Return of the King
Welcome to week two of praying for the Nations! We trust that the Lord will continue to work according to His will through our prayers for the country of India, as well as continue to ignite our hearts for the Nations and align us with what He cares about. As a reminder, we are praying for the nations because we know that for there to be a Return of the King, there must be a Return TO the King. So, we have committed to praying for the Nations (prayer points below) for the next four weeks and are joining through faith in the vision that Christ gave us in Matthew 24:14 that His name be proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Christians in Pakistan are continually under extreme persecution. Making up less than one percent of the population, the few Christians in Pakistan are treated as second class citizens and forced to work low income, manual labor jobs. It can be challenging to see how God is moving in Pakistan, but that doesn't mean He isn't moving.
Shahzad and his wife, Shama, were faithful Christians living in Pakistan. Shahzad worked a hard, grueling job in a brick kiln in order to provide a meager income for his family while being persecuted for his faith. They lived a hard life in the midst of severe discrimination. But things only got worse. After a family member passed away, Shahzad was needed at home to help his family through the difficult time. When he returned to work, he was severely beaten. As the beatings continued daily, Shahzad decided that he could take no more. However, he owed his boss money and when he tried to arrange for an alternate way of paying off his debt, the kiln owner, a man who hated Christianity, falsely accused Shahzad and his wife of burning a copy of the Koran. This accusation, if validated, would lead to the couple being imprisoned.
The next day, Shahzad and Shama found themselves alone in their house, praying fervently as four hundred Muslims surrounded them in anger, screaming, "They have burned the Holy Koran!" The mob dragged them outside to torture them. The local police watched passively as the crowd, in their impassioned fury, trapped Shahzad and Shama in a brick kiln, burning them alive.
However, this is not the end of the story.
A few days later, when the news spread to government officials, four hundred people were arrested when there was no evidence that the Christian couple ever burned the Koran. This event is a catalyst for overturning the Pakistani laws regarding blasphemy, which are often used to falsely accuse Christians.
Shahzad and Shama's deaths were a tragedy, as are the many similar circumstances that Pakistani Christians are facing today. But God is on the move. We are privileged to come alongside our Pakistani brothers and sisters, and ask for God's mercy over His people. That He would bring even the most extreme muslim persecutors to Himself, as well as encourage and protect His children during this time. We believe that God has so much goodness in store for Pakistan, and are expectant for Him to move significantly in response to our prayers.
We talked last week about how we want as many people as possible to be praying for the nations. And to help make that happen, we're doing a giveaway of a Chipotle gift card. Because we love Chipotle? No! (Well... yes, but that's not the point!) It's because when we pray, God moves. And if a small carrot at the end of the tunnel can help more people pray, then we'll bring some carrots!
We want YOU to start a prayer group. Start by filling out the form below. We'll send you a link that you can share. Next, share the link with everyone you can (parents, siblings, friends, etc). Lastly, pray with your group for the next 5 weeks! We'll leave the details up to you, but we recommend praying once a week, in person (if possible), for about half an hour.
Any questions? No problem! Shoot us a text and we'll be in touch!
