INTERNATIONAL DAY of PRAYER

for the PERSECUTED

International Christian Concern acts as a bridge between believers in free countries and believers in persecuted

countries. We seek to serve the persected Church in strength and breadth through effective advocacy,

assistance and awareness.

In honor of International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted, we publish this program to help raise

awareness of Christian persecution, as well as provide direction in praying for our brothers and sisters in

Christ.

If you would like to know more about our work, please visit: www.persecution.org, or submit questions and

comments to icc@persecution.org.

What does the persecuted Church need most?

“We appreciate any help, my friend. There’s no bet-ter help than writing some letters and say, ‘Brothers, we are with you. We are with you, feel it, and we are praying. we stand with you and just fight the battle.’ That’s what a suffering Church needs to hear.”

-Underground pastor to an ICC rep

There is a war against Christianity, and despite what you may or may not hear in the media, it is not slowing down. Believers are incarcerated, beaten, tortured and harassed by their neighbors and gov-ernments, all for the sake of the Gospel.

This program highlights the four darkest places on earth, and a story of a Christian from the country. We encourage you to remember their names, rand note that they represent hundreds and thousands of other Christians just like them. Please petition on their behalf to God the Father. Today, we pray for courage, strength, safety and freedom.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not

abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

INTERNATIONAL DAY of PRAYER

for the PERSECUTED

A mob of angry Hindu’s descended on Mala’s house and insisted that she sign papers declaring she would no longer be a Christian and would convert back to Hinduism. When she refused they dragged her from her house and beat her with large, heavy flashlights. Her injuries were so severe she was immediately hos-pitalized. When the hospital re-leased her, Mala and her husband had nowhere to go; the mob had also destroyed their house and sto-len all their belongings. When they reported the incident to the police they received death threats from the angry Hindus and went into hiding, knowing there was nothing the po-lice could do to bring swift them swift protection.

In India, Christians are treated as second-class citizens, and are rou-tinely discriminated against, ha-rassed, beaten and arrested; the police refuse to intervene, and of-ten arrest Christians for reporting attacks, rather than the attackers themselves.

Mala’s story

Prayer Points:

• PoliticalunrestinAssamisslowingdowntherebuildingofsevenhomesforfamiliesthatwereattacked.Pleaseprayforpoliticalunresttosubsideaidmaybesent.

• PrayforGracie,oneofourorphans,whosturggleswithherhealth.Prayforherfullhealing,andforthehealthofourotherorphans.

• PrayforPastorM.asheheadstocourtsoon.Heisaccusedofforcablyconvert-ingpeoplefromHinduismtoChrisitanity.

After her father was murdered, Jinhye and her family fled the ty-rannical country. Forced to spend an entire year in hiding, refugees taught her and her mother about a man named Jesus Christ. They were discovered by Chinese police, and sent back to a North Korean prison where they were tortured. She was scheduled for a leg amputation due to the wounds, but miraculously, she was healed before her surgery. This testimony allowed her to share her faith in Christ while in prison, and four years later, she was finally able to escape to the United States.

Jinhye’s escape is an exceedingly rare case, and an estimated tens of thousands of Christians remain in hiding in North Korea, where even a page of the Bible can have you, your children, and your grandchil-dren locked into a labor camp for life.

Prayer Points:

• PrayfortheChristianslivinginsecret,thattheywouldhavethecouragetomaintainandevensharetheirfaith.

• Prayforthethousandsofbelieversinprisoncamps,thatGodwouldprotectandstregthenthem.

• PrayforthesafetyofChristianmissionariesworkinginsecretalongtheNorthKoreanborderwhoarehelpingrefugeesandbringingrelieftotheundergroundchurch.

Jinhye’s story

Yelmi’s story

A decade ago, radical Muslims at-tempted to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, and as a result, 10,000 Christians have been murdered since.

Yelmi was walking home after vis-iting his father, an evangelist who ministers to Muslims in Northern Nigeria. Sadly, Iliya didn’t make it to his home. Radical Muslims am-bushed him and beat him to death. He is survived by his wife and their two daughters.

Iliya’s case is an no isolated inci-dent. Radial Muslims are erasing Christianity from Northern Nigeria. The main target: churches full of worshiping congregations. The radicals drive explosive-packed cars into churches, killing some and in-juring many. This year alone, more than 100 Christians have been killed while attending service. This war on Christians in Northern Nigeria has forced thousands of Christians to live their homes and those remain-ing behind live in the state of terror.

Prayer Points:

• PrayfortheChristiancom-munityinBauchi,whohassufferedmultipleattacks.PraythattheHolySpiritwouldcomforthemintheirtimeofneed.

• PrayfortheNigeriangovern-menttostarttakingcontroloftheviolenceinNigeria.

• PrayfortheU.S.governmentandU.S.Churchtotakeac-tiononbehalfofoursufferingNigerianbrothersandsisters.

“I will not leave you! I will not leave you!” Viviane Magdi screamed through tears as she grasped des-perately to her fiancé Michael’s life-less body. Viviane had been with Michael just an hour before when marching in Cairo with hundreds of other Christians over the de-struction of a church. However, the initially peaceful demonstration turned horrific as a massacre—committed by the military and radi-cal Islamists—unfolded.

“Don’t let me go, stay with me, don’t be scared,” Viviane recalls Michael saying only minutes before his death.

More than 60 Christians have been killed in post-revolution Egypt as a result of religious-based violence. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, once suppressed under President Hosni Mubarak, have taken control of the government and are threatening to make Islamic Sharia law the country’s principle source of legislation. The future of Egypt’s ancient Christian commu-nity is bleak.

Viviane’s story

Prayer Points:

• PrayforthesafetyofChristianminoritiesdur-ingthisturbulentpoliticalchange.

• PrayforcourageandstrengthamongEgyptianChristians.

• Prayforaradicalchangeinthecountry’sleadership,thattheywillupholdreligiousfreedomlaws.