Secret Church

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Pray for the Persecuted Posted: 30 Aug 2012 11:00 PM PDT Each week, we will post some specific ways that we can be praying together for our brothers and sisters around the world who are actively sharing in Christ's suffering through persecution.  Take some time to lift the believers in each of these regions before our Father in heaven.  At the same time, pray for those enacting the persecution to be kindly drawn to repentance and to experience new life through faith in Jesus. Pray for Rimsha Masih in Pakistan  Rimsha has now been in jail for 15 days.  She was taken there after an angry mob surrounded a police station and accused her of burning pages from an Islamic holy book.  ”Fearing violence, the police filed blasphemy charges against Ms. Masih,” The New York Times reported.  According to their report, blasphemy laws in Pakistan “date from the British colonial era the and are frequently abused by powerful Muslim clerics to persecute religious minorities or to pursue grudges against fellow Muslims.”  The thing that makes this particular story outrage human rights groups (such as Amnesty International) even more than others like it, is that 14-year-old Rimsha (originally reported to be 11 by the local police) is believed to have Down’s syndrome.  Many believe that this will help in either getting her charges dropped or her case dismissed. In the meantime, the predominately Christian neighborhood that the impoverished Masih family is from has become an area of much unrest, and many Christian families have been forced to flee to temporary housing in safer locations.  The families that are returning are facing discrimination from local shop owners who are refusing to sell them food.  Without question, if Rimsha is acquitted or freed from jail, though she is not guaranteed safety even there, the Masih family will not be able to return to their home. People gather outside the Masih household after 14-year-old Rimsha was arrested by local police. Pray that Christians will know how to act in wisdom and love as they face persecution in the wake of Rimsha’s arrest and trial. Pray for the courts and authorities in Pakistan to act justly, fearing God and not man. Pray that, by God’s grace, Christians will remain faithful and true, and that the Lord will use them in this time to be a strong witness for Him. Pray that God will bring salvation to Muslims. Pray for Rimsha and her family to be encouraged, comforted, strengthened, and guided as God graciously leads them through every part of this tough time. Information for this post was gathered from The New York Times and Voice of the Martyrs.

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