“Thank you so much for helping us, for helping to save my family!” These were the words of Sayed, an Afghan Christian convert from Islam, as he arrived in Brazil with his wife and three children. Give thanks that Barnabas Aid has helped a total of 26 Christian families (118 individuals) to settle in Brazil. These converts had first fled from Afghanistan into one of the neighbouring Muslim-majority countries, where they remained at risk of harm. Resettlement took place across in stages, with ten families arriving in June 2022, 15 families reaching safety in March 2023 and another family touching down in Brazil as recently as May. Pray that they will be able to live out their new lives effectively for the Lord, being a blessing to others with their testimony of His grace and salvation in their new home.
Lord God and Heavenly Father, we pray for the troubled land of Afghanistan. We know that poverty and hunger have left more than 28 million people needing urgent help. We ask that You provide for the needs of those who have nothing, especially our Christian brothers and sisters who also have to contend with the risk of being killed for their faith. If it is Your will, please keep safe those who seek first Your Kingdom in these lands. Give them grace to endure. In Jesus’ mighty Name. (Matthew 6:33; 24:13)
In 2021 church leaders in India called for 3 July to be celebrated as Indian Christian Day (Yeshu Bhakti Divas). On this day India’s Christians give thanks that the Gospel reached their land in the first century after Christ, and for the Christian contribution to the achievements of one of the world’s most ancient civilisations and its largest democracy. Join with our brothers and sisters in giving thanks, as well as praying that our Lord will continue to provide for Indian believers who are often among the most impoverished of Indian society.
More than 50 people from the Christian-majority Kuki ethnic group were killed as extremists targeted Christians in the Indian state of Manipur in early May. Around 114 church buildings were destroyed across the state, while an estimated 67 Kuki villages were attacked. At the time of writing, thousands have been displaced from their homes. Ask the Lord, who is able to bring peace at times of hostility (Psalm 46:9), to ensure that peace continues in Manipur and the neighbouring states. Pray particularly for our brothers and sisters who have suffered so much, that they will know their Saviour’s provision. Barnabas Aid has sent rice to feed the displaced Christians.
Seven men from the Christian-majority Kuki people of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts were shot dead after being captured by an extremist Buddhist group who had launched an armed assault against their village in April. An eighth man – the clerk of a local primary school – was killed in the initial attack, while dozens of others were injured. The extremists falsely claimed that those who had been killed were members of a militia. Along with displaced Chin Christians from Myanmar, many hundreds of Bangladeshi Kuki-Chin people have been forced to flee into the Indian state of Mizoram to escape violence that flared up in the closing months of 2022. Pray that the Lord, whose Name is a strong tower and safe refuge (Proverbs 18:10), will protect and preserve His people.
At least nine people were killed in the Christian-majority Chin State of Myanmar when Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) jets bombed a school. The school was not open at the time, but the headteacher and his wife were among the dead. Just over a week earlier, at least ten were killed and 20 injured in Tatmadaw airstrikes on civilian areas in Thantlang township, Chin State. Ask the Lord to wipe the tears from the eyes of the bereaved, and comfort the injured (Revelation 21:4). Pray for an end to the Tatmadaw’s attacks on Christian communities.
“Halia”, an elderly Christian widow in a South-East Asian country, earns about 75 pence ($0.93; €0.84) a week by weaving bamboo baskets. Our project partner described her as “one of the poorest believers we have ever seen in over 10 years working here”. Give thanks that Barnabas Aid has funded the purchase of a rice mill and 260 tonnes of rice in order to provide discounted rice to Christians who are struggling, and a steady supply of free rice to those like Halia who live in desperate poverty.
Church building in Indonesia is subject to onerous requirements, including the requirement to get signatures from 60 neighbouring households – each of which must be non-Christian – before permission to construct a church building can be granted. Often Islamist groups engage in lobbying local authorities and communities to try to prevent churches from being built, despite the support for religious freedom voiced by central government. Pray for Christians in Indonesia, that they will be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16) in navigating such difficulties.
Heavenly Father, we bring before you those Christians who have left the majority religion of a country to embrace the Gospel. We pray for these new members of Your family that they will grow in spiritual maturity. Please protect them from any attempts to force or coerce them into denying their Christian faith. Enable them to stand firm as they grow in their love for their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whose Name we pray. (1 Peter 2:2)
Hundreds of believers are imprisoned in Eritrea, with 103 arrested at a meeting of Christian college students in the capital city of Asmara earlier this year. Prisoners in Eritrea are regularly subjected to beatings and torture, with church leaders often singled out for the worst forms of abuse. Pray earnestly that the Lord will strengthen those who suffer such brutal persecution, and, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3).
A church in Ondo State, Nigeria, reopened on Easter Sunday, ten months after at least 40 worshippers were killed in an attack by gunmen. In a sermon to mark the reopening, Bishop Jude Arogundade called on the government to do more to prevent such assaults. “Almost on a daily basis we hear people being killed in their tens and hundreds,” he said. “Many people have even forgotten what happened in this church ten months ago, because many more [attacks] have happened without the world paying attention.” Give thanks to God for the reopening of the church. Pray urgently for His protection over Nigerian churches and Christians who are so vulnerable to attack.
A new report has stated that more than 1,350 Christians were killed in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria from 1 February 2022 to 31 January 2023. The Kukah Centre – founded by Matthew Hassan Kukah, a senior church leader in Sokoto State – also concluded that this violence is the result of anti-Christian persecution by Islamist extremists. Ask the Lord to sustain His Church in Nigeria, and to bring an end to the campaign of persecution being waged against His people.
At least 64 people in Christian-majority North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, were slaughtered by Islamists in the space of just a few days. The Allied Democratic Forces, a jihadi group affiliated to Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), first killed 45 people in the village of Mukondi, and then a further 19 individuals four days later in the nearby village of Kirindera, where the terrorists also burned down a hospital. Pray for our brothers and sisters in North Kivu, and the neighbouring provinces, who live under the continual threat of violence.
Ten million people in the Christian-majority Democratic Republic of the Congo are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, international aid agencies have warned. They said that an upsurge in violence since June 2022 has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes, exacerbating the country’s food crisis. Hundreds of thousands of farmers across North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri – provinces targeted for attacks by armed gangs including the Allied Democratic Forces, a jihadi group affiliated to Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL and Daesh) – have been unable to plant for the next harvest as they have been driven from their lands. Ask the Lord to bring peace to this troubled African nation. Pray that farmers will be able to return to plant the crops needed to feed His people, asking that there will be “a sowing of peace” and that “the ground shall give its produce” (Zechariah 8:12, ESV).
Pray for the family, friends and colleagues of Wuwih William Gemuh after his death at the hands of extremists. The senior Bible translator in north-west Cameroon was kidnapped and later killed by gunmen after overseeing a languages workshop. Ask that Wuwih’s wife and children will be greatly comforted as they mourn. Pray that his colleagues will receive courage and wisdom as they adjust to the void left by Wuwih, and for their protection from harm as they seek to make God’s Word known in a dangerous environment.
Almighty God, we pray for the increased availability of Bibles in all languages. Please protect translators in their work, especially those in regions hostile to the Gospel. We pray that more Christians with limited access to Scriptures will have the joy of reading and listening to Your Word in their native tongue, for we ask in the Name of the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. (John 1:14)
“People are so happy,” said our partner in Ethiopia as 27,000 Bibles in Oromo, the language spoken by around a third of the population, were distributed. Part-funded by Barnabas, the new Bibles are helping to meet a huge hunger for God’s Word among the growing Oromo Christian community of over 20 million. No more than a million Oromo Bibles have ever been printed. Give thanks that Barnabas supporters have helped to quench the thirst for the Scriptures in Oromo. Pray that the Bibles will encourage and strengthen believers at a time when their country is wracked by drought and war.
Six Christians in Muslim-majority Libya who were arrested separately earlier this year are at risk of being sentenced to death as apostates for having converted from Islam. One of the six is a 22-year-old woman who released a video explaining her conversion to Christianity at the age of 15. A seventh Muslim-background believer is thought to be still on death row after being sentenced to death for apostasy in September 2022. Pray that our brothers and sisters who are walking through the darkest valley will fear no evil, knowing that the LORD is with them (Psalm 23:4). Ask that, if it is the Lord’s will, His people will be spared from martyrdom.
Give thanks that the government of Egypt has licensed a further 216 churches and church-affiliated buildings. This is the 26th and second-largest batch of approvals made since the government committee overseeing the process began work in 2017. Licences have now been granted to 2,815 of the 3,730 churches that applied for registration under a 2016 law that abolished Ottoman-era restrictions on church building. Praise God for the increased freedom given to His people in Egypt, and ask that this will continue.
Shouts of “thank you” exclaimed in Arabic filled the air as 400 poor Christian children in Jordan received winter jackets paid for by donations of Barnabas supporters. A number were the children of Muslim-background Christian refugees who fled persecution and conflict in their homeland, others were from impoverished Jordanian families. The jackets “were a true blessing”, said our project partner, and protected the children from the winter’s cold and rain. Praise God for the thanks of these children who have so little. Pray for God’s protection over all children in Jordan, especially those who have fled persecution because of their love for Him.
Praise God that an Iranian Christian couple imprisoned for allegedly endangering national security through their membership of a “house church” have been acquitted and released from prison. Homayoun Zhaveh, 64, and his wife Sara Ahmadi, 45, began serving sentences of two and eight years, respectively, at the notorious Evin Prison in August 2022. However, an appeal court in Tehran ruled on 9 May that the couple’s Christian activities, including their church membership, “are not considered as acts against the country’s security”. Give thanks for the release of Homayoun – who suffers from Parkinson’s disease – and Sara. Pray that this significant ruling will lead to the release of other believers who have been convicted of endangering Iran’s national security by living as faithful Christians.
Give thanks that Malihe Nazari, a 50-year-old Iranian Christian convert whose son has been suffering from leukaemia for five years, has been released from Evin Prison in the Iranian capital Tehran. In August 2022 Malihe began a six-year sentence for allegedly disrupting national security by helping to operate a “house church”. Pray that Malihe’s release will be permanent, and that she will not be recalled to serve the remainder of her sentence. Ask the Lord to help her and her son as she cares for him, reminding both that You care for them (1 Peter 5:7).
Lord God and Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for increased openness in Saudi Arabia. We rejoice at the amazing fact that some church services were held earlier this year with the permission of the Saudi authorities. Please encourage our brothers and sisters there, many of them migrant workers, who are normally so restricted that they cannot show their faith publicly. We pray especially for converts who must live as secret believers or face death for apostasy. Father, please continue to soften the hearts of Saudi officials, so that Christians will have greater freedom, for we ask it in our Saviour’s Name.
North Korea is believed to be suffering from food shortages, caused by natural disasters such as floods and droughts, inefficient agricultural techniques and lack of technology, and continuing international sanctions. Only the Lord knows how many Christians live in North Korea, but it is clear that our brothers and sisters share in the poverty, destitution and repression that are the common lot of North Korean citizens, as well as knowing that they will almost certainly face imprisonment, torture and perhaps death if their faith is discovered. Those believers that are in prison are known to face harsher treatment than other inmates. Pray for all those suffering in North Korea, and especially our Christian family.
The authorities in China have in recent years tightened control over religious groups, with increased efforts to close down unofficial house churches that refuse to comply with the government’s rule, and greater intervention in the running of the official Protestant church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Such efforts stem from a desire to Sinicise – that is, make Chinese – all expressions of religion within Chinese society in order to maintain social harmony. Pray that Christians in China, and especially church leaders, will be given great wisdom in navigating this cultural and political context, living in peace and harmony with their neighbours (Romans 12:18) while holding firmly to the Word of life (Philippians 2:16).
China’s largest website for Christian worship music announced in early 2023 that it would no longer be operating. A notice on the website read, “Due to force majeure, all services on this website will be closed from now on.” The phrase “force majeure” – an unforeseen event that causes a change of action or direction – was interpreted as a veiled reference to China’s Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Services, which came into operation in March 2022. Praise God for those churches and Christian websites that have gained the necessary licence under these measures to continue operating online. Pray that the Lord will continue to sustain His Church in China, knowing that He can do so even as restrictions increase.
A Pakistani Christian, Kashif Masih, was shot and killed in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on 1 April. The shooting was claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province (a group active in Afghanistan and Central Asia, as well as Pakistan). Two other men in the Peshawar area – a Hindu and a Sikh – were killed in separate incidents that week. The three attacks are believed to be part of an Islamist assault on religious minorities. Pray that the Lord will comfort all who mourn, especially Kashif’s widow and three children. Ask that minority religious communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will receive better protection, and pray especially for the safety of our Christian brothers and sisters.
A church in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was subjected to a terrifying attack by a mob of around 40 extremists during a Sunday evening service. The church was pelted with bricks and shots were fired, leaving bullet marks on the church walls – thankfully nobody was hurt. Pray for around 60 Christian families who live in this area of Islamabad, calling out for the Lord’s protection. Give thanks for the swift response of the authorities who quickly made arrests and increased security around the church.
Two Christians are among several people in Pakistan who were accused of “blasphemy” in separate incidents in April and May. Musarrat Bibi, an assistant at a school in the Pakpattan District of Punjab, and her Muslim colleague were arrested and charged with “blasphemy” after it emerged that waste paper they were burning contained Arabic verses from the Quran. Both Musarrat and her colleague are illiterate. In the same district Khurram Yousaf, a Christian wedding photographer, was accused of “blasphemy” along with a Muslim newlywed couple after he was asked to take their pictures at an Islamic shrine. Pray for the safety of all those accused, especially our sister and brother as Christians are especially vulnerable to such allegations.
Lord Jesus, we give thanks for those among Your people whom You have gifted as healers of our bodies. We pray that You will anoint and guide Christian doctors, nurses and other clinicians around the world who administer healing skilfully and compassionately in Your Name. We ask that You will grant energy and resilience especially for those who work in lands of persecution and serve their suffering brothers and sisters and sacrificially imitate the physician of our souls, in whose Name we pray. (Psalm 103:3; Mark 2:17)
A 21-year-old Islamist terrorist from Brighton, UK, has confessed to planning to kill a Christian open-air preacher. Edward Little admitted that he had arranged to purchase a gun with which he intended to shoot the preacher and others at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London, in September 2022. Give thanks that Little was arrested on his way to buy the firearm and that the planned jihadi attack never took place. Pray that this stark reminder that believers in the Western world are not immune to violent persecution will cause us to depend all the more upon our Lord.
