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Persecution Watch: Pray for Pakistan
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Tuesday August 30, 2022 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Dear Prayer Warriors, I was reminded yesterday of how much God loved us.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”Romans 5:8
We are also lead through His love to pray in the Spirit for our precious brothers and sisters in Christ and for those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Tonight, we will pray for Pakistan.
Court denies Christian parents’ custody of their 12 yr. old, kidnapped daughter who was lured away by the wife of a 40 yr. old Muslim man, forcefully converted, then forced into marriage with him.Let us also pray for her and the many other girls suffering the same in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s floods have killed more than 1,000. It’s been called a climate catastrophe
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.
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.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran for his release and his family as their persecution continues. Pastor Nadarkhani is serving the second year of his six-year sentence.
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)
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 (Note: We have a new call-in phone number)
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
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 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, 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.
Christian Parents in Pakistan Denied Custody of Kidnapped Girl
Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Refusing to review evidence from a Christian couple trying to recover their 12-year-old daughter after she was allegedly kidnapped and forced to convert and marry, a judge in Pakistan last week denied them custody, sources said.
Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench on Thursday (Aug. 18) denied the petition by Parvez Masih and his wife, Yasmeen, seeking custody of their daughter Zarvia, said rights activist Sherkan Malik.
“The judge dismissed our petition in under two minutes – he even refused to look at any of the evidence, which clearly showed that the minor child was threatened to give a statement in favor of the accused, Imran Shahzad and his wife Adiba,” Malik told Morning Star News.
The judge, declaring “The girl is 12, she is married, and she did it out of her free will,” made the ruling in spite of recorded evidence that Shahzad had threatened to kill Zarvia’s two brothers if she told the truth, Malik said. The ruling leaves Zarvia in the custody of Shahzad and his wife.
Malik, a Muslim, said that Masih and his wife, who live in Rawalpindi, approached him for legal assistance over fears that their daughter had been killed after being kidnapped.
“Since May 14, when a judicial magistrate in Rawalpindi handed Zarvia’s custody to Imran on the basis of the child’s verbal statement that she was 14 years old and had married the accused of her own free will, her parents have had no contact with her, leaving them to question if she is even alive,” Malik said. “The judge told us that since the girl had already recorded her statement, this was now just a frivolous case, and there was nothing more the court could do in this regard.”
Malik said that in July, Zarvia managed to make a phone call to her brother, telling him that Shahzad, 40, had threatened to kill him and her other brother if she incriminated Shahzad in the abduction case.
“The family has an audio recording of Zarvia’s phone call to her eldest brother,” Malik told Morning Star News.
Based on this information, Masih filed a petition for the recovery of his daughter in the Rawalpindi additional sessions court on July 13, but the judge dismissed the case on July 14.
Basis of Kidnapping Case
Masih said his family had given refuge to Shahzad, his wife Adiba and their three children in their house because Shahzad was jobless and did not have a home.
He said that Shahzad physically abused his own wife and children, and so Masih asked the family to leave their house after some weeks.
On April 30, a week after Shahzad and his family vacated their house, Adiba came to their home and lured Zarvia into going with her to the market without informing her family, Masih said.
When their daughter did not return home at dusk, Masih and his wife started searching for her and contacted relatives of the Muslim couple. Masih said he received a WhatsApp voice message from Shahzad that night telling him that Zarvia was in his custody, and that they should not contact his relatives again.
The family then registered a kidnapping case against the couple with the Sadiqabad Police Station in Rawalpindi on May 1. The police recovered Zarvia from a brick kiln in Faisalabad 13 days later and also arrested three persons, including the Muslim couple and an accomplice identified only as Liaquat, Malik said.
“Despite being a minor, Zarvia was not sent to a children’s shelter home for the night but was instead kept in the women’s police station in Rawalpindi in the same cell as Adiba,” Malik said.
Zarvia recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate on May 14, claiming that she was 14 years old and did not want to undergo a medical examination, he said.
“She also said that she had converted to Islam and contracted marriage with Imran Shahzad with her free will,” Malik said, adding that on the basis of her statement, the judge dismissed the kidnapping case and ordered the release of all three suspects. The judge roundly rejected the girl’s birth certificate and other documents proving she was under the age to legally marry.
“The sessions court completely ignored her birth certificate, church registration documents and school certifications which confirmed her age as 12,” he said, adding that her coerced statement that she was 14 was immaterial because the legal age to marry under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act is 16.
“Police and judiciary tend to support those who commit crimes such as forced conversions, child marriages and sexual violence because they believe they will receive a heavenly reward for helping convert someone to Islam, regardless of how intentional or coercive the conversion is,” Malik said.
Nayab Gill Case Update
In Gujranwala, the parents of a kidnapped 14-year-old girl forced to convert to Islam and marry informed a church leader that her Muslim “husband,” Saddam Hayat, had sold her to a relative, likely to be trafficked. She has since escaped.
Bishop Azad Marshall, president of the Anglican Church of Pakistan, told Morning Star News that after the parents of Nayab Gill told him on July 23 that she had been sold, he filed a petition in the Lahore High Court on July 25 inquiring about the well-being of the girl.
Gujranwala police failed to produce her in court on two hearings on July 27 and Aug. 3, saying they were unable to trace her whereabouts, Marshall said.
Police presented her in the court of Justice Amjad Rafique on Aug. 15, telling a judge that they had found her in a women’s shelter in Gujranwala, he said. Nayab told the court she had escaped from her abductors and reached the shelter with the help of police.
“The judge was kind enough to give time to the parents to talk with their child, but despite their persuasion, she refused to go with them, saying Saddam and his brothers would kill her father if she went with him,” Marshall said.
When the judge again asked her if she wanted to go with her parents, she refused and asked to be sent to the shelter home instead, he said. She remains at the shelter.
“Her refusal to return home clearly showed the fear that has been instilled in her mind during her captivity,” Marshall told Morning Star News. “We are now trying through some sources to counsel the child and bring her out of the fear and trauma that she has suffered in the past one year.”
Marshall had filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court in January 2021 seeking court intervention in the issue of rape of minority children who are forced to marry and convert to Islam. His petition and a subsequent appeal, however, were turned down with directions to bring a specific case.
In view of the court’s decision, Marshall provided legal aid to the parents of Nayab, who had challenged a Lahore High Court ruling allowing their daughter to remain in the custody of her Muslim “husband.” Filed in the Supreme Court in July 2021, his appeal has yet to be taken up by judges.
“We had pinned our hopes on the Supreme Court, that it would intervene in the matter and give clear directions to the government and relevant quarters, but there has been no progress in the appeal even after a year,” Marshall said. “In view of these challenges and the state’s apparent lack of interest to address them, one can only pray for God’s protection for our children.”
He said he was hopeful that Nayab would return to her family soon.
Church leaders and rights activists cite forced conversion as the biggest challenge for vulnerable minority communities of Pakistan.
“Zarvia’s case is yet another example of how minor children are being subjected to sexual violence in the guise of Islamic marriage,” Marshall said.
At least 1,000 women from religious minorities, including Christians and Hindus, are forcibly converted and married annually in Pakistan, according to various rights groups. Although Pakistan officials have dismissed such reports as “rubbish and baseless,” activists assert actual numbers could be much higher as many cases go unreported.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country had the second-highest number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Nigeria, with 620 slain during the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. Pakistan had the fourth-highest number of churches attacked or closed, with 183, and overall.
Photo: Parvez Masih says his daughter, 12-year-old Zarvia, remains in the custody of her captors. (Morning Star News courtesy of family)
Christian Girl in Pakistan Testifies of Kidnapping, Rape
“One cannot even imagine the pain and horror these children of God have suffered…”
Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A 15-year-old Christian girl told a court in Pakistan on Monday (June 6) that she was kidnapped and raped by the Muslim accused of abducting her and forcibly converting and marrying her. While most girls facing captors’ threats to harm them or their families are pressured into making false statements that they voluntarily married and converted to Islam, Saba Nadeem Masih of Faisalabad showed great bravery in truthfully sharing her ordeal before a judge, a human rights advocate said.

“Saba was in severe mental and physical trauma when the relatives of the accused produced her before police on May 31,” Faisalabad-based rights activist Lala Robin Daniel told Morning Star News.
“The recovery was made possible due to the pressure built by church leaders and rights activists by holding a daily protest from 7 p.m. till midnight.”
Photo: Saba Masih. (Twitter)
Saba, whose family is Roman Catholic, told Faisalabad Magistrate Bushra Anwar how 45-year-old Muhammad Yasir Hussain forced her into a rickshaw on May 20 in the Madina Town area of Faisalabad as she was going to work with her older sister, according to her recorded testimony.
“We were heading to work when the accused forcibly put me in a rickshaw after pushing away my sister,” Saba testified. “He then put something on my mouth due to which I fell unconscious.”
When she regained consciousness two days later, she was told that she was in Gujrat city, she said.
“He raped me for two days,” Saba said. “I kept crying and pleaded with him to let me talk to my parents, but he did not listen. After two days, the accused left me alone in the place where he was keeping me hostage.”
After protests, police initially slow to act began taking into custody for questioning at least 20 of Hussain’s relatives, Daniel said.
“This pressure resulted in Saba’s recovery, even though the primary accused is still at large,” he said.
The rights activist said Hussain was due to appear in court on Saturday (June 4) for confirmation of pre-arrest bail but did not show up. His bail was consequently cancelled, and police are now making raids for his arrest, Daniel said.
“Today’s development is very important because it exposes how these predators sexually exploit underage minority girls and then prepare forged documents of Islamic marriage and religious conversion to seek immunity for their crimes,” he said. “Saba’s statement proves that the Islamic Nikah [marriage] and conversion certificates submitted by the accused to the police are fake. He should now be charged with statutory rape and related offenses and made an example for all those who target minority girls for their evil designs.”
Hussain has been married three times but has no children from his wives, according to Saba’s father, Nadeem Masih. He previously told Morning Star News that Hussain’s family had defamed them in the area by claiming Saba had an affair with their son and had coaxed him into eloping.
In July 2021, 14-year-old Chashman Masih was kidnapped from her school in Faisalabad. The next day, her family received images by phone of an Islamic conversion letter, Islamic wedding certificate (Nikahnama) and an affidavit apparently signed by Chashman that she had willfully converted to Islam and married a Muslim man.
‘Scarred for Life’
Church leaders cite forced conversion as the biggest challenge for vulnerable minority communities of Pakistan, while rights groups blame inequality and marginalization for exploitation of minority groups.
“It’s very sad and tragic that a large number of teenage girls from both the minority Christian and Hindu communities continue to suffer sexual exploitation at the hands of these predators, but very few are able to pull such courage and share their trauma in public,” said Bishop Azad Marshall, president of the Anglican Church of Pakistan.
Marshall filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court in January 2021 seeking court intervention in the issue of rape of minority children who are forced to marry and convert to Islam. His petition and a subsequent appeal, however, were turned down with directions to bring a specific case.
In view of the court’s decision, Marshall provided legal aid to a poor Catholic couple who sought to challenge a Lahore High Court verdict allowing their 14-year-old daughter, Nayyab Gill, to remain in the custody of her Muslim “husband.” Filed in the Supreme Court in July 2021, his appeal has yet to be taken up by judges.
“Rape scars the victims for life, and in case of girls as young as 10, one cannot even imagine the pain and horror these children of God have suffered in the cover of religion,” Marshall told Morning Star News. “Enough is enough.”
He called on court and government officials to take notice of Saba’s testimony and immediately pass a bill already drafted against forced conversions.
“Additionally, the superior judiciary must direct its subordinate courts to act in accordance with the laws, especially in light of the recent judgment passed by Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court on child marriages,” he said.
At least 1,000 women from religious minorities, including Christians and Hindus, are forcibly converted and married annually in Pakistan, according to various rights groups. Although Pakistan officials have dismissed such reports as “rubbish and baseless,” activists assert actual numbers could be much higher as many cases go unreported.
According to the Center for Social Justice, 60 cases of questionable conversions were reported last year, with victims including 30 Christians and 30 Hindus. The highest number of 32 cases was reported in Sindh Province, 26 in Punjab Province and one each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
The center reported that 70 percent of the victims were less than 18 years old, with 63 percent 14 years old or younger, while 8 percent were above 18 years old.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country had the second-highest number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Nigeria, with 620 slain during the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. Pakistan had the fourth-highest number of churches attacked or closed, with 183, and overall.
Pakistan: ‘Attack on pastors illustrative of increasing pressure’, say Christians
A Pakistani pastor was killed and another wounded Sunday in an attack outside their church in northwestern Peshawar.
The two pastors were leaving the Shaheedan-e- all Saints’ Church where they had led the Sunday morning service when two men on a motorbike drove up to their car. They shot Rev. William Siraj in the head, killing him on the spot. His colleague, Rev. Patrick Naeem, was injured and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and a man-hunt for the two assassins is under way.
The attack took place outside a church that was established in memory of the twin suicide bombing of the All Saints’ Church in September 2013, in which 127 church members were killed and more than 250 injured. An offshoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a Pakistani branch of the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Among those who died that day was the son-in-law of Rev. Siraj, who was killed yesterday. He had, since then, lived with and supported his widowed daughter. “He was a very humble and godly man, and we all respected and loved him. He loved us so much,” a visibly emotional church member told World Watch Monitor.
TV footage showed people carrying Siraj’s body from the car to a nearby house while chanting “Long live Jesus Christ”, according to Reuters.
‘Deliberate and planned’
The leader of the Church of Pakistan, a union of protestant churches in the country, Bishop Azad Marshall, condemned the killings in a tweet, calling for “justice and protection of Christians from the government of Pakistan”.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s chairperson, Hina Jilani, also demanded more steps for the protection of Christians and other minorities in Pakistan “whose right to life and security of person remains under constant threat,” she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Although there had been no threats made to priests or the church in advance of Sunday’s attack, the way in which it was carried out “suggests a deliberate and planned attack; an act designed to intimidate, challenge and threaten those who offer rights, protection and freedoms to Christian minorities in Pakistan,” a local source, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, told WWM.
Attacks on Christian leaders, churches and individuals are nothing new in majority-Muslim Pakistan. The 2% minority faces religious freedom violations on several levels, from discrimination in education and the workplace to violent attacks.
The country’s blasphemy law is a tool that is regularly used, often to settle scores between individuals. The law is politically volatile as illustrated by threats and nationwide protests during the court case against Asia Bibi, the Catholic woman who was acquitted of blasphemy in 2019.
Increase in pressure after fall of Kabul
Peshawar is close to the border with Afghanistan, and since August the region has seen an uptick in attacks by the TTP, clearly emboldened by the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, as reported by France24.
The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan also caused an exodus of refugees, hoping to find safety in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan. “We have seen thousands of refugees coming to major Pakistani cities such as Peshawar and Quetta,” said a local source, who also wished to remain anonymous for security reasons. “The cities are unable to cope with such an influx and people are facing not just inflation, but homelessness and starvation also. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in assassination attempts, families in Christian neighbourhoods who are being shot at, forced conversions and bombings. Today [Sunday, Jan. 30] was yet another example of this brand of violence.”
Pakistan is 8th on the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian but as far as local Christians are concerned, it might as well be topping the list together owing to its proximity to Afghanistan, which is No. 1. This country rose to first place for the first time after having been in 2nd position after North Korea for many years.
“Pakistan’s religious landscape and the social degeneration that is taking place, cannot be isolated and distracted from that of Afghanistan,” the local source said. “Pakistan might show a moderate face; its heart is increasingly extremist and it wants to embrace a form of Islam where the Madrassa [Islamic school] is the way to get educated, with the Quran as the ultimate textbook.” In recent months the government has ordered public schools to implement religion-centred changes such as making afternoon prayers mandatory and reciting the Quran during morning assemblies.
Following the 2013 bombings, in June 2014, Pakistan’s supreme court issued a list of instructions for the government to protect the country’s minorities, including the development of “appropriate curricula for primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education that promote religious harmony and tolerance.” However, 2020 research by the Lahore-based Centre for Social Justice showed that religious minorities continued to be either invisible or vilified in Pakistan’s school textbooks.
“Where does this leave minority children?” the local source said. “The simple answer is this: in a queue for a visa, waiting to leave Pakistan and find hope and a future in a foreign land.”
Persecution Watch: Praying for Christians in Pakistan
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Thursday February 3, 2022 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Pakistan: Population: 21.1 million, Christians 4.1million
In Pakistan, Christians are considered second-class citizens and are discriminated against in every aspect of life. Church leaders can be arrested if they don’t abide by the authorities’ wishes. These arrests act as warnings to the Christian minority and intimidates them further. The COVID-19 crisis led to an increase of aid being provided to Christian day laborers only if they converted to Islam. Pakistan’s infamous blasphemy laws continue to be leveraged to accuse non-Muslims (or minority Muslim sects) of insulting the Prophet Mohammed or the Quran—even a false accusation can lead to mob violence. Additionally, a silent epidemic of kidnappings, forced marriages and forced conversion of Christian girls and women continue to take place in Pakistan.
“’Arzoo’ is a third-generation Pakistani Christian girl,” says one source who wishes not to be named. “She is one of many who go through the trauma of abduction and forced conversion annually. Christians in Pakistan are asking for prayer for the legal procedures and trial that lie ahead, for justice to be upheld and lives and families to be safeguarded.”
What has changed this year?
Persecution has remained steady in Pakistan this year. Violence against Christians for their faith continues to happen at extreme levels, but discrimination and pressure are daily realities for Christians throughout the country. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a campaign where hardline Islamists tied food aid to conversions, and Christian hospital workers were sent to COVID-19 wards with no protective gear, because they are viewed as expendable. Christians can be taunted for wearing a cross necklace, accusations of blasphemy can happen because of Facebook posts (and lead to violent mob reprisals) and anyone who converts from Islam is viewed as an apostate.
Since most Christians live in Punjab Province, many incidents of persecution, discrimination and intolerance occur there. However, next to Punjab, the province of Sindh is also notorious for being a hotspot for bonded labor, affecting many Christians as well. All Christians in Pakistan are potential victims of abuse and discrimination, but anyone caught converting from Islam bears the brunt of persecution in Pakistan. Even established churches come under pressure and surveillance from the government.
- Pray for believers who are working dangerous and unsanitary jobs, that God will keep them healthy and safe, despite their working conditions.
- Pray for any believers who are accused of blasphemy, that they would be kept safe and delivered from false accusations.
- Pray for the entire Christian community of Pakistan, that they would be encouraged and kept from exhaustion and despair.
- Pray for the government and religious leaders of Pakistan. Ask God to soften the hearts of people in charge, that they would extend an open hand to Pakistani Christians and allow different religions to peacefully worship and live out their faith in Pakistan.
- Pray for the women and girls who are kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men
- Pray for healing from the deep trauma they endure and ask God to deliver His people from the deep wounds of the enemy.
- Pray for impoverished believers and for those imprisoned for their faith.
- Pray that blasphemy laws will be overturned, and religious freedom will flourish.
- Pray that believers will understand who they are in Christ and be unashamed of the gospel.
- Pray for the courage, wisdom and protection of believers when sharing the Good News.
- Pray that NGOs will continue to support believers with sustenance and spiritually.
- Pray for great Internet access and intriguing messages for Muslims, and supportive ones for Christians.
Again, we want to lift up these 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.
Andy, 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 (Note: We have a new call-in phone number)
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
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 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, 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.
Praying for Believers in Pakistan
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Saturday January 8, 2021 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Pakistan is the world’s fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 227 million, and has the world’s second-largest Muslim population.
Pakistan gained independence in 1947. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. It has the world’s sixth-largest standing armed forces, and constantly fights India over the border region of Kashmir.

It is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States-but often works against US interests in Afghanistan.
2.5% of the people call themselves Christian. Less than 1% are considered Evangelical, but the percentage is growing.
Fundamentalist Islam is also growing, especially near the long border with Afghanistan. Many Taliban used to hide in Pakistan. Islamic violence has grown against minorities – Christian, Hindus, and smaller Muslim sects.
Casey John Chalk wrote in his book “The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands” – anti-Christian riots, kidnappings, bombings, murders, theft, and destruction of property have become common experiences for Pakistani Christians. There is a trend – the prevalence of the abduction, rape, and forced marriage of Christian girls to their rapists, about 1,000 annually. The girls are forced to convert to Islam, which makes their coerced marriages legal under Sharia-influenced legal codes.
Please pray:
- Pakistan’s government would squelch the Fundamentalist Islam movement, sharia law, and see it as a competitor to the government.
- Pakistan’s government would protect the lives of minorities and succeed in stopping terrorism and violence within the country.
- The Taliban would not control Northwest Pakistan.
Some Christian castes are so poor, that young women are often hired as servants then sexually assaulted. Christian girls are sometimes kidnapped and converted to Islam, then are forcefully married to Muslim men.
Pray that Christian women would be:
- Safe from sexual assault.
- Not be kidnapped.
- Not be forced into marriage.
- Not be forced to become Muslim.
The government has increasingly become more Islamic since the ‘80s, and non-Muslims are often kept out of government postings and education.
- Pray that Christians would have employment and educational opportunities.
“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11
The country has an anti-blasphemy law that imposed death penalty or life in prison. This is often used to falsely accuse people for other reasons, or to start mob-violence.
- Pray for the accused to be led by the Spirit in their defense.
- Pray for boldness in sharing the Gospel, and forgiveness for past pains from Muslims.
The church is hurt by poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and substance abuse.
- Pray for spiritual maturity, and for God to grant holiness.
- Pray persecution would bring the church together.
- Pray against leadership struggles and divisions, or leaders using their position to seek wealth.
In the past, donors from outside the country had built church buildings, Bible schools and Christian ministries, but foreign support has been dropping.
- Pray that the Pakistani church will learn how to expand the Kingdom of God with their own finances.
Many Pakistani Christians love their country, despite persecution.
- Pray for wisdom on how they can bless their nation.
Many Pakistani Christians have little education, but those who do get an education often leave the country.
- Pray for the Pakistani church to continue to have educated members.
- Pray for more leadership training for Christians.
Christians from Muslim background – there are deadly punishments for those called apostates. Most churches are from ethnic Christians or previously Hindus.
- Pray for Christians from Muslim background
- To be protected from their family, neighbors, religious mobs, and the police.
- To find Christian leaders that know their special needs.
We will also remember and pray for these dear ones:
- 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.
Michael Laird, 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 (Note: We have a new call-in phone number)
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
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 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, 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.
Praying for the Persecuted in Pakistan
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Saturday 13, November 2021 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Let us pray once again for Pakistan. The Word tells us to keep praying, keep asking and keep seeking. We will not be weary of coming to the just Judge with our petitions.
The population of Pakistan is about 200 million, with about 4 million identifying themselves as Christians.
This country is over 95% Muslim. The source of persecution is mainly from Islam. Converts from Islam face a very high level of persecution. Many Christian girls and young women have been abducted and forced into an oppressive marriage. Blasphemy laws have been a tool of oppression, using it to unfairly target Christians. Churches are sometimes attacked with little or no repercussions. Christians are considered second class citizens and are discriminated against in society, especially regarding employment, and also education.
- Pray that Pakistani Christians will not be discouraged; that they would feel the presence of God and know that this is not their home.
- Pray for fellowship with other believers, as iron sharpens iron. Let them be in unity.
- Pray for access to the Word through whatever means: written Bibles, story tellers, internet, broadcasts.
- Pray for the protection of girls and young women to not be abducted.
- Pray for those in forced marriages to be protected from violence; pray would keep the Lord in their hearts; give them much wisdom on how they could be able to communicate secretly with other believers and/or read the Word.
- Pray for angelic protection over the churches.
- Pray for pastors: for protection, wisdom, be able to disciple, encourage and teach other believers; pray as well for their families.
- Pray for new believers: against intense pressure to recant their faith, protection against murder and other violence, against spirit of rejection; for shelter if and when they are thrown out of their homes.
- Pray Evangelists would be raised up; Christians would continue to boldly proclaim the Good News with wisdom and clarity.
- Pray the Lord would give Christians special gifts that would make room for them and improve their economic status.
- Pray for their health and divine healing when not having access to medical care and living in unsanitary conditions.
- Pray for blasphemy laws be eliminated.
- Pray for justice in the courts and for victims not to be prosecuted as perpetrators; pray for the release of those in prison for the Word.
- Pray the Lord would build His kingdom in Pakistan.
We will also remember these dear ones:
Leah Sharibu and Alice that they will be set free from Boko Haram captivity.
- Leah Sharibu was kidnapped along with 109 other students on February 19, 2018 when Boko Haram attacked a boarding school in the city of Dapchi, Maiduguri Diocese, in north-eastern Nigeria. A month later, some of the girls died in captivity and all the others were released, except Leah. She was the only Christian in the group
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah was kidnapped during the Rann attack on March 1, 2018. She was a nurse working with Unicef and is a mother of two.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family, the children, and the church in China. Pastor Wang Yi who is currently serving his prison sentence.
- Anita an Iranian Christian, persecuted by the Islamic regime seeking asylum.
- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, for his release and his family as their persecution continues. At present he is serving his six-year sentence.
Valerie, 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: 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
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 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, 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.
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.