Release International Prayer Shields, Eritrea and Central Asia
Updated: Oct 30, 2019
Continue to pray for the many prisoners of faith held in Eritrea. Many are arrested arbitrarily and held in inhumane conditions, including shipping containers in the desert.
Pray for the New Life Pentecostal Church in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which faces charges of large-scale fraud. Police reports claim they found a weapon and ammunition on the premises – claims the church strongly denies.
Three Baptist churches in Taraz, Kazakhstan, have been raided by anti-terrorism officers and their leaders fined. Pray for wisdom for these leaders: many Kazakh Baptists have refused to pay fines on principle.
Administrative prosecutions limiting religious freedom – which have ranged from fines to meeting bans – have risen sharply this year in Kazakhstan. Pray that many inside Kazakhstan will find freedom in Christ.
Pray for three Christians from Sheki, northern Azerbaijan, who were fined for holding a home Bible study. Pray that this experience will only deepen their love for the Word of God.
Pray for wisdom for Azeri Christians Safqan and Gulnar Mammadov, each facing stiff fines for having religious literature and hosting a children’s meeting. The Shirvan Appeal Court recently rejected their appeal.
Ask God to encourage Pastor Hamid Shabanov, leader of a church in Aliabad, Azerbaijan, who has been arrested and fined many times for hosting religious meetings, despite attempts to register his church.