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| Prayers for Month Date, Year
From The Voice of the Martyrs
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EGYPT  (ASSIST News Service)
A police officer in El Minia drove a truck into a canal, killing three of the five male prisoners who were being transported in the truck. The Barnabas Fund reported that the officer arrested five Christians who were mending a church fence that had collapsed in a storm. The men were working quickly in the middle of the night, concerned that local officials would possibly halt its rebuilding. (An 1856 Ottoman Empire law kept any church from being built, repaired or even repainted without the permission of Egypt's president. The law was revised in 2003, and the decision-making is now left up to local governments. ) The arrested men were bound and put in the back of a truck. As the vehicle approached the brink of a canal, the police officer who was driving jumped out. Three of the Christians were killed, while the other two remain in critical condition in a hospital. The Egyptian media reported the event as an accident, but Christian sources confirm it was deliberately arranged.
Pray the family and friends of these martyrs will be comforted in knowing their loved ones are in God's hands. Pray Egyptian Christians will not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Pray their faithful witness will demonstrate God's power to save.
NIGERIA (ASSIST News Service)
In past months there has been almost continuous conflict in the eastern region of Nigeria's Plateau State, predominantly between Fulani and Tarok tribes competing for land. Because the Fulani is Muslim and the Tarok is Christian, the conflict heightens the element of religious tensions. The killings started in February, followed by many retaliating raids. On May 1st, at least 67 people died and around 1,000 were injured when "Christian" Tarok militias launched a midnight reprisal attack on Muslim Fulani. It is tragic that people identified as "Christians" perpetrate such atrocities; it is doubly tragic that retaliation often targets churches, and true followers of Jesus Christ are murdered and maimed.
Pray Jesus Christ will reveal His loving and forgiving heart to the Tarok leaders who associate themselves with His name. Pray God will give the leaders of both sides a desire and plan for peace. Pray faithful followers of Jesus will remain steadfast and continue to have the mind of Christ.
Zamfara State, the first to introduce Shariah Law, launched its "Shariah Phase 2" on April 29th. The governor announced it would soon start demolishing all the places of worship of non-Muslims in the state, in line with the Islamic injunction to fight them wherever they are found. The demolition would be a breach of Nigeria's constitution, just as a parallel legal system—Sharia Law—is unconstitutional.
Pray God will comfort and protect the Christians whose churches are destroyed. Pray that as Christians continue to worship in house churches, their faithfulness will draw their Muslim neighbors to the Lord. Pray moderate Muslims throughout Nigeria will not allow the introduction of Shariah Law in their states.
NORTH KOREA (ASSIST News Service/Religion Today)
Dr. Jae-Rock Lee, the senior pastor of one of South Korea's largest churches, believes that the recent train blast in North Korea, which killed at least 161 people and injured at least 1,300 on April 27th, could open up North Korea to the gospel. He said, "Pray that the door may be opened through this accident so that people in North Korea may hear the good news of Jesus Christ." His church has been preparing a special team to go there to share the gospel message, even though they realize that some of them may have to lay down their lives and become martyrs. According to The Asia Times, the North Korean government rejected South Korea's offer to send medical and humanitarian aid overland by truck, preferring aid in the form of televisions, diesel oil, cement and money. Historically, relief does not make it to those who need it most. (Click here)
Pray the North Korean government will be forced to accept outside humanitarian aid, allowing the gospel message to be spread among their desperate and hurting people. Pray the Holy Spirit will move in power to bring down the cult of Juche worship. ("Juche" is an ideology founded by deceased leader Kim Il Sung. It means "self-reliance.")
PAKISTAN (VOM Sources)
Javed Anjum, a young Christian who refused to convert to Islam, died this week after being severely tortured by Islamic militants. Javed was searching for water near an Islamic school, but Muslim leaders accused him of trying to steal a water pump. When he rejected the charge and told Islamic leaders that he was a Christian, he was asked to convert to Islam. When he refused, he was tortured for five days and nights, continuously being asked to convert to Islam. Javed was hospitalized for 11 days and died from kidney failure that resulted from the beatings.
Pray God will bring healing peace and comfort to Javed Anjum's family and friends. Pray the authorities will bring the militants to justice. Pray the Lord God will be victorious in the battle for souls in Pakistan.
SRI LANKA (VOM/Canada)
An independent evangelical church was accused by a Buddhist monk of unauthorized building, despite a building permit the pastor had obtained in 2003. According to a May 3rd report from the National Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, the monk filed a complaint with police. That night an unidentified group attempted to break into the pastor's house. Unable to do so, they threw kerosene on the house with the pastor and his family inside. The attackers left when neighbors shouted, but it didn't stop them from destroying the temporary structure used to conduct services. Although a complaint was made to the police, there has been no investigation. The pastor believes the delay may be because a monk was involved in the incident.
Pray the pastor and church members will remain true to Jesus, casting their fears upon Him. Pray the authorities will investigate this incident and punish those responsible. Pray God will move in power to allow religious freedom in Sri Lanka.
 1 Link International:
http://www.linkingup.com
2 North Korea:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s04040088.htm
  
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