Pakistan

Two Christian leaders who spoke out against the misuse of the blasphemy law in PAKISTAN have been threatened with blasphemy charges. They and their families have been forced into hiding.

Ask God to be their strength and refuge. “...they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”

Following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian in late November, thousands of Muslims attacked Christians in a village in PAKISTAN. Two believers were killed, and three others severely wounded. Over two dozen Christian-owned shops were looted and burned, as well as eight homes.

Pray for comfort and provision for the grieving. “But you have come….to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

A Christian evangelist was shot to death by suspected Islamists in November in PAKISTAN. Pray that his testimony will lead many to Christ.

Ask God to comfort and provide for his widow and children. “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

A 12-year-old Christian has escaped her captors in PAKISTAN! On Christmas Eve last year, she was kidnapped by Muslims, raped, and tricked into signing what she later learned were marriage papers. She was also beaten for refusing to convert to Islam. After eight months she escaped and is now in hiding with her family.

Ask God to comfort them and give them strength. “Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Salma’s family was poor, but she wanted what jewelry she had to look its best for her brother’s wedding.  The jewelry was special to her, as she was saving it for her daughter one day.  While she was getting it polished, her employer called her, telling her that she was needed for housework that day.  She went straight to the Muslim woman’s house, still with her jewelry, and asked the woman to keep the jewelry until the next day for safety.  Salma went home, another day’s work done.

In PAKISTAN on September 22, an eighth-grade student answering an exam question misspelled the word for “a poem in praise of Mohammed” and was accused of blasphemy. She was beaten and expelled from school. She and her mother fled.

Ask God to strengthen them during this time. “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

In PAKISTAN a Christian mother of five was reportedly beaten and raped by two Muslim men on September 15. When she told her 70-year-old father, he collapsed and died. Her family has been threatened with further violence. She says, “My Lord has not forsaken me.”

Ask God to fill this family with His peace. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

On September 9 in PAKISTAN, a believer imprisoned for supposed blasphemy died from a treatable illness. He had been denied access to a toilet, water, electricity, soap, toothpaste, and clean clothes. Authorities reluctantly admitted him to a hospital, but too late.

In August a Christian woman in PAKISTAN escaped her Muslim captor after 2 years of physical and mental abuse. In 2009 she was drugged and kidnapped, and when she awoke her captor claimed that she had converted to Islam and married him. After she escaped this August, police ignored her case and applauded her supposed conversion. She insists she has always stood fast in her Christian faith. Now she and her family are on the run.

Ask God to protect them and guide them. “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

As two Christian brothers were returning from a prayer service on August 14 in PAKISTAN, Muslims stopped them and tried to force them to recite the Islamic conversion creed. When the believers refused, they were rammed with a car, beaten with iron rods, and left for dead.

Pray that they will fully recover from their severe injuries. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

UPDATE: A Christian accused of blasphemy in 2009 in PAKISTAN is still under a death sentence. Due to pressure from some Muslims, the High Court is delaying hearing her appeal. According to her daughter, she is weak and can barely speak.

Pray for health and endurance. “And Your name will be magnified forever.”

In PAKISTAN in June, Muslim boys beat up a Christian boy because he would not recite an Islamic statement of faith. His uncle came to his rescue and rebuked the boys. Later the uncle was accused of blasphemy, threatened with death, and arrested. At least 10 Christian families have left their homes behind and fled the town.

Pray for safety for the families and for the accused uncle. “For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ...”