Page 27 - Voice-of-the-Persecuted-Christians-Oct-Dec-2023-124

construction in Kabil. Pray for
reparations and protection for
this church.
FRIDAY 20: Pray for wisdom
for the Mawar Sharon Church
in Tanjung Morawa, North
Sumatra province. There have
been demonstrations against
its use of a warehouse for a
Sunday service and against
plans to construct a worship
building nearby.
SATURDAY 21: Pray that God will
intervene to remove barriers
set up against Indonesian
churches which are applying
to build new premises. One
church which received approval
in April had waited 15 years.
SUNDAY 22: Pray that officials
will intervene to stop militants
and hardliners disrupting
church activities. Bethel
Indonesia Church in Riau
city, Sumatra, and a Bethel
Indonesia Church in Cilame,
West Java, were recently forced
to stop services.
MONDAY 23: The Indonesian
Pentecostal Church in Sungai
Barar, Sumatra, has completed
its new building, with all
necessary permits. Ask God
to remove one final hurdle:
opponents have built a wall
to block the only road to the
church.
TUESDAY 24: Pray for wisdom
for Pastor Elysson Lase More
who leads a house church near
Jakarta. Protesters interrupted
a worship meeting in a private
home in June.
WEDNESDAY 25: Thank God
that the mayor of the Solo
area of central Java ordered
the removal of a banner
proclaiming ‘Allah is greater’
that opponents had hung on the
door of the Javanese Christian
Church.
THURSDAY 26: Ask God to
encourage and give wisdom
to church leaders as they seek
ways for their congregations to
gather for worship and teaching
peacefully.
FRIDAY 27: President Joko
Widodo has told regional
leaders not to let ‘agreements’
between local officials override
constitutional guarantees of
religious freedom. Pray that the
Government will go further in
defending minorities’ rights.
IRAN
SATURDAY 28: Ask God to
comfort Mehdi ‘Yasser’ Akbari,
who is serving ten years in
jail for being part of an ‘illegal’
church. He is still grieving for
his only son, Amir-Ali, who died
in care in 2021: Mehdi was not
allowed to attend the funeral.
SUNDAY 29: Thank God that
Joseph Shahbazian has had
his sentence reduced from ten
years to two following a retrial.
He was arrested in a raid on a
house church in 2020.
MONDAY 30: ‘Tabitha’ was forced
to flee Iran after she told others
about the miraculous way God
healed her of stomach cancer.
Pray that God will meet all her
needs.
TUESDAY 31: Pray that the Iranian
authorities will recognise that
gathering for worship is a
right for all citizens, including
Christians with a Muslim
background.
NOVEMBER 2023
SRI LANKA
WEDNESDAY 1: Buddhist
nationalism is on the rise
across Sri Lanka, as well
as an increase in Hindu
fundamentalism in the
north and east. Pray for
Christian communities facing
persecution from both Hindus
and Buddhists.
THURSDAY 2: Pray for the
Good Shepherd Church in
Polonnaruwa whose ministry
includes overseeing a drug
rehabilitation centre. Three
Christian workers at the
centre were recently attacked
by opponents.
FRIDAY 3: Pray that the gospel
message of God’s love and
acceptance will reach those
in the Polonnaruwa area
who oppose the work of the
Good Shepherd Church with
marginalised groups.
SATURDAY 4: Pray for
the pastor of the Jesus
Lives Glorious Church in
Karuwalagaswewa who was
recently refused permission
to put a Christian headstone
on his son’s grave in a public
cemetery.
SUNDAY 5: Pray for Pastor
Lalith, a former Buddhist
monk who faces persecution,
including from monks who
were formerly his colleagues.
His home has been attacked
and his water supply cut off.
MONDAY 6: Pastor Indrajith
has received death threats and
his church and congregation
have been attacked by a mob.
But praise God that some of
his former opponents have
prayershield