Email:

Advent Prayer - Eritrea

To

Email address:

Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Maximum of 10

From

Your name:

Your email address:

Security test:
Please enter the numbers that appear here in the box below.

Security code:

Details provided here will never be used in any other context

Published: Monday 19 December 2011

Advent Prayer - Eritrea

Project(s): 13-920

Country: Ethiopia, Africa

“You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

has some impressive church , but it is one of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world (Source: KH, Wikimedia Commons)

Six hundred prisoners are packed into a cell measuring 40 by 38 feet, where they cannot lie down. They are fed two pieces of bread three times a day. Many are so thirsty owing to lack of water that their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths. A bucket constantly spills over with human waste. Sometimes they hear screaming, and their fellow detainees are brought back to the cell by security officials badly bruised and bleeding from torture.

Thousands of Christians are believed to be imprisoned without trial in Eritrea’s detention system, which is notorious for its cruelty. In an attempt to pressure them into renouncing their faith, the authorities sometimes withhold medical treatment from them; at least three are reported to have died for this reason in the last two years.

The government of Eritrea regards Christians as a threat to national unity because they give their ultimate allegiance to God. Only four Christian groups are officially recognised, and members of non-registered groups are relentlessly harassed; most of their leaders are imprisoned. Even the recognised churches are subject to extensive control.

Many Christians have fled to escape the repression, and hundreds arrive in Egypt every month. Some end up in prison or as hostages in the hands of traffickers. Barnabas Fund is providing aid to the refugees, including basic necessities for Christian prisoners, legal costs to secure their release, and medical expenses. We also helped four seriously injured Christian women who were abandoned by traffickers in the Sinai desert.

Pray for Eritrean Christians as they serve Christ at risk of their liberty or even their lives. Pray especially for those imprisoned in appalling conditions in their own country, that He will sustain them in their ordeal and that they may soon be released; pray too for the families and churches of the believers who have recently died in custody. Remember also before God those who have fled into Egypt in the hope of reaching Israel, particularly those who are in jail or captivity, that they will know His presence with them. Pray that Eritrea’s rulers will relieve the pressure on the churches and give them freedom to worship and share the Gospel.