India
In 1969 a Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) proselytiser named Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati established an Ashram (Hindu religious centre) in Kandhamal district, Orissa state, north-east India, and committed himself to countering the work of Christian missionaries. He never succeeded in stopping conversions to Christianity but, with state government support, he has turned Orissa into a tinderbox of communal tension.
On 23 August, Saraswati was ambushed and shot dead. From the evidence, his death was a targeted assassination by a group of Maoist guerrillas who are natural enemies of the caste-perpetuating right-wing Hindu nationalists.
Despite this, Hindu leaders in Orissa publicly charged the Christian community with killing Saraswati because of his anti-conversion campaign. A violent Hindu pogrom erupted and continues to rage and now engulfs nine districts, indicating a high level of VHP (Hindu World Council) orchestration. Tensions are especially high in Mangalore where there has also been rioting. Militants have promised more attacks and the BJP state government is launching an investigation into organisations that use foreign funds to allegedly forcibly convert Hindus to Christianity.
The situation is extremely serious. More than 50 Christians have been killed and multitudes have been raped, bashed, burned and slashed. Some 50,000 Christians are displaced. Even the relief camps are being attacked but, praise God, two attempts to poison their water supplies have been thwarted.
Furthermore, anti-Christian violence is now erupting in other states. Churches have been torched in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka while nuns from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity were violently assaulted in Chhattisgarh. The central government appears paralysed.
Please pray: • for God's intervention; God to use the shame of this violence to trigger a national awakening in India; and • that the present troubles provide the Church with an opportunity to share and explain the gospel in ways previously unattainable.
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"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8–9
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Pray too for God to be a shield around His children, protecting them from violence and intervening to bring it to an end, pushing back the enemy; and • the 50,000 displaced Christians to find a unity previously unknown; may the Church emerge from this fire in solidarity, brotherly love and faith in Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit forges Christian unity across race, caste and denomination.
Vietnam
Catholics and Protestants in Vietnam have long sought the return of properties seized by the Communist Party. For years the Church has petitioned the government to no avail. Occasionally there is minimal appeasement, but eventually the confiscation and demolition resume. Now a spirit of prayer has gripped the Vietnamese Church.
In March, the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) petitioned 'The Church of God Everywhere' to support them in prayer for their 265 confiscated properties.
Meanwhile, Catholics in their thousands, led by their priests, bishops and the Archbishop of Hanoi, have been gathering at various seized properties to pray. These massive non-stop prayer vigil-protests have the government seriously rattled and a watershed moment looms. Will there be victory or violence?
Please pray for: • God, in answer to the prayers of many, to infiltrate and enlighten the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese masses, particularly those with influence (like the media) and those in authority: may their hearts be turned towards 'truth, justice and charity' for the Church and ultimately the blessing of the nation and the glory of God; •Holy Spirit to work mightily within His Church, strengthening the body with faith and unity in preparation for days of liberty; and •all the priests and bishops, as well as Christian writers and lawyers who are imprisoned or under surveillance: may the Lord be their shield and strength and comfort.
China
For almost 60 years they've heard the story that they did not need religion because the (Chinese Communist) Party will fill all their needs. That's not there anymore. The Chinese are turning to religion because there's an emptiness inside." - English teacher Ann Wilson, who went to China 20 years ago and, along with her husband David, runs a network of Christian teachers called Volunteers for China.
Although the Beijing Olympics has caused much of the world to acknowledge China's economic progress, China Aid Association, an organisation dedicated to persecuted believers in China, has revealed documentation showing the government forced local pastors to sign an agreement to shut down services and meetings for a three month period surrounding the games. (worldnetdaily.com, 13 Aug.) The reason for the government's action is not known. In any case, human beings' longing to know God is ingrained within their hearts and no religion ban can ever douse that longing.
Continue to pray that those who seek God will be found by Him.
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