Next time you pray for someone to be healed, spare a thought for six Indian Christians who paid a heavy price for doing just that.
As they prayed over a woman who was sick, Hindu extremists attacked them. Then, when police were summoned, two of the Christians were beaten by officers. The Christians were then falsely charged and jailed for a month. And, yet, they praised God throughout – and led several of their fellow inmates to Christ.
Praise God for the powerful witness of our Christian friends in Jharkhand state: Sajan, Kalender, Dasrath, James, Balmuni and Jagdish.
Their ordeal began when a Hindu man in Ghosra village asked them to pray for his wife – after being moved by Dasrath’s own story of being healed of cancer. It ended with them being thrown into jail charged with ‘promoting enmity between classes’ and insulting religion.
But before they were released on bail last month, the Christians spent their days behind bars singing hymns, reading the Bible, praying and worshipping together. ‘We strongly felt the Lord was using us for His work and were happy about it,’ says Dasrath.
- Praise God for the courage and determination of our Indian brothers and sister: pray that He will use their ordeal to draw many more people to Christ, for His glory. Balmuni, the only woman in the group, says some of her attackers have since asked her for forgiveness.
- Ask God to protect the six Christians and their families: extremists have since threatened Balmuni’s parents.
- Pray that all charges against these Christians will be dropped, and ask God to give them justice.
(Source: Morning Star News)
UPDATES
Please continue to pray for five leaders of the Sudanese Church of Christ who are currently on trial: Pastors Ayoub Tiliyan, Ali Haakim Al Aam and Ambrator Hammad, and church members Habill Ibrahim and Abdul Bagi Tutu. The police officer who accused them of refusing an order to stop worship services in Omdurman in October did not appear at last week’s hearing in Khartoum. In fact, he has failed to attend hearings all month. Pray that the case will now be thrown out. (Source: Morning Star News)
Please pray for our Chinese brother, lawyer Jiang Tianyong, who has received a two-year jail sentence for ‘subversion’ after he criticised the Communist Party in online articles. He was detained a year ago, when he travelled back from Hunan province after visiting the wife of imprisoned lawyer Xie Yang, but was only arrested formally in May. (Source: China Aid)