Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin – No. 225 – Wed 25 Jun 2003

WELCOME to the 34 intercessors who have joined the list this month.

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‘I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath.’ Psalm 116 1,2 (NLT)

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DURING JUNE WE HAVE PRAYED CONCERNING -

PAPUA: where a military crackdown left many Papuans dead, including two Baptist pastors, and many churches destroyed.

CHINA: in particular for Pastor Gong Shengliang, suffering severely in Jingzhou Prison.

A letter received by China advocate, Mr Bob Fu, from 34 of Pastor Gong’s friends, colleagues and relatives said he had been severely beaten and was lapsing in and out of a coma, with internal bleeding. A huge media campaign was immediately launched, with Amnesty International and the US State Department taking up his case. Pastor Gong’s daughters, Xiaoyan and Huali, are still dedicated full time evangelists. However, his wife Hu Guifang, who has been seriously traumatised by the whole situation and is gravely unwell, greatly needs our prayers. Pastor Gong’s condition is critical. Please pray for comfort from the Holy Spirit, urgent medical attention, and for justice. Pray for an immediate end to torture of Christian prisoners and that house church raids and persecution will cease. Pray for religious freedom to become a reality.

NORTHERN UGANDA: where the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the blasphemous, terrorist cult-militia led by spirit medium Joseph Kony, has been wreaking havoc on the predominantly Christian population. The LRA has now declared it will target the Church specifically in revenge for its peace-making efforts.

Tuesday night, 17 June. That Tuesday, the LRA raided two camps for displaced people and murdered a Catholic priest. On the Wednesday they raided an orphanage and kidnapped many young girls. Later they attacked four nuns in Gulu. There was little significant LRA activity reported in the week that followed, but on 24 June, the Catholic church-run Lwala Girls Secondary School in Soroti was raided by the LRA and about 100 girls abducted. We must remain vigilant in praying that the demonic forces associated with Joseph Kony and the LRA will be bound, and for the release of kidnapped children. May God bless the Acholi Christian leaders’ peace initiative and cause more LRA defections. Since RLP 219 in May, several LRA commanders have defected during church-run peace talks, which is why Kony issued orders to target the Church. Since we prayed last week, Kony’s deputy has requested peace talks, and senior LRA commander Vincent Otti has sought a cease-fire. Pray that God will bring the LRA reign of terror to a just end.

MORE ISSUES DURING JUNE – ————————-

INDONESIA: DAMANIK SENTENCED

On 16 June, the court in Palu, Central Sulawesi, sentenced Rev. Renaldy Damanik to three years’ imprisonment on charges of possessing illegal weapons. An Indonesian legal expert, Mr J E Sehatapy, in testifying that Damanik was clearly framed, said the procedural violations alone destroyed the prosecution’s credibility and the charges should be thrown out. Virtually all evidence in his favour was dismissed as irrelevant, while the prosecution’s contradictory, false testimonies and procedural violations were written off as inconsequential technicalities. Compass Direct reports, ‘A source who had spoken to Damanik requested prayer for the defendant and the defence team [who have lodged an appeal]. The guilty verdict, announced in a trial marked by serious abuse of legal procedure, gives little hope for a successful appeal. Funds for a lengthy appeals process are also in short supply.’

LAOS: CHRISTIANS ORDERED FROM HOMES; VISITING US PASTOR ARRESTED

On 9 June, Laotian provincial authorities once again ordered five families out of their home village of Kang, after they ignored the first deadline set on 28 April. They are charged with ‘causing disorder’, just by being there as Christians. The five men are prominent Christian leaders in the district, two of them pastors. Also, on 4 June, a US citizen and Lutheran pastor of Laotian origin, Rev. Naw-Karl Mua, was arrested in Laos while guiding two Thailand-based European journalists working on a story about the Hmong people. Mua had been in Thailand celebrating with a Hmong congregation the completion of a church building he had helped make possible. All three have been charged with murder and their whereabouts are unknown. Please pray for these suffering believers and for Laos.

D R CONGO: CEASE-FIRE AGREED

In the May Update (RLP 221) we prayed for the church in Congo suffering severely due to appalling tribal conflict and associated occult violence. In Bunia alone, 50,000 have died in the past few years, including 400 in May. After four years of this horrific conflict, United Nations peacekeepers eventually started arriving in Congo on 6 June. They were reinforced with French troops four days later. By 20 June the two main Congolese militias had agreed to sign a cease-fire, and they have started to withdraw. All weapons have been banned in Bunia and any now found will be confiscated. Praise God for his answers to our prayers and please keep on praying as the situation is still highly volatile. Pray for Christian missions, clinics, hospitals, schools and pastors in the region to bring healing and reconciliation, and for wise and courageous Christian leadership.

—————————————————- Previous RLPs may be viewed at http://www.evangelicalalliance.org.au/rlc/

Related Articles:

• SUDAN & BURMA: CHRISTIAN REFUGEES IN PERIL
• Pray for the World 6 February 2012
• PRAYER OF A HUMBLE SERVANT
• Prayers for Help in Times of Trouble
• Pray for the World (January 31, 2012)

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