Tajikistan's Sughd Oblast court sentenced Bahram Khalmatov, a 42-year-old Protestant pastor of the San-Maine-san-Bugim evangelical church in Khujand, to three years in prison on an unproven excuse of extremism, according to Mohabat News. The Tajik priest has expressed concern about the situation he faces in jail and called on believers and members of the church to pray for the priest Khalmatov. Officials of the Tajik Religious Affairs Committee state that the followers of this evangelical church were unlicensed and had registration documents, and therefore the churches and centres of this group were closed. Tajik authorities say the website of the Korean Christian Church said that the Christian centre was officially registered in the Tajik Religious Committee in 2009. This is the first time that a non-Muslim country is arrested and imprisoned on charges of extremism. Pray for the pastor’s safety, Tajikistan has been consistently criticised for violating human rights and religious beliefs in recent years.

Eight days after receiving a 15-year prison sentence and nearly a year after he was first detained, Muslim convert to Christianity Amin Afshar Naderi wrote an open letter to Iranian authorities. ‘What have I done against you and our country that made you hate me this much? I have learned from the Bible to love my enemies and to pray for those who hate me,’ his letter began. In July Amin was sentenced to 15 years in prison: 10 years for ‘acting against national security by organising and conducting house churches’” and an additional five years for blasphemy. Two other believers received 10-year sentences at the same time. In his letter, Amin said during his interrogations, he had been spoken to abusively, mocked and insulted, but he prays for the health of his interrogators. He also said his fellow prisoners were forced to sign a false statement against him, and that officials wrongly reported that Amin had insulted their religious beliefs.

Christians are being killed and imprisoned in Iran, Tajikistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, and Nigeria, to name but a few and persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Asia is forcing tens of thousands of families to flee for their lives. In India, for example, violent persecution of Christians in 2016 was over 800 and there have been hundreds of attacks so far this year. It is time to pray for charities and organisations that are working in dangerous conditions to provide corridors of escape to safe havens, for those providing aid and support to those living in camps, for those training and educating families for a new life, for those giving medical and counselling services for those who have been tortured and imprisoned for their Christian beliefs. We can pray also for those speaking out on behalf of the persecuted church in the media, at the UN and in government circles. See also articles 3 and 4 below.

We need to continue to engage in specific ways with the threat of global terrorism that has captured international news in Paris, San Bernardino and other places. During a monthly prayer call last month with some knowledgeable friends, the following prayer concerns were raised:

1. Pakistan

The military is doing a lot to take out the take out the terrorists along the border.  But if peace is really to come the terrorist groups in the middle of the country are going to have to be taken down.  They are the ones who supply suicide bombers, etc. to those along the border. Please pray for the overthrow of the following terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan and threatening neighboring nations like Afghanistan and the rest of our world from there: 

• LEJ They are daily killing lots of military forces and elite troops within Pakistan. 

• MQM used to be the biggest terror group in Karachi and Sindh.  They were put down but now they have made a comeback and just won the elections in the southern part of the country.  

• Jamat-Islam whose goal is to take over the Pakistan government and America.   They are growing rapidly and are creating trouble throughout the country and now throughout the world.  For example, the wife in the San Bernardino attack had met with them this year.  It is likely that the husband as well met with them. This group seems to be tied to the Lal Musjad (the Red Mosque).

There are some good things happening in the country we can rejoice in.  In Karachi, one woman is teaching a prayer course. There are some children's prayer groups meeting faithfully. In some other places, local believers have now started and are running prayer groups and children's prayer groups. We need someone in the country who will encourage people in prayer and bring this all together with strong, sensitive servant leadership.

Please pray for the Pakistan authorities and military to effectively go after the terrorist organizations operating within the country and destroy them completely. The military has been quite successful in going after them along the border with Afghanistan but now need to get those who are the real source for all the suicide bombers and funding. Pray that these organizations and their leaders will be thrown into confusion and will fight each other. Pray also that the funding from Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as from local heroin production will be cut off.

Give thanks for the raising up of additional prayer groups and efforts and pray for the raising up of strong, united leadership within the country.

2. Afghanistan

As we have prayed this year for this embattled nation, we have seen the Lord answer and raise up a strong prayer effort from within the nation by expats and locals, praise God. There is also a powerful move of the Spirit happening in the mountains with one people group. Pray that this will spread across the nation! 

The new Taliban leader was most likely killed and others of their leaders have been taken out as all of us have prayed over the last few months. We pray that they may repent and come to know and serve the Lord, but if they just want to continue destroying the nation and its people, they need to be removed from the earth. Please pray accordingly. 

Pray that the Taliban will continue to fight among themselves and against the ISIS movement that has entered Afghanistan as well. That the Afghan government and military will be effective in overcoming and destroying both of these terrorist movements. Also, that their support and funding from Pakistan and the Middle East will be cut off.

Pray too for the protection and strengthening of the believers and for a powerful prayer and worship movement within the country to cover the land and be used of God to change the spiritual atmosphere.

3. ISIS and the global terror threat

ISIS and its network is spreading rapidly in Europe after the Paris massacre and through the continuing refugee flow into that continent. One German colleague reported that there are an estimated 11,000 potential terrorists in Paris alone and about 2000 in the UK; however they are setting up operations in virtually all the nations of the region. Quite a few Syrians who are coming as refugees are among them.

The FBI here in the USA is actively investigating suspected ISIS operatives in all 50 states and feels overstretched. The couple in San Bernardino were not even one of those being watched.

Pray for the authorities in Europe and the USA to realize that they are engaged in a conflict with the ideology of radical Islam, to throw out political correctness and go after those who are controlled by this ideology, arresting them and foiling any planned terrorist attacks. Pray that the misguided idea that Islam is a peaceful religion will now be discarded and that government officials will understand that this is the kind of Islam that Mohammed himself practiced- violent jihad and widespread murder of those considered to be “infidels”.

Pray that the coalition of nations will soon put boots on the ground, even in many thousands, in a strong, effective collaboration to overcome ISIS in Iraq and Syria and to restore those nations and their territories to peace and good governance.

1) UPRISING: World Youth Prayer Assembly, July 26-30, 2016, South Korea. Up to 2500 youth and young adults supported by adults and children (three generations together) will gather near the Demilitarized Zone with thousands more from South Korea to seek the Lord together for this important middle generation, its unique mission for our world as well as the calling He has for each of those participating. An important aim is mobilising young people to initiate prayer around the globe. 

Registrations are now live at www.unitedprayerrising.com along with other important information.   Please pray for Jerome Ocampo, the convener and the International Dream Team of younger leaders who are planning this event along with the local Korean team. Pray for His wisdom, unity of heart and provision of funds for the event and all those who take part.

2) One of our Middle Eastern colleagues asks us to pray for raising up the Watchmen on the walls and altars of prayer on every street. There is a need for a global call to the church to come together to seek the Lord for an end to the bondage due to false religion and the related radical ideology that causes terrorism.  It is also “time to rise up against winds blowing in Europe” he warned and challenged us to pray particularly for Europe and not just the Middle East. Another prayer leader from the Middle East received a word from the Lord that we are heading towards an extraordinary time in many aspects. He saw crisis gatherings for every continent / region, covering arts, media, education etc. with groaning and travail coming out of them as well as rains of revelation and heavenly strategies.  

Some of these gatherings are already being planned. June 16-19, 2016, in Milan, Italy, 1,000 people will gather for prayer and fasting for Europe.  See  http://www.riseup-now.com.   Arabs and Europeans will join hands. In addition, there will be a number of national/regional prayer initiatives in Dubai (February), Egypt (March), Turkey (May) and Israel (May) to seek the Lord for the healing and transformation of the Middle East region.

Would you please pray for Europe and the Middle East regions at this crucial time? Pray for His people and for the authorities to cope effectively with the huge stream of refugees, for national security of those nations taking them in and for the reaching of many Muslims with the love of Christ. Pray too for powerful, region-changing prayer initiatives being planned in both Europe and the Middle East that we may see His breakthroughs in 2016!

3) Prayer is requested for the effective implementation of a vision for an international community of prayer, worship, research and mission to be in the UK near Heathrow. Please pray for the guidance of the Lord and provision of the funds needed to acquire the property.

4) Please pray for GIG (Global Issachar Group) prayer gathering for Europe along with the ICCC leadership, Feb. 4-7, seeking God for a strategy this continent in this challenging time.

World Prayer Centre is committed to encouraging more people to grow in their relationship with God and equipping them to go deeper in prayer with Him.  We want to empower people to grow in their understanding and practice of prayer so that their prayers can bring transformation, not only in their lives, but in communities and around the world.

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