliation, and because their Muslim families and communities put them under enormous pressure to return to Islam.
2022 brought the country further than ever from a solution to the violent conflict which started when the army staged a coup on 1 February 2021. Fighting has continued and, in some parts of the country, increased and the Christian minority is among those bearing the brunt of attacks. Christians have been killed and churches attacked and destroyed. The government has much work to do to become more inclusive of ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians.
- Pray that God will touch and soften the hearts of the Military Leaders and out peace and reconciliation on their minds.
- Pray for reconciliation between religious groups in Myanmar and an end to the habitual discrimination against Christians.
- Pray for the protection of the thousands of vulnerable people who are now refugees or internally displaced due to the ongoing conflict.
- Thank God for the success of the persecution survival training which has brought hope, encouragement, and resilience to Christians. Pray for survival training to continue.
- Pray to the Lord to protect believers and churches targeted by the military.
- Pray to the Lord that He will encourage church leaders who struggle with the horrific memories of the violence and cruelty they had witnessed.
- Pray for the Christians who converted from Buddhism and Islam, ask the Lord that they will be protected from violence and oppression.
- Pray that God will strengthen each believer and revive their spirits that have been daunted by Myanmar’s turmoil.
- Pray for the believers, in a very hostile climate, reach out to bring the Good News to the lost.
- Pray that believers sense God’s presence and know that we are praying for them.
- Pray for the beliers to be able to love and forgive their persecutors.
- Pray for the NGOs, who working through local partners, strengthens persecuted believers in Myanmar through literature distribution, discipleship programs, livelihood support and various forms of training.
- Pray that persecution and violence will not stymie the growth of Christianity in Myanmar. That the forces of darkness will not prevail and that the Lord will greatly increase the numbers of believers.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here
- UPDATE (March 17, 2023): Ryan Koher, a pilot for the U.S.-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and two of the ministry’s South African volunteers were released from a Mozambican prison Tuesday afternoon, the organization announced. The trio had been held at a high-security prison inside the southeastern African country for four months. Their release is a provisional one and they are required to remain in the country, while their case is still ongoing, according to MAF. Koher is said to be “doing well” following his release and has spoken multiple times with his wife, Annabel, and his two sons since his release, the ministry said. Source
The Harvest
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Persecution Watch: Pray and Encourage
(Voice of the Persecuted) You’re invited to join us on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the offense of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
Genesis 50:15-21
Dear Prayer Warriors, this morning, a sister in Christ prayed for me as a caring and loving sister feeling led in the Spirit that my heart was broken. After she prayed over me, I received such comfort, power, and peace. Later, God reminded me of Genesis 50:20. Joseph’s brothers intended harm to him, but God meant it for good as many lives were saved. Because Joseph loved his brothers through God, he was able to forgive them. How precious is the love of God!
I was reminded of the need to pray for the Persecuted Church, our brothers and sisters. The persecuted struggle in their sufferings and it’s hard to forgive their persecutors. They need our prayers asking God to give them the ability to truly forgive.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here
- UPDATE (March 17, 2023): Ryan Koher, a pilot for the U.S.-based ministry Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and two of the ministry’s South African volunteers were released from a Mozambican prison Tuesday afternoon, the organization announced. The trio had been held at a high-security prison inside the southeastern African country for four months. Their release is a provisional one and they are required to remain in the country, while their case is still ongoing, according to MAF. Koher is said to be “doing well” following his release and has spoken multiple times with his wife, Annabel, and his two sons since his release, the ministry said. Source
The Harvest
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader
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
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign-up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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.
Scriptural Prayer for the Body of Christ
(Voice of the Persecuted) You’re invited to join us on Saturday day, May 20, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Judges 21:25 (last verse of book) “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
If you ask, most people will say that they are a good person. God’s Word is our moral compass; without it, everything else is a relative moral or amoral compass.
• Pray for access to God’s Word and for people to read it.
Judges 1:25-27 “But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan …for the Canaanite’s were determined to live in the land. When Israeli became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.” Tribe after tribe, except Judah, did not drive them out, but most of them used them as forced labor. When they allowed the enemy to stay, it was not long before the captors became captives.
• Pray the church would be strong and not be taken captive, physically or spiritually.
• Pray church would not allow sin to operate so their lives would be easier according to world standards.
• Pray the church would separate itself from ways of the world. (Come out from among them and be separate 2 Cor. 6:17)
Psalm 35:1-2 “Contend O LORD with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.”
• Pray Adonai would protect his people from those trying to hurt or destroy them.Psalm 35:8 “May ruin overtake them by surprise—May the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit to their ruin.”
• Pray those who plant snares and traps or explosives would be taken by them, so they or others would see and be ashamed and be saved.
Psalm 35:10 “My whole being will exclaim, ‘Who is like you O LORD? You rescue the poor from those who are too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
• Pray those persecuting the Christians would not succeed in taking their land or robbing or destroying their property.
Psalm 35:11 “Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.”
• Pray lies would be discovered and justice would prevail. Pray this would discourage others from giving false testimony.
Psalm 35:18 “I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.”
• Pray for a spirit of praise and thanksgiving.
Psalm 35:27 “May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; May they always say ’The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well being of his servant’. “
• Pray for a spirit of joy and delight in the LORD.
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies’”
• Pray for increased faith in the Word; pray church would see more from an eternal perspective.
John 11:31 “When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.”
• Pray for people from the local church, NGOs, pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort those who have lost loved ones. Pray they feel our prayers.
John 11:43-44 “When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go’.”
• Pray for miracles, signs and wonders by the church. Many believed because of this Messianic miracle, though not everyone.
1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
• Pray the church would not be deceived.
Artificial intelligence with imitating peoples’ voices and even images have made it easier and easier for men to be deceived. The Word says God will shorten the time or else even the elect would be deceived.
God forbid!!
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018, pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison
- For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what is God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure.
The Harvest
- 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Valerie Creekmore, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
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 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 data network or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
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 time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and both missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2013 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2015. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are 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 are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in and pray silently, or muted. 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!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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 