Farsi-speaking church closed in Iran; further shutdowns feared

From Twitter

• Do Muslims really want sharia & support religious freedom? http://t.co/RmwTmh1DVc Fri, May 2013 15:37

• Islamic Saudi writer speaks out against Arab "culture of exclusion and extremism", which regards others as enemies http://t.co/Q4ALe9YwfG Fri, May 2013 13:39

• Beheading of soldier in Woolwich by Islamic extremist "straight out of al-Qaeda's terror manual" http://t.co/D3L4HpR4KK Thu, May 2013 13:19

• #Church in Bangladesh under threat amid violent Islamist protests: “kill all the Malauns [infidels]” http://t.co/B0I0XKIgCe Thu, May 2013 12:44

• #Church in Tanzania bombed during inaugural service; 5 killed "This was a well-planned attack" http://t.co/3ETei3ETF6 http://t.co/EY0tzyzYzI Thu, May 2013 10:20

Daily prayer

• “It’s good to be in the hands of El Shaddai.” These were the last words of Abdi Welli, a Somali pastor in Kenya, who was gunned down in the market place in Garissa on 7 February. Another church leader was wounded in the attack. Abdi Welli was a convert from Islam who had served as a missionary in west and east Africa. The militant Islamist group al-Shabaab is suspected of the attack; they have murdered numerous converts from Islam and have also intensified their violence against Christians in Kenya in the past year. Pray for comfort for Abdi Welli’s grieving widow and three children, and that Somali Christians will be preserved from al- Shabaab’s vicious campaign. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 4 hours ago

• Atrocities against Christians in Nigeria continue unabated. In Mubi, Adamawa state, various churches were attacked at the beginning of February; eight Christians were killed and three church buildings and a number of homes set ablaze. The violence drove Christians to stay at home after dark and to keep away from services. A month later, in Sheka, Kano state, 13 Christian factory workers were shot dead. In January a sheikh who claimed to be a commander of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram declared a ceasefire on its behalf, but in March a video was circulated in which one of its leaders, Abubakar Shekau, denied that it had made a truce with anyone. Pray that the Lord will be a wall of fire around His people (Zechariah 2:5) as they face such desperate dangers. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, May 2013 00:00

• On 20 January 2013 the Eritrean security police raided the homes of various Christians and arrested 50 people. One of them was a lady of 85, detained for hosting an underground church in her house. They joined hundreds of other believers currently held in Eritrean prisons, some of them in appalling conditions. Many more have fled the country to escape the persecution and have ended up in prison in Egypt, where they have been subjected to rape, beatings and starvation. Pray for all those Eritrean Christians suffering for their faith in their own country and beyond, that the Lord will be their help and shield (Psalm 33:20). Pray too for a prison ministry, supported by Barnabas, that visits and helps Eritrean Christians jailed in Egypt. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Fri, May 2013 00:00

• Pray for the families of Abdoulaye and Abakachi, two converts from Islam to Christianity who were shot dead by Islamists in northern Cameroon. They were travelling with two other converts around Lake Chad on 19 February when their vehicle was stopped by four armed men who were looking for Abdoulaye. He was the leader of the converts from the Kotoko people group and had last year received a threat from militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The gunmen opened fire, killing Abakachi on the spot. Abdoulaye and another man were also shot; Abdoulaye later died of his injuries. He left a wife and 13 children; Abakachi left a wife and four children. Boko Haram had previously warned all Christian converts in northern Cameroon to return to Islam or “face Allah’s wrath”. Pray that the Lord will protect these vulnerable believers. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

• Give thanks to the Lord for the courage and boldness of the Christians in North Korea who carry on witnessing for Christ despite the savage penalties imposed by the Communist regime. Those who share their faith or distribute Bibles risk torture and probable execution if they are caught, and their families may be dispatched to the country’s infamous labour camps to be starved or worked to death. Yet remarkably, the Church in North Korea is growing well, and some who have fled abroad and become Christians there have even gone back to share Christ with family and friends in their poverty and distress. Pray that God will keep His brave witnesses from harm and continue to add to their number (Acts 2:47). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00