(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Saturday July 3, 2021 in a prayer call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.

Prayer for China with a special emphasis on Hong Kong

I heard that a journalist who was involved in the protest against tightening controls by Peoples Republic of China was arrested at the airport trying to leave the country.  China is rapidly strengthening their control over Hong Kong, Taiwan.

Hong Kong has approximately 7.5 million people, a metropolitan area and special administrative region of China. It is one of the most densely populated places in the world.  After a 99-year lease agreed to in 1898, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control in 1997.  It was supposed to be “one country, two systems”, but the two systems have been eroding.  Originally a farming and fishing community, it is now one of the world’s most significant financial centers and commercial ports. 

The country is 92% Han Chinese, 2.5% Filipino, 2.1% Indonesian, .8% white, and 2.4% other.  Official languages are Chinese and English, with regional Cantonese.

Added by Voice of the Persecuted: Christianity has been in Hong Kong since 1841 when British Empire started to rule Hong Kong.^[1] As of 2019, there were about 1.2 million Christians in Hong Kong (16% of the total population), most of them are Protestant (around 800,000) and Catholic (around 403,000).

The presence of the Protestant community dates back to 1841. About 800,000 Protestant Christians live in Hong Kong. The Protestant Church is made up of over 1,300 congregations in more than 50 denominations. Major denominations are Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans, Adventists, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Church of Christ in China, Methodist, Pentecostal and Salvation Army. With their emphasis on youth work, many congregations have a high proportion of young people.

The Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong was established as a Mission Prefecture in 1841 and as an Apostolic Vicariate in 1874. It became a diocese in 1946.

Background of Hong Kong peaceful protests that intensified as early as April 2019. The CCP claimed they were violent, calling the protesters terrorists.

• Before the British government handed over Hong Kong in 1997, China agreed to allow the region considerable political autonomy for fifty years under a framework known as “one country, two systems.” 
• In recent years, Beijing has cracked down on Hong Kong’s freedoms, stoking mass protests in the city and drawing international criticism. 
• Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 that gave it broad new powers to punish critics and silence dissenters and could fundamentally alter life for Hong Kongers.

Under an agreement between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Britain, which ruled Hong Kong for 156 years until 1997, the people of Hong Kong were supposed to be able to live freely in their capitalistic society under a “one country, two systems” model until 2047. The Hong Kong protesters see the extradition bill as an attempt by China’s Communist Party (CCP) to demolish their way of life and discard their freedoms. The CCP has continued to tighten its grip over Hong Kong.

As we see what the CCP has done to religious freedom in the ‘Mainland’, we know the religious liberty of those living in Hong Kong is at great risk.

In June 2019, Hong Kong protesters sang ‘Hallelujah to the Lord’ as they boldly confronted China.

• Pray for Chinese government and leaders to come to salvation; God would reveal himself to government officials who seek to control the church.

• Pray for people who have fled the country to receive salvation.

• Pray for those imprisoned to be hungry for truth and hook them up with Christians in prison (reverse of what we usually pray).

• Pray for salvation for residents of Hong Kong; divine appointments, seeking hearts; explosive growth of church as in mainland China.

• Pray against spirit / stronghold of wealth and greed.

• Pray churches will not be under same scrutiny as mainland China.

• Pray for Church in China as it adjust to constantly tightening restrictions of religious freedom.

• Pray protection for churches and believers (China and HK).

• Much wisdom for believers; hear from Holy Spirit clearly.

• Believers to have spirit of praise and joy and not be discouraged.

• Pray for children and grandchildren of believers, that they may see hand of God and not succumb to the State.

• Pray God’s Word would go forth in purity; for believers to have access to the true Word of God; internet or whatever means.

• Pray Christians would know that the Three Self Bible is a fraud and a lie; people not be deceived by it.

• Continue to grow Your church in China, Hong Kong.

Again, we want to lift up persecuted witnesses to the Lord: 

• Leah Sharibu, 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.

• Pray for Anita, a Christian convert facing a long prison term who escaped from Iran and praying to go to a country where she can express her faith openly.

• 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.

Valerie, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator

Prayer Conference Call Details

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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 the 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 were 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 and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team

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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.