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THANK YOU! Your prayers are making a difference
(Voice of the Persecuted) Thank you for praying with the Persecution Watch Prayer Warrior Team for Muslims to come to know and follow Christ. A special thanks to the Prayercast ministry for faithfully putting this 31 day prayer event together each year. The following is message from the Prayercast Team:
“You made it to the end!
THANK YOU for joining the Ramadan Challenge by praying along with us on a world prayer tour for Muslims through their holy month of Ramadan. Together, we prayed for 31 days! Through prayer, we visited the five most populated Muslim nations on Earth as well as Muslims in the West. We also learned about and prayed for Muslims in their five religious pillars.
We covered:
Indonesia, Jakarta, Folk Islam, Sunda
Pakistan, Education, Wahabbism, Mullahs
India, Delhi, Shia, Madrassas
Bangladesh, Dhaka, Sufi, Shaikh
Nigeria, Sunni, Hausa, Sahel
Australia, Canada, Eastern and Western Europe, USA
Five Pillars
Be greatly encouraged! These prayers HAVE made a difference in the lives of Muslims and in the lives of those who prayed!
We have already heard numerous stories of how God has moved in response to these prayers over the years!”
The mission of Prayercast is to activate world changing prayer for the lost. Check out their website and continue to pray for more to come to Christ, all year.
We encourage you to join the Persecution Watch prayer conference call and pray with the Prayer Warrior team for the Persecuted Church.
Thank you again and God bless you all.
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 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
Iran Releases Yousef Nadarkhani, Other Christians from Prison
(Morning Star News) – Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, once sentenced to death in Iran for apostasy, was the third Christian convert recently released from prison as part of the government’s annual amnesty marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution.
Originally sentenced to death in 2010 for leaving Islam, Nadarkhani was freed on Feb. 26, following the pardon and release earlier in the month of Hadi Rahimi and Zaman Fadaei, religious freedom advocates said. While welcoming the releases, they noted that those released had already served significant portions of their sentences in cases marred by legal irregularities even by Iranian standards.
“Their pardon hardly addresses the injustice of the original sentencing and suffering that the men and their families endured,” said a specialist on Iran with Middle East Concern (MEC) on condition of anonymity. “But we are glad for their sakes that they are free and with their families again.”
Nadarkhani had been acquitted of apostasy in September 2012 but was found guilty of a lesser charge of evangelizing and sentenced to three years in prison.
He was arrested again, along with his wife, in May 2016 when agents with the Ministry of Intelligence began raiding Christian homes and house churches in Rasht. In July 2016, the Revolutionary Court in Rasht charged Nadarkhani with “crimes against national security” and accused him of being a Zionist.
Nadarkhani, his wife and two other Christians were found guilty of acting against national security, propagating house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity in June 2017 and sentenced to 10 years each in prison. Nadarkhani was also sentenced to two years’ exile in Nik Shahr.
Nadarkhani remained free until officials arrested him at his home in July 2018 and took him to Evin Prison to begin serving his sentence. Security officers assaulted Nadarkhani and his son during the arrest, according to MEC and other advocacy groups. Upon judicial review of his case, Nadarkhani’s sentence was later reduced to six years.
Two prisoner releases preceded Nadarkani’s. Hadi Rahimi was released from Evin Prison on Feb. 15, following that of Zaman Fadaei from the same notorious prison on Feb. 8.
Rahimi was arrested in February 2020 with three other members of a house church in Rasht and released three months later on a bail bond of 200 million toman (about US$12,000). In August 2020, Rahimi was sentenced to four years in prison for “acting against national security” and “spreading ‘Zionist’ Christianity” for attending a house church.
The other Christians arrested in the raid received sentences of between two and five years. A month later, Rahimi’s sentence was upheld on appeal, and on Jan. 9, 2022, he turned himself in to begin his sentence.
Fadaei, another Christian convert from Islam, was released on Feb. 8 also in recognition of the revolution’s anniversary. As with Rahimi, Fadaei’s pardon was approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as part of the amnesty freeing “tens of thousands” of prisoners, according to state news agency IRNA.
Fadaei was well known for raising the ire of the Iranian government for following Christ. In November 2020, he was flogged for drinking wine during a Communion service, an 80-lash sentence originally issued in 2017. In June of that year he was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by propagating house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity,” according to advocacy groups.
Fadaei’s sentence was later reduced to six years in June 2020 after judicial appeal.
‘Enemy of the State’
In light of recent civil unrest in Iran, there has been much speculation about who would be released as part of the amnesty tradition marking the Feb. 11, 1979 revolution. With Iranian state media reporting the release of 10,000 prisoners, religious freedom advocates in Iran were still tracking information on other releases.
The February pardons were part of a larger game of musical chairs the Iranian state plays with prisoners of conscience, including religious conscience. On Jan. 28, authorities released Anahita Khademi, a Christian convert, on a bail bond of 180 million toman (about US$4,000) in connection with various charges, including distributing “propaganda against the system” and “disturbing public opinion.”
Khademi, wife of well-known Pastor Abdolreza Haghnejad, on Jan. 3 was ordered to appear at intelligence offices in Bandar Azali, where she was questioned, arrested and later transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht. Her husband remains in Lakan Prison in Rasht serving a six-year prison term sentence for “acting against the security of the country by forming and propagating Christianity outside the church and in the house church and giving information to the enemies of Islam.”
Charges against Pastor Haghnejad stemming from his arrest in 2014 had been overturned, but in January 2022 the judicial leadership of a court in Karaj nullified the appeal, declared him an enemy of the state and reinstated the six-year sentence.
Iran ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. During the past few years, the government of Iran has severely cracked down on house churches, but the WWL report states, “despite great oppression, the Islamic Republic of Iran has seen phenomenal growth in its underground church movement.”
“Christian gatherings in private homes have been denounced as ‘illegal groups’ and acts ‘against national security,’ while many churches continue to be closed,” the report states. “Converts from Islam to Christianity bear the brunt of religious freedom violations, carried out by the government in particular, which sees these Iranian Christians as an attempt by Western countries to undermine the Islamic regime. Leaders of Christian convert groups, as well as members of other denominational backgrounds who support them, have been arrested, prosecuted and received long prison sentences for ‘crimes against national security.’”
VOP Note: Thank you to all who have been praying for Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and Iranian Christians suffering persecution for their faith.
Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call: Worthy is the Lamb
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Tuesday June 7, 2022 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Dear Prayer Warriors, I’d like to share with you a precious memory shared to us from our late brother and founder of Persecution Watch, Blaine Scogin, in 2015.
My Brothers and Sisters
Beautiful worship video of Revelation Song being sung by people from different nations. Please listen and enjoy. And do have a box of tissues handy.
Blaine
Revelation 5:9-12
9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
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
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 and Praising the Lord for His Goodness
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Tuesday January 4, 2022 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Dear prayer Warriors, there are many things to be grateful for and many persecuted Christians who need our prayers. Please read the following reports for tonight’s prayer call.
FCA theme for 2021 was Pursue, based on 1 Timothy 6:11 “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.”
- Pray that Christians in Sports will continue to pursue 1 Timothy theme.
- Pray for them and their family’s protection, for their provision and health.
- Pray that this year the Lord will multiply the distributions of Bibles throughout the world.
- Pray for the harvest.
- Praise the Lord for providing for so many Bibles in 2021!
Jesus Christ Continues Changing Lives, Even Inside Argentine Prisons
- There are no limits to the saving grace of Christ. Those who have strayed from the faith are never too far gone to be restored- and the changed lives inside Argentine prisons are proof of that.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
“1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”
We will pray for the Christians in Myanmar who were attacked on Christmas Eve.
Myanmar Military Burns Village on Christmas Eve, Kills Dozens of Christians
We will continue lifting up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
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.
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.
Afghanistan: Amidst violent extremism, Miracles
(MNN) — In Afghanistan, activists live in constant danger, especially women. Some have been killed after being lured by messages on social media promising to help them escape the country.
Tragedy and repentance
Greg Kelley with World Mission has spoken to local Christians in Afghanistan. He says one Christian activist was captured and executed by the Taliban themselves.
But then something remarkable happened. “This Taliban leader, who was overseeing this tragedy, had a dream. He was utterly convicted about what had happened. Because at the end of the day, even the Taliban understand these people are really innocent. And he knew he had just viciously killed an innocent woman. He was told in a dream to go to the victim’s family, who would help him receive peace.”
He met the woman’s husband, who was a pastor. Amazingly, the husband forgave him for what he had done. Kelley says, “But he said, ‘More importantly than my forgiveness, you can receive peace in your heart, that will come through forgiveness in Jesus Christ.’ He prayed with this man and led him to Christ. Now this man is being discipled in the truth and knowledge of Jesus.”
Guns silenced
Kelley tells another story he heard from inside the country about a Christian woman and her daughter. They wanted to flee the country, but the Taliban found them. “They told her to get down on her knees. They were going to execute her. The Taliban leader grabbed a gun, put it to her head, and he pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.”
In fact, Kelley says none of the firearms in the room would work. The Taliban became terrified and fled.
Pray God would change hearts among the Taliban and other extremists in Afghanistan. And ask Him to comfort Christians who have lost loved ones to violent extremism.
The header photo shows Afghan refugees who made it to India. (Photo courtesy of World Mission on Facebook)
Special Guest: Imprisoned in Sudan to Freedom, Mariam Ibraheem
Tuesday August 31, 2021 (Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us as we welcome back Mariam Ibraheem, our special guest on the Persecution Watch prayer conference call, tonight.
Mariam was born to a Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother. She grew up in poverty in a refugee camp in Sudan. Her father left the family when she was only six, and her mother raised her in the Christian faith. Left without family after the deaths of her beloved mother and sister, she was beginning to move past her grief—earning a medical degree, marrying the man she loved, and having a baby boy.
But in late 2013, her world was shattered when an unknown relative on her father’s side reported her to the police. The authorities said she was considered a Muslim because of her father’s background. She had broken the law by marrying a Christian man, must renounce her Christian beliefs and abandon her marriage. Under intense pressure, she refused to deny her faith.
Following a lengthy trial, she was charged with apostasy and adultery, and she was imprisoned with her nine-month-old son, Martin, on Christmas Eve. There, awaiting sentence, she learned she was pregnant with her second child. Later, by a Sharia court sentenced Mariam to 100 lashes and death by hanging. While shackled to a bed; Mariam gave birth to her daughter in her prison cell.
Her story gained international attention. Many advocated for her release, while Christians around the world prayed for her strength and freedom. Those prayers were answered, and Mariam is now living in the USA.
A book titled Shackled will be released in March 2022. It tells the story of this courageous woman who was willing to face death rather than deny her faith. From life in a refugee camp, under Islam, imprisonment and sentencing, to her remarkable escape from death to freedom.
Join us on the conference call as we speak with Mariam and pray together for the persecuted with her, tonight.
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: 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 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.
Father Recovers Forcibly Converted/Married Daughter
Police found Farah Shaheen, 12, chained in a home in Faisalabad, Pakistan on Dec. 5, 2020. (Morning Star News)
Kidnapped 12-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was found chained in home of ‘husband.’
Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Asif Masih beamed with joy to have his 12-year-old daughter back home on Tuesday (Feb. 16) in Faisalabad, Pakistan following her alleged kidnapping and forcible conversion and marriage to a 45-year-old Muslim.
“Praise God, for He has answered our prayers and rescued my daughter,” Masih said hours after Faisalabad Session Judge Rana Masood Akhtar ordered that Farah Shaheen be released from a government shelter “because she wants to go with him.” In a Jan. 23 hearing, Farah had told the court that she wanted to live with her so-called husband, Khizar Hayat – a statement made under threats and pressure at the shelter, her lawyer said.
The court verdict states that since the marriage between Farah and Hayat was not registered and a Nikahnama (Islamic marriage contract) was not verified by the area union council, she could not be kept in the shelter indefinitely.
“She’s deeply traumatized and fearful, but my child is very happy to be back in her family,” Masih told Morning Star News. “Just when we thought that we had lost her, this miracle happened. May God keep all daughters in His protection.”
Masih, a Roman Catholic daily wage laborer, had fought for Farah’s recovery since she was allegedly kidnapped by three Muslims from the family’s home in the Ahmedabad area of Faisalabad in June. The child was allegedly raped, forcibly converted to Islam and forced to marry Hayat.
Although intercourse with a girl below age 16 is statutory rape in Pakistan, in most cases a falsified conversion certificate and Nikahnama influences police and courts to pardon kidnappers.
Hayat was taken into custody and released on bail, but he has yet to be charged for alleged kidnapping or rape, and fears for Farah’s security remain.
Police found Farah chained in the suspect’s home on Dec. 5 after Masih reported she had been kidnapped on June 25, and a judge ordered her to be kept in police custody; she was then sent to a government-run shelter home while her case went to court.
Church leaders and rights activists said they fear that such shelter homes, police and courts were facilitating the forced conversions of Christian girls.
Rights activist Lala Robin Daniel told Morning Star News that Hayat and his alleged accomplices would remain a threat to Masih and his family until they are taken into custody and punished.
“All those who were involved in this case should be given exemplary punishments so that people have a fear of the law,” Daniel told Morning Star News. “Unless stern legislation is brought against forced conversions of minor girls and the accused are punished, there is little hope for safety of our children.”
Legislation on Religious Conversion
A parliamentary panel on minorities has forwarded key legislation to the government on curbing forced conversions of minority girls in Pakistan, recommending that only adults should be allowed to change religion and only after appearing before a senior district judge.
The Parliamentary Committee to Protect Minorities from Forced Conversions on Tuesday (Feb. 16) recommended that the Stymie Forced Religious Conversion Bill be forwarded to the Senate, which will decide whether to forward the draft to the relevant ministry.
The bill includes recommendations for validating conversion, stating, “Any person who is not a child and able and willing to convert to another religion will apply for a conversion certificate from the additional sessions judge of the area where the person ordinarily resides.”
The bill calls for an application form that would include conversion candidates’ current religion, age, gender, national identity number, reason for conversion and details of parents, siblings, children and spouse if any.
The committee suggested that the additional sessions judge shall set a date for an interview within seven days of receipt of the application for conversion.
“On the date provided, the person shall present himself/herself before the additional sessions judge who shall ensure that the conversion is not under any duress and not due to any deceit or fraudulent misrepresentation,” the bill states.
The additional sessions judge may, upon the conversion candidates’ request, arrange his/her meeting with religious scholars of the religion the person wishes to convert to, according to the draft. A clause also empowers the additional sessions judge to grant 90 days to the person to undertake a comparative study of the religions and return to the office of the judge.
“Only after satisfaction, the additional sessions judge may issue the certificate of change of religion,” the draft states.
Skepticism
Church leaders endorsed the recommendations in the bill but questioned the will of the government to address the issue.
“This is not the first time such practical recommendations have been proposed to the government, but unfortunately all such pro-minority legislations are either put on the back-burner or outright dismissed under pressure from religious groups,” said Pakistan National Council of Churches President Bishop Azad Marshall.
The Senate’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs recently rejected a bill seeking protection for Pakistan’s minorities against religiously motivated violence.
Committee chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, of the far-right Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, claimed in a Feb. 2 meeting that minorities in Pakistan already enjoyed “unprecedented religious freedom” and that therefore there was no need for more legislation. Sen. Sirajul Haq of the hard-line Jamaat-e-Islami derided the bill as part of the agenda of Non-Governmental Organizations.
Bishop Marshall said it was unfortunate that some religious leaders have created hindrances to such crucial legislation over the years.
“Forced conversions, misuse of blasphemy law, hate speech and religious violence are real issues affecting the minority communities that need to be tackled together as a national cause,” he said.
Former parliamentarian and rights advocate Mary James Gill said the protection for minorities bill introduced by her Muslim party colleague, Sen. Javed Abbasi, was a sincere effort to curb forced conversions and other issues facing non-Muslim citizens, especially Christians and Hindus.
“It’s time that the government and opposition parties should rise beyond party lines and seriously work on these issues,” she said. “Intolerance and extremism are increasing in our country, and if we don’t stop them now, this fire will eventually devour all of us.”
Gill lauded the recommendations made in the religious conversion bill but, like Bishop Marshall, she too voiced concern over how Islamist parties and groups would react to it.
“Religious leaders need to understand that legislation for protection of minorities does not mean an attack on their faith,” she said. “Matters like forced conversion and misuse of blasphemy laws are serious human rights issues, and all of us need to take a firm stand against it.”
Pakistan led the world in forced marriages, with about 1,000 Christians married against their will to non-Christians from November 2019 to October 2020, according to Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List report. In terms of abductions, the report listed Pakistan as fourth with an estimated 100 kidnappings.
Overall, Pakistan was ranked No. 5 on the 2021 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
According to the Center for Social Justice, 162 questionable conversions have appeared in the media since 2013. About 52 percent of allegedly forced conversions occurred in Punjab Province, and 44 percent in Sindh Province, while 1.23 percent each were reported in the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas. One case was reported from Balochistan Province.
The data show that 54.3 percent of the girls and women were Hindu, 44.4 percent were Christian and 0.62 percent belonged to Sikh and Kalash communities.
More than 46.3 percent of the victims of forced conversion were minors – with 32.7 percent between the ages of 11 and 15 – while only 16.7 percent of the victims were above 18 years old, though lower courts did not always verify those ages through records of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and schools.
VOP Note: Please pray for the many Christian girls who are kidnapped, forced to convert and married to their abductors. They suffer horrific abuse with physical and mental injuries.
Persecution Watch: Pastor Bob Fu and family finally able to come out of forced exile
Youtube screen shot
12/15/2020 (Voice of the Persecuted) Dear Prayer Warriors, after a month and a half, “by the grace of the Lord and with lots of prayers”, Bob Fu, a Chinese American pastor, was finally able to return back to his home in Texas!
“And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work” 2 Corinthians 9:8″
Pastor Bob Fu:
Pastor Fu has received death threats, his family have been forced to leave their home for a period of time and they have been under armed protection.
… “As a former house church pastor, a prisoner for Christ and an advocate for religious freedom for more than two in the international arena, it is really very surreal, and kind of crazy to think that you have to be exiled from your own home in West Texas, in the supposedly land of the free, because of all these slanderous accusations and threats that law-enforcement deemed substantive.”
“By the grace of the Lord and with lots of prayers and support, however, we were able to return home this weekend for the first time in 1-1/2 months.”
(Midland, TX— Dec, 09, 2020)
During a Skype interview with Andrew Boyd of Release International on December 06, Pastor Bob Fu of ChinaAid recounted his 1-1/2 month forced exile from his home due to threats linked to Guo Wengei, a Chinese billionaire residing in New York, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Watch full interview below.
Prayers Request from Bob Fu
Pray for us… that we can have a full alignment with the biblical truth that this is not something too strange or surprising we have to go through.
It’s a spiritual battle. Unless we stop the work that God has called us to do, as the mob has demanded.
Pray for us to be prepared and ready to face tribulations.
As our mission comes from the Lord, our faith can only be strengthened by God’s grace… by God’s word… by God’s Holy Spirit.
Pray for our staff as well. They too were experiencing a stressful time. Protesters did show up at our office. Please also pray for ChinaAid’s board members, that they will make wise decisions as to how we may best handle security concerns, and that the direction of ministry work will not adversely be impacted.
We have three children. One son, 23-years-old, our oldest daughter, 21-years-old attends college, and our 15-years-old daughter in high school.
Please pray that the Lord will restore them; strengthen them; increase their faith in the middle of these terrorizing months so they learn that this experience will not terrify us.
What has happened is the price can be proudly paid for their faith and for freedom.
Pray that God uses this to nurture and strengthen their hearts.
the CCP want confrontations and violence “They want to silence me and China Aid’s voice for freedom.” But, as Pastor Fu stated and continues to believe, “By the grace of the Lord and with lots of prayers,” their desires will not succeed.
Dear Brothers and sisters we also need to pray for ourselves!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.” Isaiah 55:8
In these times, we are being coaxed to believe deceptions. Pray that the Lord will show us the truth in all matters. Pray that the Lord will lead us to understand things as they really are, not the way we perceive them to be.
We will also continue to pray for:
- Leah Sharibu and Alice that they will be set free from Boko Haram captivity
On Jul 08, 2020 · 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.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family, the children, and the church in China
On December 28 the police raided the Early Rain Church and arrested Pastor Wang Yi, his wife Jiang Rong, and ten elders of the well-known 750-member church for holding “illegal” services. Some 100 believers were detained, questioned, and later released. Pastor Wang’s wife was also released. Pastor Wang remained in detention.
- For Anita, an Iranian Christian, persecuted by the Islamic regime.
- For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their Persecution continues
Pastor Nadarkhani is serving the second year of his six-year sentence, recently reduced from ten years.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani converted to Christianity at the age of 19 and leads a 400-member house church in Rasht, Iran. Since 2006, Iranian authorities have consistently harassed and detained Pastor Nadarkhani and his family. In 2010, the authorities sentenced him to death for apostasy before acquitting him in 2012. Pastor Nadarkhani was tried again in 2017 on false charges of “acting against national security” and promoting “Zionist Christianity,” for which he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. By July 2018, plainclothes agents raided Pastor Nadarkhani’s home to execute the sentence, beating and apprehending him and using a taser gun on one of his sons. He is now incarcerated at the notorious Evin prison near Tehran.
- For the harvest
“2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:2
Please join us, tonight, as we pray for the Persecuted Church and the global harvest of souls.
In the love of Christ,
Nadia & Merlaine, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderators
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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 (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted and our missions became one. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch is an important part of our own.
With the passing of Blaine into glory on December 26, 2019, Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with our dedicated prayer warrior team.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the call to share the trials they’re facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer.
Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone. We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you.
If you’re new to the call and can’t find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Persecution Watch has a new email address for the prayer team and those who would like to receive urgent prayer requests, weekly call prayer points and notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
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