Barnabas Prayer November December 2019

To help you pray for the persecuted Church

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2019

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BARNABAS FUND - AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH BRINGING HOPE TO SUFFERING CHRISTIANS

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Thank you for your prayers for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, which make such a difference to them. We sometimes have to change or omit their names for security reasons, and we have only limited space to share their stories. But the Lord knows the people and places we are praying about.

Please do not feel limited by the specific prayer requests, but pray as you feel led.

On each Sunday we have provided a set prayer; please feel free to use these in their current form, to adapt them as you prefer, or to use the information they contain to frame your own prayers.

November FRIDAY 1 Amir Masih died on 3 September as a result of severe torture inflicted while held in police custody in Lahore, Pakistan. Amir, a gardener, was a Christian who had gone to a police station voluntarily to give a statement to clear his name following a minor theft from his employer’s home.

The police tortured him in an attempt to force a confession for an offence he did not commit. Amir’s brother said that police had urinated on him while cursing him for being a Christian.

At the time of writing, six police officers are under investigation about the torture. Please pray that Amir’s family will know God’s peace, comfort, protection and provision.

SATURDAY 2 The death of Amir Masih (see above) was well publicised in Pakistan and caused a horrified outcry. Five days later, the Governor of Lahore, Mohammad Sarwar, visited Amir’s home to offer condolences to the bereaved family. Praise God for

this very significant act in a country where Christians are normally despised and marginalised. Pray that the perpetrators of the torture that killed Amir will be brought to justice, and for an end to false accusations and violence against poor Christians.

SUNDAY 3 Lord Jesus,

Your family are naked, They are in want of covering.

Father, give them clothes All: According to the riches of Your grace.

Lord Jesus, Your family are sick, They are in want of care.

Father, heal them All: In Your unfailing compassion.

Lord Jesus, Your family are in prison, They are in want of hope.

Father, sustain them All: With Your everlasting faithfulness.

MONDAY 4 Stephen Masih remains in prison in Pakistan. He was accused of the serious crime of “blasphemy” because of brain damage he suffered in a childhood illness which causes him to have outbursts of bad language. Dates for court hearings have been repeatedly set but then postponed because a key person or people did not turn up on the day. Remembering that the Lord Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33), ask that He will enable Stephen to endure his situation without losing heart. Pray for Stephen’s safety in prison, for wisdom for the Christian lawyers representing him, and that the charges will soon be dropped and he will be set free.

WEDNESDAY 6 The Indian government is reported to be requiring every staff member of Indian charities that receive donations from outside India to sign an affidavit that they will not be involved in any act of religious conversion.

Christian leaders in India feel that this is aimed at Christian ministries serving the poor and marginalised. When Peter and John were commanded by the rulers of their country “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus”, the apostles replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20). Pray that the Holy Spirit will give wisdom and words to each Indian Christian worker who is faced with this situation.

THURSDAY 7 Thank the Lord for the completion of another 50 one-

room houses for the vulnerable and persecuted Christians of the Santal ethnic group in Bangladesh. Funding was provided by Barnabas supporters. It is three years since the wooden shacks in which the Santal Christians used to live were burned down by police and local Muslims, leaving at least 5,000 Christians homeless and destitute.

The new houses are built of brick and on church-owned land, making them much more secure. They are also near the church, so the Christians will be able to attend regularly. Pray that they may be encouraged by this help from fellow Christians far away and built up in their faith.

Santal Christian Jahidul and his family in front of their new brick-built home provided by Barnabas supporters FRIDAY 8 A Rohingya Christian, speaking on the phone to Barnabas Fund, begged repeatedly for prayer for the several hundreds of Rohingya believers living amongst nearly threequarters of a million Rohingya Muslims in refugee camps in Bangladesh. All the refugees have fled extreme persecution by the government of Myanmar, their homeland. But the Christian refugees are also discriminated against and attacked by an extremist Muslim group which is active in the camps. Mobs have stoned their homes, and destroyed a bamboo church and Christian school.

The camp authorities do nothing to

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TUESDAY 5 “Anti-conversion laws are a tool to harass vulnerable Christians,” said Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians.

He was speaking after Himachal Pradesh (HP) State passed a new and much stricter law in August, replacing its 2006 anti-conversion law. The old law had resembled laws in at least six other Indian states. Under such laws, Christian evangelists are often falsely charged with using force, fraud or allurement to gain converts. HP’s new law adds to the list of illegal methods of conversion and increases the maximum jail term to seven years (if the converts are women, children or Dalits). Pray that Christians in HP and across India will continue to share their faith with boldness and wisdom and that the Lord will continue to build His Church there.

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protect the vulnerable Christians, who are left out when food, blankets etc. from international aid agencies are distributed, but Barnabas is getting aid to them.

SATURDAY 9 On 15 December 2018, a Rohingya TV station broadcast threats

by Muslim Rohingya refugees against the Christians in the camps. “Our blood is very hot,” said one. The Muslims were enraged that some of their number were choosing to follow Christ, and falsely stated that Christians were giving them money to convert. They demanded that the Christians be removed from the camps. One year on, praise God that there is still a Christian presence in the camps. Pray that the Lord will keep them safe and add to their number as more Rohingya people commit their lives to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Rohingya Christians in a refugee camp in Bangladesh SUNDAY 10 Lord God, we thank You

for prayers answered for Christians in Uzbekistan, once the hardest and most difficult Central Asian country for Christians. We rejoice that, for the last three years, there has been more toleration of Christian activities and fines have been lower. Yet our brothers and sisters still face huge

restrictions in worship and are banned from sharing their faith with nonChristians. We know that many also endure the pain of rejection by Muslim relatives, who may even attack them physically. Give Your people grace, wisdom, patience and perseverance.

May their love and peacefulness soften attitudes still further and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose Name we ask this.

MONDAY 11 Some Russian Christians from a church in Moscow started a ministry to help alcoholics and drug addicts and, by God’s grace, hundreds of people were freed from addiction over the years. Using their own money they rented apartments and lived with the addicts as a kind of community, teaching them the Word of God. Then in January 2017, four of the Christians were arrested on a charge of kidnapping addicts and holding them captive as “slaves”. Two and a half years later they were found guilty in court and given sentences of five to eight years in a penal colony (more than some murderers get in Russia). Lawyers for the four have lodged an appeal, but it is thought that the case and the harsh sentences are intended to be a deterrent to others, so humanly speaking the appeal is not likely to succeed. But pray that God will intervene and bring justice for our four brothers.

TUESDAY 12 Pastor Ernesto Estrella (51) was shot dead by motorcyclists in Cotabato, Philippines on 2 August.

Cotabato, in the south of the country, is partly under the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, which is the Muslim-majority region of the Philippines. Church leaders cried

out for justice after the death of Pastor Ernesto, condemning the “ideology of death” and “culture of impunity” in the Philippines. They called on all Christians to “stand together in the name of Christ in upholding the Godgiven value of human life, dignity and rights”. Pray that Filipino Christians will be able to bring godly government and justice to their country.

THURSDAY 14 Three Buddhist monks viciously beat up a Christian Bible college student in Sri Lanka on 4 August. The attack took place after a Sunday worship service held in a private home and left the victim in need of hospital treatment. A senior Christian leader responded with a statement on Facebook, “I assure all Buddhists of Sri Lanka that we Christians will remain calm and peaceful in the midst of the persecution we face today in Sri Lanka. I humbly appeal to you to be kind towards the Christians who live with you,” but he raised concerns about police inaction following the

FRIDAY 15 Tomorrow there will be presidential elections in Sri Lanka, a country with a strong divide between two ethnic groups: the Sinhala majority (mainly Buddhists) and Tamil minority. Both the leading presidential candidates are hardline Buddhists. The frontrunner (at the time of writing) is Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He has been described as the “saviour of the Sinhala Buddhist nation” but is facing legal charges concerning the death of an editor and the torturing of a Tamil militant. He was instrumental in introducing a number of regulations and restrictions against churches during his time as the Defence Secretary. Nevertheless, many Buddhist leaders and some Christian leaders (recalling the terrible Islamist violence against Christians on Easter Day 2019) support him in the hope that he will curtail Islamic terrorism in Sri Lanka.

Ask that the Lord’s will may be done and the leader of His choice elected.

SATURDAY 16 The small, young Church of Muslim-background Christians in Tajikistan need their own cemeteries, as very often they are not allowed to be buried in existing cemeteries either for Muslims or for Christians (because of their denominational affiliation).

In one part of the country they have applied to the local mayor for land to be allocated for this purpose. Please pray that it will be given to them. They also ask prayer for God’s guidance and provision as several seek to move and settle in other towns and villages to share the Gospel there.

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WEDNESDAY 13 Two Sri Lankan bombmaking experts have managed to slip into the Philippines and are reported to be training members of an Islamist extremist group called Suyuful Khilafa Fi Luzon (Soldiers of the Caliphate in Luzon) whose members are Filipino converts from Christianity to Islam.

The two Sri Lankans appear also to be converts to Islam and of Filipino descent. Their plan is believed to be to launch attacks against churches in Luzon, in the densely-populated Christian-majority north of the Philippines. Pray that the Lord, in His mercy, will prevent these plans from being fulfilled.

attack. Pray that people of all races and religions will be treated as equal citizens in Sri Lanka.

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SUNDAY 17 Lord Jesus Christ, we

bring to You the Christian children of Tajikistan, banned by law from going to church or taking part in any public Christian activities. For over eight years these little ones have not been able to attend Sunday School or worship You except at home.

Please strengthen them in their faith, for You said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Bless their parents with wisdom and perseverance as they seek to enable their children to grow in You and become mature believers, able to handle the word of truth correctly and showing the fruit of Your Spirit in their characters. (Matthew 19:14; 2 Timothy 2:15; Galatians 5:22-23)

MONDAY 18 According to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), “Within the philosophical system of Marx and Lenin, and at the heart of their psychology, hatred of God is the principal driving force, more fundamental than all their political and economic pretensions. Militant atheism is not merely incidental or marginal to Communist policy; it is not a side effect, but the central pivot.” The first communist country, the Soviet Union, where Solzhenitsyn lived and suffered, is now long gone, but communism still dominates in Cuba, China, Eritrea, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam. In all of them, Christians suffer oppression and persecution to varying degrees.

Pray for our brothers and sisters that the joy of the Lord will be their strength.

TUESDAY 19 Many Christians are in prison in Eritrea, some doing hard labour on the scantiest rations, often for many years and without being

charged or tried. Those who are pastors or with theological training are liable to extra harsh treatment, such as longer sentences or extra beatings.

Any prisoner discovered to have a Bible is severely punished. Even young children are sometimes arrested. Pray that each one, from the youngest to the oldest, will be aware of God’s loving and powerful presence to sustain them through their ordeal.

WEDNESDAY 20 Tens of thousands of Eritrean Christians are living in Israel.

After very hard and risky journeys, on which some died, they arrived there some years ago, looking for safety and freedom to practise their faith. They have found that freedom, but their lives are hard and difficult. Thank the Lord for the compassion and generosity of many ordinary Israelis who donate food and clothes to help the Eritrean refugees. Pray that our Eritrean brothers and sisters in Israel may have patience to endure the grinding poverty, and strength to remain hopeful and prayerful.

THURSDAY 21 Barnabas Fund has been helping Eritrean Christians with Bibles and a variety of practical aid. Now, through our Operation Safe Havens programme, we have begun to rescue them and bring them to Australia. Praise God for the generosity of the Australian government in granting visas and the generosity of Barnabas supporters in helping with airfares. Through Operation Safe Havens, we had previously rescued 2,405 Iraqi and Syrian Christians for which we thank the Lord. Pray for His blessing on the programme as the focus moves

to faithful, persecuted Eritreans and other African Christians.

Indonesian church planting family SATURDAY 23 On Sunday 25 August, Indonesian police forcibly closed a church building in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra. The congregation moved to a tent next to the building and tried to continue their Sunday worship, but the police prevented them. Incidents like this are occurring in many parts of Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. Pray

SUNDAY 24 O God, we thank You for

the wonder of Your Word made flesh, who came to dwell among us, full of grace and truth. We thank You too for Your written Word, which teaches us endurance and brings us encouragement and hope. We pray today for thousands of persecuted Christians in remote areas of south-east Asia who have little or no access to Your written Word. Some share one Bible between a whole village, or depend on hand-written portions. Speak to them and strengthen them by Your Spirit.

Deepen their faith and love for our Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh, in whose Name we pray. (John 1:14) MONDAY 25 Thailand is more than 90% Buddhist, and Buddhism is seen as an essential part of Thai identity.

Christians are estimated to make up less than 1% of the population and many Christians are not Thai by ethnicity being either Chinese or from ethnic minorities in the northern tribal regions. Islam is strong in the south.

Churches and evangelists can operate freely in Thailand, but converts from Buddhism to Christianity are often marginalised and rejected for having embraced a “foreign” religion. Praise God for the freedom that Christians have in Thailand and pray for encouragement and loving fellowship for those who have lost their families by leaving Buddhism to follow Christ.

TUESDAY 26 Ask for God’s guidance and provision for the many Pakistani Christian families trapped in a kind

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FRIDAY 22 Please pray for Indonesian Christians actively planting new churches in remote areas of their country. They face much harassment and opposition, not only from Muslim extremists but also from animists using occult practices. Intimidation and discrimination are common. For example, their children may not be given the grades they deserve at school and may not have the opportunity for further education. Local authorities may not grant official church permits or may ban Christmas celebrations.

Even their mail may be intercepted.

Pray that each will have courage and perseverance to face such situations day by day and may not be discouraged.

Praise God for new believers and church growth in these situations.

that Christians may find ways to meet together to worship the Lord and help each other to grow in Him.

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of limbo in Thailand. They fled there to escape the difficulties they face as Christians in Pakistan, but found in Thailand a whole new set of difficulties, including a prison-like Immigration Detention Centre where many have spent time. Thailand did not ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and therefore does not distinguish asylum seekers from other immigrants.

WEDNESDAY 27 More than 200 people including women and children were abducted and a church mission hospital looted by Islamist extremists during a raid on Boga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 23 August.

Government troops were unable to stop them. The extremists came from the militant group Allied Democratic Forces, which has been active in DRC, a majority-Christian country, for over 20 years. “People are terrified,” said a senior church leader from Boga. Pray that Christians in DRC will be strong and courageous, putting aside all fear, and remembering that the Lord is with them (Joshua 1:9).

THURSDAY 28 The Prime Minister of Mali said he fears that, as the Islamic State terrorist group weakens in the Middle East, it “could lead to a transfer of jihadists to the Sahel region”. Islamist violence is already on the increase in the Sahel, the geographical region of Africa lying between the Sahara Desert and the savannah. Mali has suffered from Islamist extremism for years. In 2012, a combination of Islamists and ethnic Tuaregs expelled government troops from the north and ruled it by a harsh form of sharia until they were defeated the next year. Mali remains a base for many Islamist militant groups,

who often attack Christians in Mali and other countries. Pray that the Mali government will be able to stop the violence and intolerance.

FRIDAY 29 Terrorist violence began in Burkina Faso in 2015, and in 2019 Christians became the primary target of the jihadis. At least 59 of our brothers and sisters were killed this year in a series of attacks on churches and Christian events. In one incident, a group of people were seized by terrorists, who searched through their bags for signs of Christianity. Seven who had New Testaments, crosses or other Christian items were killed and the rest were allowed to go. “They declared that this is the way they will treat all Christians of the country … unless they become Muslims,” said Barnabas Fund’s source. Pray that the Christians of Burkina Faso will witness boldly for Christ and will not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (Revelation 12:11).

SATURDAY 30 “Stop doing the church services and turn to Islam, you and your congregation, or we will visit you and kill you.” This threat came to a pastor in Burkina Faso. He and his family escaped, just hours before the terrorists arrived, but four other Christians were killed. The Christians of Burkina Faso are repeatedly given the choice by terrorists to convert to Islam, flee or die. Thousands have left their homes to seek safety in the cities. Most people in this impoverished country grow their own food, so when they leave their land, they are in a desperate situation. Thank the Lord with us for their faithfulness and for the generosity of Barnabas supporters, which has enabled us to

provide food, clothes, soap, and other aid for displaced Christians.

Food aid from Barnabas Fund for Christians in Burkina Faso who fled Islamist terrorists

SUNDAY 1 Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, we ask that You will bless and help Your persecuted people. Give them Your wisdom to know how to react in every situation, empower them to stand firm in the faith, give them an eternal perspective on their “light and momentary troubles� that are achieving for them an eternal glory, and guard their hearts and minds with a peace that transcends all understanding. We ask this in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 9:6; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 4:7) MONDAY 2 Algerian police sealed the Prince of Peace Church in Ighzer Amokrane on 2 September. They had tried before on 28 August but were thwarted because Christians occupied the building and refused to leave. This is at least the sixth church closed by the authorities since the beginning of 2018.

It is almost impossible for churches to

TUESDAY 3 Only 62 new church licences were granted by the Egyptian authorities in September, and church leaders have complained that the civil defence requirements are too stringent and difficult to meet. This tenth batch of licences brought to 1,171 the number of churches to be approved out of 3,730 which have applied to be licensed under the 2016 Law for Building and Restoring Churches. Before this law it was almost impossible for Christians to get permission for new church buildings, so many were functioning illegally.

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli has repeatedly urged that the licensing process be speeded up. Thank the Lord for those in authority in Egypt who are trying to enable Christians to worship freely and pray that all the remaining applications will be granted soon.

WEDNESDAY 4 Koum al-Raheb village, near Samalout, Egypt, has about 2,500 Christians but the only church building was closed by the police on the day it opened, 9 December 2018. Construction had begun before September 2016 when the Law for Building and Restoring Churches was introduced, but completed after the September 2017 deadline for applications to legalise existing churches that were unlicensed under the previous laws. It therefore fails on a technicality to be eligible for licensing.

The Christians have already had to hold three funerals in the village streets, one of them when the temperature was

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December

get official permits to operate, so they are vulnerable to such closures. Pray that the Algerian authorities will ease the pressure on the Algerian Church who are nearly all converts from Islam and their children.

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43°C. Local police have now assured the Christians that a way will be found to provide them with a licensed (i.e. legal) church building in the village. Pray that the Egyptian authorities will follow through on this promise.

THURSDAY 5 For some decades, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have both been using their oil wealth to promote Islamist ideology and have successfully radicalised many Muslims across the world. One result of this is a greatly increased hostility towards Christians, which is showing itself in increased violence and other kinds of persecution in almost every Muslim-majority context, even Indonesia which was for generations a model of peaceful and mutually respectful coexistence. Pray that ordinary Muslims worldwide will reject the teaching that they should treat non-Muslims as enemies, and will work to restore good relations with Christians and other minorities in their midst.

FRIDAY 6 At the time of writing there is an official ceasefire in the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, the government forces having all

Syrian Christians grieving over a child’s coffin earlier this year. The little boy was killed by an Islamist rebel rocket in May, while he was at Sunday School

but defeated the Islamist rebels. A Constitutional Committee has been formed, with representatives from the government and opposition, which will be facilitated by the UN in Geneva. Pray that God will guide their deliberations and re-establish a stable and peaceful society where people of all religions can live together as equals and in safety.

SATURDAY 7 “When this cup you give is filled to brimming with bitter suffering, hard to understand, we take it gladly, thankfully and without trembling, out of so good and so beloved a hand.”

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) wrote these words in prison in 1944, a few months before he was executed by the Nazi regime. Pray today for all Christians in prison right now because of their faithful walk with Jesus Christ.

Ask that they will have grace to accept the cup of suffering, trustingly and even gladly, if that is the will of their beloved Lord, knowing that the reason will one day be clear, in the next life if not in this.

SUNDAY 8 O Lord God our Saviour, we

rejoice that Your Word promises You can bring down rulers from their thrones and fill the hungry with good things. In our world today we see so much injustice and so much poverty, hunger and hardship.

We remember especially our brothers and sisters who suffer injustice and hunger simply because they follow Christ. O Lord, we know that Your mercy extends to all who worship, honour and revere You, from generation to generation. Please act in might and power to help Your faithful people. We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ. (Luke 1:50-53)

MONDAY 9 Mussolini (1883-1945) said, “Fascism is a religion,” and “The

twentieth century will be known in history as the Century of Fascism.”

However, fascism did not disappear with the turn of the twenty-first century, and neo-fascism is now on the rise in Europe. When Mussolini and Hitler ruled over fascist states in Italy and Germany, each formed an alliance with certain Christian groups (who in effect supported the dictators’ brutal, intolerant and racist policies) while at the same time persecuting other Christians. Pray that, this time, all European Christians will courageously stand against injustice, oppression and racism in their continent.

WEDNESDAY 11 “I will not go away because I need to tell them the truth.

Jesus is the only way, truth and life.”

These were the words of Nigerian street preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi (64), to UK police when they told him to go away and stop preaching outside an underground train station in London.

In the end they arrested him, but later

THURSDAY 12 Hundreds of Christians in northern Nigeria have been killed this year by militants from the Fulani ethnic group, adding to thousands killed in past years. Although the Fulanis claim to be merely seeking land for their herds, they often chant the Islamic Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” [God is great] as they attack. They also aim at Christian targets, whether buildings or people. Since 2001 at least 500 churches have been destroyed in Plateau State alone. And on Easter Sunday this year, in Gombe city, 13 people perished after a car deliberately rammed young people from the Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade who were marching in an Easter procession. Six boys and three girls died on the spot, aged eleven to 21. Pray that Nigerian Christians may respond to this continued violence with Christ-like grace and forgiveness. Pray also that the Nigerian authorities will find a way to bring justice and peace.

FRIDAY 13 An elderly Muslim leader who saved the lives of hundreds of Christians fleeing a murderous attack

by Fulani militants in Nigeria has received an award recognising his courage. The imam was given the US

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TUESDAY 10 The British government has appointed Rehman Chishti MP to be its Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. “As someone whose family came to the UK when I was six years old, and my father had taken up a role as an Imam, my family and I have always been able to openly and freely practise our faith. I want to ensure every citizen around the world is able to enjoy this basic right,” said Mr Chishti, who was very active in trying to assist Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother sentenced to death in Pakistan for a false accusation of “blasphemy”. Pray that Mr Chishti will be wise and effective in his role and will also work for the freedom to choose or change one’s faith.

“de-arrested him” since it is unlawful for a police officer to order someone to stop preaching unless they are inciting violence. Oluwole, a dentist by profession, was later given $4,550 in compensation for wrongful arrest. Then on 30 July he delivered a petition to the Home Office, signed by over 45,000 people, asking for greater protection for street preachers. Pray that his muchpublicised experience and the petition will cause the British government to be active in protecting freedom of speech.

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International Religious Freedom Award on 17 July 2019 for his actions in June 2018 when the militants attacked at least ten villages in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, killing scores of Christians and burning homes in a two-day rampage.

He sheltered 262 fleeing Christians, placing the men in the village mosque and taking the women and children into his own home, and putting his own life at risk by refusing the Muslim gunmen access. Pray that many other Muslims will follow the example of Imam Abubakar Abdullahi.

SATURDAY 14 Many Iranian Christians are serving prison sentences, having been accused of crimes such as “propaganda”. Continue to intercede for Roksari Kanbari (aged 65) who was arrested in her home in Iran a year ago, with four other Christian women.

Just before Christmas Roksari was intensively interrogated for ten days.

She was also forced to meet with an Islamic religious leader who tried in vain to convince her to return to Islam.

In July she was tried, found guilty of “propaganda against the system” and sentenced to a year in prison but (at the time of writing) is out on bail and appealing against this. Pray that God will grant success to her lawyer so she will not have to return to prison.

SUNDAY 15 Heavenly Father, who revealed the birth of Your Son to wise men from the east, and led them by a star to find Him, we thank You for the wonderful growth of Your Church in Iran, where the wise men with their gifts may have started their journey.

We praise You that, despite prison and torture, despite ban and confiscation of Christian literature, nothing can

hinder the work of Your Spirit who is leading more and more Iranian Muslims to faith in the Lord Jesus.

Please strengthen and help each new believer, that their lives will glorify Christ, in whose Name we pray.

MONDAY 16 Iranian government security agents arrested a bookseller called Mustafa Rahimi for selling a Bible in the Farsi language. He was given a large fine and a prison sentence of a few months. The Iranian authorities have a long history of attempting to block the distribution of the Bible and Christian literature.

The government forcibly closed the Bible Society in 1990. It is now strictly forbidden to print or distribute Christian literature in Farsi, which can be understood by Iranian Muslims. Security forces confiscate Bibles and Christian literature, including hymn books. Pray for a change in government policy, so that the Word of God can be read freely and safely by all in Iran.

TUESDAY 17 Fatemeh Bakhteri (37) began a one-year jail term on 31 August for “spreading propaganda” against the government after earlier refusing pressure from two judges to renounce her faith and return to Islam. But, according to Article 18, Fatemeh says that one year in jail will not be as bad as the two years after she is released when she is banned from social activities involving more than two people, meaning she will not be able to gather with other Christians. Ask that the Lord will remind Fatemeh of “the great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds her, so that she will be encouraged to persevere (Hebrews 12:1).

Fatemeh is now in Evin Prison, Tehran THURSDAY 19 Churches in China’s central province of Henan have been forced by the authorities to take down the Ten Commandments and replace them with quotes by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Every state-registered “three-self” church and meeting venue in one county in the province received an order to do this. Some churches that refused to obey have been shut and other congregations have been told their members will be “blacklisted”, meaning that their travel, education and employment options will be restricted.

Pray that these efforts to weaken believers will fail, as Chinese Christians

hide God’s Word in their hearts, so that they do not stray from His commands (Psalm 119:10-11).

FRIDAY 20 The Chinese authorities have removed the words “Bible”, “God” and “Christ” from classic Western children’s stories featured in a new Chinese school textbook. For example, author Daniel Defoe’s description of how castaway Robinson Crusoe recovers three Bibles from the remains of his shipwreck now reads that Crusoe saved “a few books”.

Chinese communism seeks to change society by changing the hearts and minds of individuals, which makes Christianity a major challenge – hence their increasingly ingenious attempts to stifle it. But praise God that His Spirit moves where He pleases (John 3:7-8) and pray that He will continue to bring Chinese atheists to faith in Christ.

SATURDAY 21 Major Christian celebrations are often a time when extremists from other religions decide to make violent attacks against Christians. Pray for members of our Christian family around the world who live in such contexts, whether Islamic, Hindu or Buddhist, that they will be kept safe. As angels helped Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus to escape persecution, pray that angels will watch over believers this Christmas season (Matthew 2:13-19).

SUNDAY 22 Lord Jesus, as the time

approaches when we specially remember and celebrate Your birth, we pray for Christians in Saudi Arabia, where public celebration of Christmas is banned, even Christmas decorations. Please protect them as they live out their lives, as despised

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WEDNESDAY 18 Another Iranian Christian in the notorious Evin Prison is Saheb Fadaie, who was already serving a ten-year sentence for his Christian activities, when a further sentence of 18 months in jail, followed by two years of internal exile was added this year.

He was tried with Fatemeh Bakhteri (see above) for the same offence. The verdict stated that believing in the Bible’s authority and Jesus as Lord are attacks on Islam. Like Fatemeh, Saheb was pressured to return to Islam, but refused. As the long years of punishment stretch out before him, pray that Saheb will fix his eyes on Jesus and, like Him, endure suffering for the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2).

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non-Muslims in a context of strict sharia law. Help them to find ways of meeting together for worship, prayer and fellowship, so that they can build each other up and rejoice together at Your coming into the world to save us.

MONDAY 23 In North Korea, 24 December is celebrated as the birthday of the Sacred Mother of the Revolution, that is the birthday of Kim Jong-suk, wife of the first North Korean leader, mother of the second North Korean leader and grandmother of the current North Korean leader. Kim Jong-suk was an ardent communist and, according to North Korean official sources, a brilliant shot who fought with the guerrilla forces against the Japanese. Pray for North Korean Christians, as they secretly remember the birth of God incarnate, the Prince of Peace. Ask that their faith may not waver, while all around them celebrate the birth of an atheist woman of violence.

TUESDAY 24 As Christians around the world focus their thoughts on Bethlehem, where our Lord Jesus was born, pray for His followers living there, who face regular discrimination and harassment in their daily lives.

“We see our Christian communities getting less and less in number, less and less fortunate in society, less and less opportunities of employment,” said one Bethlehem Christian recently. Some are so poor they have no hot water or heating in the winter, and cannot even afford to buy their children pens and notebooks for school. Ask that the Lord will enable them to support themselves and their families, and will give them grace to love and forgive those who make their lives so difficult.

WEDNESDAY 25 Rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and pray for Christians in many countries who live today and every day with the likelihood of discrimination and harassment, and the possibility of violence or even death, just because they follow Him. Ask that God will rescue them from the hands of their enemies and enable them to serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness (Luke 1:74-75). Pray that today they will be filled to overflowing with His joy and peace, especially those who left another religion to follow Christ and for whom this is the first Christmas they have ever celebrated as a believer.

THURSDAY 26 Pray for Christians whose friends or relatives have been martyred, especially those who lost their loved ones in the last year. May they find comfort and consolation in knowing that those who have gone before them are honoured in heaven for having laid down their lives for Christ. Ask that we may see on earth a great harvest from the “grains of wheat” that have fallen into the ground – only God Himself knows how many there are (John 12:24).

FRIDAY 27 Boko Haram terrorists cut off ears from at least three Christian women after snatching them from their homes during a night-time raid on a mainly Christian town in northern Cameroon.

The Islamist militant group has been stepping up its attacks in the region surrounding Lake Chad. Abducting people in night-time raids is one of its commonest activities, but cutting off ears and then releasing the victims is a new method of spreading terror. Pray that these men of violence will meet Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Each of these Cameroonian Christians had one ear cut off by Boko Haram Islamist militants SUNDAY 29 Heavenly Father, we

pray today for Somali Christians, who cannot show their joy at Your Son without putting themselves in grave danger. We praise You for the courageous decisions that each made to follow You, knowing that persecution, rejection and contempt from loved ones and from society at large would be the likely result. Help them as they seek ways to bring up their children to love the Lord Jesus.

Deliver them from all fear. Although despised by Somali society, may they look to You and be radiant, unashamed of following Christ, in whose Name we pray. (Psalm 34:4-5) MONDAY 30 Fifteen years ago, Islamic clerics banned any celebration of New Year in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

New Year parties and concerts had been common, but the Supreme Council of the Islamic Courts said that anyone attending a New Year event would be severely punished because New Year was not an Islamic festival. Four years ago, the Somali government announced a ban on all New Year (and Christmas) celebrations in the country, saying that security forces would be sent in to break up any such festivities, which could “damage the faith of the Muslim community” and be a target for terrorist attacks. But a few days later, on 24 December 2015, after much international publicity, the government’s Religious Affairs Minister announced that it was not really a ban, just a security precaution, and not meant to restrict Christians in Somalia. Pray for the tiny Christian minority in Somalia, whether foreigners or Somalis, living in such a strongly Islamic context, that their faith will be strong and unwavering.

TUESDAY 31 Many people in the nonWestern world think that the Western New Year is a Christian festival.

Therefore, it can be a time of increased violence against Christian minorities by violent extremists of other religions.

Ask that the angel of the Lord may encamp around His people at this time, to deliver them from all danger, as they take refuge in Him (Psalm 34:7-8).

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SATURDAY 28 When Jesus was born, many Bethlehem babies and toddlers were killed by King Herod in his furious jealousy (Matthew 2:16-18). “Thank you for keeping us Christians safe in the Holy Land,” said Aram, a Bethlehem boy, to Barnabas Fund supporters.

Aram is one of 660 pupils at a Christian school in Bethlehem supported by Barnabas Fund. Many come from families too poor to afford the fees without Barnabas’ help. Parents see the school, with its caring and strongly Christian environment, as a place of refuge for their children. It also provides jobs for over 60 local Christians. Pray that the school may continue to be a place of grace and truth where Christ’s presence and glory are felt by all – students, staff, parents, inspectors, visitors (John 1:14).

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Front Cover: Christian in Niger collects food aid sent by Barnabas