WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News: Iran, Pakistan, Turkey

October 26, 2016

WEA Religious Liberty Prayer News25 October 2016
“Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you”
Pslam 25: 19-20

Dear Friends in Christ,The World Evangelical Alliance is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in their communities. God is glorified and the nations of the earth are forever transformed.
The purpose of the WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Release is to keep you informed and mobilized in prayer and intercession for the needs of justice and religious liberty in the Church around the globe, so that we can stand together for the work of the Kingdom and the healing of the Nations. The Prayer Release is comprised on the basis of different credible resources.

A series of arrests of Christians in IRAN
On 26 August 2016, five Christians were arrested by Iranian authorities while travelling to the Alborz Mountains north-east of Tehran.According to a report by Middle East Concern (MEC), since then three Christians have been released after posting an equivalent of USD 33,000 each as bail money. More than 200 Christians have been detained by Iranian authorities since 2015. 43 Christians were arrested in August alone.

Prayer points:

Pray for the release of Christians detained in Iran;
Pray that the authorities would act justly and stop discriminating against Christians;
Pray that Christians in Iran, especially church leaders and pastors, would continue to remain firm in their faith despite the pressures and persecution;
Pray for God’s protection over all Christians in Iran.

Court delays Asia Bibi’s blasphemy appealOn 13 October 2016, Pakistan’s Supreme Court postponed the hearing of Asia Bibi’s appeal against the death sentence handed to her in November 2010 on blasphemy charges. The hearing was postponed after one of the three judges stepped down citing his involvement in the case of Salman Taseer. A liberal governor, Taseer, was shot dead in Islamabad in 2011 after speaking out for Bibi.
Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, has spent the past six years on death row and is currently in her seventh year in prison.

Prayer points:

Pray that Asia Bibi’s case would be taken up for hearing soon;
Pray that the death sentence handed to Asia Bibi would be overturned and that she would be set free from prison;
Pray that God would strengthen her during this time of distress and anxiety.