Open Doors Prayer Thread

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Saturday 22nd July - China

Please pray for two pioneering cross-cultural youth gatherings involving Christian youth from within and outside China taking place this summer. Praticipants are looking forward to enjoying fellowship and exchanging spiritual experiences. Ask for God's blessings upon all who will be participating, for safety in travel and meeting together. May they be truly life-transforming events.

 

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Sunday 23rd July - China

A leader of a house church in Beijing lamented, "We need to discipline the believers but we lack mature leaders and shepherds who can be role models." Ask God to raise up many more faithful and able teachers whom the Lord will use to make godly disciples out of the tens of millions of believers.

 

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Tuesday 25th July - India

Villagers in the north central state of Madhya Pradesh gang-raped two Christian women on 28th May, after the husband of one refused to deny Christ. When Gokharya Barela refused to forsake Christian the village head told villagers they were free to rape Christian women. Gokharya's wife was raped by three men that evening. Another woman was also raped.

 

[Abiel]

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

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Wednesday 26th July - Vietnam

Please uphold the Rev Nguyen Hong Quang and his family as they recover from another raid on their church and home. On 22nd May, police demolished the new church building, beating contruction workers and arresting the pastor and ten others. Pastor Quang was held in custody for 28 hours. His church has been raided more than 80 times. Pictured above are police beating construction workers with sticks and electric truncheons during the latest raid. Please pray for Pastor Quang and his congregation to respond to this continuous persecution in a Christ-like way.

 

[angelwind]

Wednesday 26th July - Vietnam

Please uphold the Rev Nguyen Hong Quang and his family as they recover from another raid on their church and home. On 22nd May, police demolished the new church building, beating contruction workers and arresting the pastor and ten others. Pastor Quang was held in custody for 28 hours. His church has been raided more than 80 times. Pictured above are police beating construction workers with sticks and electric truncheons during the latest raid. Please pray for Pastor Quang and his congregation to respond to this continuous persecution in a Christ-like way.

This has been on my mind andheart a lot...to be able to 'love" people under sever persecution...that love would not grow cold...Lord Paul and Silas were singing hymns and praying while being locked up in stocks...after being beatne with sticks and they were full of joy and full of the Holy Spirt...Lord let Your persecuted church today...know this power of Your Spirit...this overwhelming strength of the joy of Your Presence in the midst of firey trials...Lord send earthquakes that unlock the hearts of men so they can beleive on Jesus and be saved...thank You Father for the record of Your saints and how they lived their lives before You...Lord we ask and thank You for more of the same...more of You in desperate times.

 

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Wednesday 27th July - Bangladesh

Today in the anniversary of the murders of Liplal Mardi and Tapan Roy, two young evangelists with Christian Life Bangledesh. Please pray for their families - they have yet to see justice handed out to the killers as neighbours are afraid to testify. However, good news is that Tapan's mother became a Christian shortly after her son's death. Please pray that she will grow in her new faith.

 

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Friday 28th July - Bangladesh

Praise God for the results we are seeing in the field. In a recent trip to the field, we came across three workers that Open Doors has sponsored for theological studies in past years. They are now serving as full time church planters and/or pastors in Saidpur district. They have planted four churches (115 families) within two years. Pray that our sponsorship programme will continue to result in more workers being raised up for the harvest.

 

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Saturday 29th July - Bhutan

Praise the Lord that souls continue to be added to His kingdom. Baptisms are not allowed yet Christians manage to conduct them in secret. Pray for the growth of the new believers. Pray for the speed but accurate translation of the bible into national language. Only one person is able to do this. Pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance on this very precious but delicate work. Pray for workers who are studying in India. May they grow and have a deeper understanding of God's Word.

 

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Sunday 30th July - Indonesia

Please pray for Abe, the evangelist imprisoned for four and a half years in May. Praise God that he seemed in a more stable condition than the last time our co-workers visited and prayed for his health and for him to stand firm. Pray also for strength and God's peace for Abe's wife Waty and their daughter, Rinda. They have to travel far to visit Abe so pray that he will be transfered to a nearby prison.

 

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Monday 31st July - Homefront

July and August are festival season and our representatives are attending many events on behalf of Open Doors including New Wine (Until 5th August), Keswick (Until 4th August), Detling (12-17th August), Greenbelt (25-28th August) and Grapevine (25-29th August), Brother Andrew is joining the underground team at Soul Survivor and Momentum (19-23rd August). Please pray that many Christians will be moved to support their persecuted brothers and sisters through these events.

 

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Wednesday 2nd August - China

"Rural house churches have less resources than we have," confessed a Beijing couple who are Open Door's co-workers in Bible and literature distribution. "please prya that more urban churches will server more rural churches because they really need more resources," the husband pleaded. Please pray "that there might be equality" (2 Corinthians 8:13-15) in the body of Christ.

 

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Thursday 3rd August - North Korea

In June we learned that ten North Korean refugees had been freed after being arrested in Laos. Praise the Lord for their freedom, secured after two weeks of negotiations, and ask that He will heal and comfort them to Himself. Thank Him for those who risk their own lives and freedom to help desperate North Korean people and ask that officials in surrounding countries will let refugees pass through without difficulty.

 

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Friday 4th August - Bangladesh

Praise the Lord for the miracle of Tapan's mother coming to know Jesus and please pray for spiritual growth. Pray too for the Lord to comfort Lipal's mother. The wife of another martyr, Aruna Sakar, also needs our prayers as she is constantly warned not to file a case against her husbands Dulal's killers.

 

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Friday 11th August - Israel/Palestinian Areas

Dr Hana Massad, who leads Gaza Baptist Church, sent an urgent plea for prayer in July. "It is one of the worst times we have had in Gaza," he wrote. "We hear the noise of bombing almost 24 hours a day...This has caused damage in many homes, and even the ceiling of our church fell in...It is causing psychological problems, not only for children but for many adults as well." Pray that Hanna will know God's presence as he brings news of hope and peace in Christ to Palestinians.

 

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Saturday 12th August - Lebanon

The various Bible Colleges are enrolling new students for the year 2006-2007. Pray that, just like last year, they will be allowed to obtain permits for Arab and Kurdish believers from a non-Christian background. Pray that such students will be able to receive the treaching they need to make an impact for God in their own countries.

 

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Monday 14th August - Tajikstan

Please uphold Salima and Mustafa in your prayers as they face opposition from their family. Ask the Lord to open their relatives' eyes! Please pray for our co-workers as, they ogranise seminars to encourage Tajik families. Praise Him that 15 families attended a seminar in May. "Everything went really well," our co-worker reported, "two shared that they were about to divorce, but this seminar helped them to understand again who created marriage."

 

[Abiel]

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

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Tuesday 15th August - Tajikstan

A new law on religion has been drafted which will severely restrict freedom if it is adopted. The discussion of the new law on religion has been postponed until after the presidential elections in November this year. Please pray that Christians in the country will have much wisdom when contacting the goverment with suggested amendments.

 

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Wednesday 16th August - Uzbekistan

Life has been very difficult for Ruzmet Voisov and his family following the slanderious television programme made about their church. Plrease pray for the congregation to overcome fear and return to church; protection for the believers and registration for the church building; and healing from epilepsy for Ruzmet. Pray too for the Uzbek church, which needs strong leaders with courage to stay in spite of the pressure.