"Please pray for us!"

The Voice of the Martyrs has an email sign up that encourages you to pray for specific individuals who are being persecuted for their Christian faith. We may or may not be able to help each individual with money, food, clothing, etc. BUT we can and should pray for them. Prayer is what each person experiencing persecution specifically asks for from VOM; and I can most definitely grant that request and ask my readers to do the same. 

Sometimes I receive amazing suggestions on how to help specifically, like filling and mailing action packs to persecuted Christians who flee with only the clothes on their back. And this last week's email was no exception. I'm excited to participate in this one act that gives encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world! 

PLEASE join me!

VOM has granted the prayer request of the persecuted Christians to whom they reach out by creating a website called: iCommitToPray.com, where you are encouraged to read the stories of these individuals and write a prayer specifically for them. VOM will then print off each prayer and give it to them, showing this request was indeed granted. What an incredible blessing to know that people around the world are praying for you during some of the most difficult times of your life. Imagine one of these individuals greeting you in heaven thanking you for praying for them?! It's such an easy way to bless them and encourage them to hold fast to the faith in Jesus Christ and the hope of eternity with Him. 

One person asking for prayer is Ly Thi Song who lost her husband to Vietnamese authorities who tortured him to death; all because him and his brother moved their families to central Vietnam to establish a church. Her story is one of thousands, millions even, that endure such hardship for the sake of the gospel. She is now a widow caring for their four children! I can not imagine what it would be like to be in her shoes, however, I can imagine the encouragement Christians can give their fellow believers like Ly Thi Song by following through on this simple task of praying.

There are many, many ways VOM offers assistance to these individuals. I highly encourage you to to order a free subscription to this magazine, or if you feel lead to help the persecuted church in any other way, contact:

www.persecution.com
orders and contributions: 800-747-0085
ministry information: 877-377-0302
email: thevoice@vom-usa.org

If you go to the website www.persecution.com you can also sign up for specific prayer requests by scrolling all the way down to the end of the home page, you'll see the "Sign up for VOM's prayer alert" button. Continue to search the website for the many, many ways VOM asks for your help. 

And then pray!

Prayer Request [Action Packs for Persecuted Sudanese!]

I am so so excited about this post! I receive a free magazine every month from The Voice of The Martyrs which tells horrific story after horrific story of Christians persecuted for their faith. What I loved about this issue is that the entire magazine was dedicated to telling the story of the Sudan civil war. "They face the world's worst poverty, war and even genocide, in which Arab-Sudanese are trying to eradicate the black African Sudanese people in conflict areas like the Nuba Mountains. In addition the Sudanese government is trying to eliminate all Christians and churches in an effort to Islamize the nation." (An excerpt from "Strengthening Those Who Stayed" by Jim, of the Persecution Project Foundation) The only way I can think how to help my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith is by praying for them, however, this month an excerpt was included titled, "Taking Action for Sudan" and inside details HOW you can specifically help them!

Because of the persecution Christian Sudanese are experiencing, they are fleeing to South Sudan for safety with only the clothes on their back. VOM has organized assistance through Action Packs which are vacuum bags filled with blankets, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats, socks, t-shirts, sheets, towels, soap and toys. They need help! You can fill one for someone in need. All you do is go to...

www.vombooks.com/July2013 to request your Action Pack and follow the directions given. It costs $7 to send a filled pack OR you can donate $30 and they will fill it for you.

When I filled out the request for my action pack I thought I was making a $7 donation, however, once the donation is made, that's your request for the pack.

Let me give you an idea, a glimpse, of what these people endure through one story of a pastor named Matak. He was arrested multiple times and although sentenced to life in prison, he was there 8 years. During those 8 years he endured severe torture. He was beaten with wooden slats and metal rods, electrodes were attached to his ears, his genitals were crushed, fingernails removed, and he was whipped with wires. They tried to force him to turn away from Christ because they knew he was influential. What amazed me was Matak's response to his torture, "God reminded me that the body can die, but the soul cannot. Once I said to my torturers, 'You can torture me, but if you kill me, I will just see Jesus Christ!" W.O.W! When he was transferred to another prison where he was sentenced to hang to death, he held church meetings where 170 attended! The churches planted inside the prison still grow today!

Here's a video from 2007 (make sure you have a kleenex).

I'm sure that these two stories are some of thousands and thousands! Can you imagine the fear that they live in day in and day out? Gathering food is a fearful task! They are quite literally "taking up their cross" to follow Jesus, because they know that by being a Christian might mean death.

I have no idea the strength it requires to endure something like that. These people inspire me! I don't know how to help them beyond praying for them and doing little things like sending them an Action Pack or writing about it here, requesting prayer from my readers. So, I'm asking for your help in two specific ways, 1. Donate an Action Pack and 2. Pray for the Sudanese people.

I highly encourage you to order a free subscription to this magazine, or if you feel lead to help the persecuted church in any other way, contact:

www.persecution.com
orders and contributions: 800-747-0085
ministry information: 877-377-0302
email: thevoice@vom-usa.org

If you go to the website www.persecution.com you can also sign up for specific prayer requests by scrolling all the way down to the end of the home page, you'll see the "Sign up for VOM's prayer alert" button.

Weekly Writes: Prayer Request for Persecuted Christians [& their amazing stories]

There are three stories I'm going to briefly share with you and each story impacted me for one reason: these people are threatened on a daily basis for their belief in Jesus and yet they have unwavering faith. Despite torture, sexual abuse, threats, jail time, etc. etc. they continue to share the gospel! I am inspired by their stories because I am blessed to live in America where men and women die for my religious freedoms that I take for granted daily. The only reason I'm "afraid" to spread the gospel is because I fear that I might offend someone. Well, phooey, that's so, so, soooooo pathetic compared to these individuals. They inspire me to glorify God in all that I do and say no matter what I'm doing, who I'm with, or where I am because Jesus is the only reason I have hope and I want others, on the day Christ returns, to glorify Him with me, instead of trembling in fear.

On that note, pray for these people with me because these people believe in the power of prayer, "From the bottom of my heart, I felt extreme joy because I knew there were some Christians who were praying for me even though they didn't know me." Eva Abdalla, who is a prisoner in Tanzania because of her faith. And that's why I decided to do a weekly prayer request, for people like Eva who depend on her church family to pray for her as she sits in prison because she's a Christian.

Pray for Generosa, who is a widow with twelve children. She recently lost her husband, Mathayo (a preacher in Tanzania), because a group of Islamic extremists struck him over and over again with machetes. Her faith, despite this tradgedy, amazes me! She quite simply states that she believes God desired her husband to die this way because Christians have grown more unified since her husband's death and that "... the Lord can bring harvest into his kingdom." She also has faith that God will provide for her and her twelve children. Wow. What faith.

Pray for Jabari in Egypt who supports and disciples a secret network of Christians who turned from Islam. He was sexually abused and tortured because he would not tell police locations or names of individuals who help with this network. Instead of fear of another interrogation (because he's already experienced six) he joyfully continues his work for the sake of the gospel! He knows that his work could take his life, yet he is committed to helping the Christian converts grow in the Lord.

Pray for Kate in the Philippines who is the only surviving member of her immediate family. Her family was brutally murdered on their way home from a Bible study, she is 16 years old. She lost her father, mother, her sister Kathy (14 years old) and Karen (8 years old). They were ambushed as they walked home by a group of armed Muslim men. They were riddled with about 150 rounds of bullets. Thankfully, Kate was not with them that night, but is left behind to deal with the shock and trauma of this horrific attack.

I can in no way shape or form relate to these individuals. I don't exactly know how to pray for them, so my prayer is quite simply, "Lord, I don't know exactly what these people need, but you do. So I lift their names to you, Generosa, Jabari and Kate." I hope that helps you too, that every time these horrific stories come to mind you say a little prayer for them.

For a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs, or for ways to help the persecuted church, contact:

The Voice of the Martyrs
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005-044

contributions: 800-747-0085
ministry information: 877-337-0302
e-mail: thevoice@vom-usa.org
or visit: www.persecution.com
Visit www.prisoneralert.com to view profiles of prisoners and send a letter to one of them!

Prayer Request for a 17 Year Old!

I stumbled across a website, http://www.persecution.com/ that was giving away a free book titled, "Tortured for Christ" and I instantly jumped on that opportunity. Since then we receive free magazine's in the mail that relate story after story of Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith. I HIGHLY recommend you go to this website, read the book, and sign up for the magazine. Every month I have someone new to pray for and I truly believe prayer is powerful. The more people I can get on board - the better!

This week there was one story that blew me away and I felt compelled to share it and ask that you pray for this individual. His name is Hussein and his story literally gave me goosebumps. He is from Iran, where Christianity is illegal. By sharing the gospel, by simply being a Christian, he puts his life on the line. 

He was a drug addict (by the age of 12) and once he became a believer he was released from the addiction. His father, instead of being happy about this release, told him that he would rather be the father of a drug addict than a Christian. He turned him into the police and he was arrested. His father even hoped they would kill him stating, "I hope they decide to hang you, if they do I will be the one who'll put the rope around your neck."

Can you imagine?!

His punishment was severe. They broke all his fingers on his right hand because he's a musician, gave him 40 lashes, and broke his leg. They expelled him from high school and gave him no opportunity to attend college or further his education in any way. In fact, all of his academic history was erased. He quite literally sacrificed his future on this earth for the sake of the gospel.

Despite all of this persecution...

HE SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH THE GUARD WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF HIS TORTURE!

The guard gave him his phone number telling Hussein that he was interested in hearing more about Christ. Hussein contacted I AM, whose TV message originally led him to Christ, asking for prayer and advice: Should he contact this guard? Is it a trap or is this guard truly interested in hearing more about the gospel? It's a tough call. One that I would not want to make.

Pray for him!

That is really the only way I know how to help him. I have no way to relate to this young man. I have absolutely no idea what this would be like. His strength, his perseverance, inspires me. What am I doing to further the gospel? What do I do on a daily basis that leads others to Christ? I do not face persecution, my only fear is offending someone. So why do I hesitate in spreading God's message of hope?

If Hussein, a 17 year old, can fearlessly tell the gospel to the guard torturing him, how much more should I share my faith? I hope this inspires you, just as it did me.

My Nightmares

It’s after work and I close my door, almost tripping as I’m climb into bed, I’m so tired.

It’s warm outside, but I put a blanket on anyway.

It’s a security thing.

It doesn’t take long to fall asleep and I’m in a state of nothingness when I hear it.

It’s the door.

It opened, I swear it.

It may be my nightmares so I try to drag myself from my sleepy, stupid slumber.

But I decide against it and tell myself I’m dreaming.

It’s so easy to fall back into zzzz’s and I relax until,
I hear it…

It’s footsteps, slowly, creaking… I can almost see the intruder, everything but his face.

It’s almost as if he’s smiling, knowing I’m home alone.

“It’s just a dream,” I scream inside my head, like I actually believe me, but…

It’s getting closer.

It’s the footsteps I hear, softly at first, growing louder as the intruder makes his way down the hallway.

It’s almost like he smells my fear and mocks me as he stands at the doorway, forever.

“IT’S JUST A NIGHTMARE,” I try to whisper out loud, shrieking inside my head, until…

It’s the doorknob… turning, slowly turning, I don’t open my eyes, but I hear it’s sound.

It’s… it’s, unmistakable.

It clicks about mid-turn. Every time.

“It’s not a nightmare this time,” I try and breath so I reach for my knife, but in my sleepy stupor I can’t grasp it, I can’t even lift it, which only adds to my fear.

It’s hot outside, but I’m shaking, my teeth clattering, shivering, and sweating all at once.

It’s fear. He knows it. I know it and I try to hide it, to pretend it isn’t happening.

It’s just the stuff of my nightmares, it’s just a nightmare, it’s just my nightmares...
Right?

I’ve dreamed this dream a thousand times. I can never wake myself up, but I think I do.

I’m REMming and think I’m out of bed, walking, trying to shut and lock my door, but I can’t push it. So then I know I’m still asleep. Once that realization hits me, I’m immediately back in bed. So it starts over. I try to wake myself up. Walk. Shut my door, grab a knife, hit the lock, only these tasks are impossible. Once that happens, I know I’m sleeping. Bam! I’m back in bed, so I focus on trying to WAKE UP. It’s exhausting. I hate it so much. I’m so sick of being tired and so sick of being afraid to close my eyes.

I’ve always had weird dreams. As a kid my dad said I had night terrors where I’d wake up, point to the same corner, and scream, “Don’t you see it daddy?” Thank God, I don’t remember what I was trying to get him to see.

Eventually it evolved to me sleep walking, but the worst of them was my upside-down dreams. Yeah, seriously. Everything was upside-down. After having this dream, I’d open my eyes and everything would still be upside-down. Briefly, but it scared the heck out of me. Scared me so much that I refused to close my eyes again, knowing what would happen if I did.

These dreams continued long into my twenties, when I was living on my own. People told my parents I’d “grow out of it.” I guess I haven’t grown up yet. I had nightmares after watching this stupid movie about a witch who couldn’t survive in the light, so the poor guy bathed his house in it. It was a stupid movie, but I dreamt about it anyway. I even remember having nightmares after watching, “The Legend” with Will Smith. They’re stupid movies. I know that, I tell myself that over and over and over again, but it doesn’t matter. It’s like I’m feeding my nightmares. Why do I do that to myself?

Then I made the biggest mistake. I watched “The Exorcist”.  Dumbest move ever. I had the “all my friends are watching it” mentality. It has forever affected my dreams.

The last movie that affected my dreams the most, which will totally surprise you, was "The Passion". I totally recommend that movie to anyone and everyone, you will not be unaffected, But the part that affected my dreams was the demon children who followed Judas to his hanging himself. Read on and you'll see why....

The movies weren’t the “icing on the cake,” so to speak. It was a break in attempt. It was around 10 p.m. and I was on the phone with Kyle, who was my boyfriend at the time, when suddenly my front door slams open. Whoever wanted to get in, tried really hard because it actually bent the screen door when whoever-it-was opened it. Today I thank God for two things: one, I had my pad lock locked and two, my lab, pit bull mix puppy went nuts. Because once she started barking the door knob stopped jiggling and whoever it was ran away. THAT’S when these dreams started.

At first I was trying to wake myself up so I could defend myself against a break in, but eventually it lead to little demons running around my house. I even thought a few times that I was actually being levitated off the bed! The worst part was… I knew I was dreaming, so I’d try to wake myself up, and was never successful unless I got Kyle’s attention. I’d try shrieking his name, hitting him, screaming as loud as I could, but he told me over and over again, after waking me up, that I was just “breathing weird” and making "strange noises."

It was almost like demons were haunting me through my dreams. I hate writing this down, or even admitting it out loud but it scared the bejeebees out of me. Plus, it sounds crazy. Demons? Really, Becky?

My dad told a story of a woman he witnessed, after asking a group of men to lay hands on her and pray for her, barely being held down by numerous men after attempting this prayer session. Her anger was obvious and her overall demeanor changed, and the way my dad described it – it was not of the heavenly world. I’ve heard others about scales over the eyes, voices changing, angry dispositions gone. Believe me, this isn’t fantasy. The more I thought of this, the more I wondered if my dreams weren't just dreams.

So I figured I needed to figure out a way to peaceably sleep. But, I soon found out I am unable to do that.

I went from having these dreams every, single, night to disappearing altogether. It’s because my trust focus changed from, I need Kyle to wake me up or I need to wake myself up, to “God, please help me.” I began praying and quoting every Bible verse I knew. I still have freaky dreams occasionally, but I suddenly realized they feared God more than I feared them! AND I HAVE GOD WITHIN ME! What was I to fear? It was never about me after all! DUH! Once this realization hit me, the dreams were less frequent.

It’s crazy, I know it, but these dreams returned after hearing my pastor preach about Angels and Demons, adding to my plethora of scary stories. I mean, come on! I hear a sermon – confirming what I already know – and it brings these dreams back?! It’s like a relapse of PTSD. I hear one story about a kid possessed with evil spirits, how he told him he was “hearing voices,” and cutting himself because it was the only way to stop hearing them – and wham, bam-a-lam, I have another dream. After this dream they stopped for a while again.

Until last night.

I can't explain the dream really. But I can tell you what happened...

I was exhausted and couldn't help closing my eyes, but the moment I did the darkness changed. I don't really know how to explain it except like this... close your eyes, now put your hand over your eyes. It went from dark to dark-er. Then there was a heaviness. I struggled to breath, talk, or lift my arms. So I'd pray and wake myself up. Again, I was exhausted and had a hard time keeping my eyes open, but the moment they were closed, I felt the darkness and heaviness, so I'd pray, wake up, close my eyes, pray, etc. Then I tried to wake Kyle to pray with me, but I think in the moments when I was most awake I was still partially asleep because it did not affect him in the slightest. I was terrified of closing my eyes, so I decided that I had nothing else to do but get on my knees and pray, beg, for God to help me.  I fell asleep in that position and next woke up on my hands and knees, sleeping peacefully.

So telling this, writing it down, is an attempt to figure out why I'm having these dreams and to ask that you, as the reader, pray for me. Maybe I'll never figure out why I'm having these things happen to me, but I have a feeling that this isn't the last of these nightmares. Thankfully I have faith in the promise for a perfect ending with no tears, frustrations, or fears because Satan will be defeated. Call me crazy, but I seriously think that I'm being haunted by a demon. I only wish I knew the reason why. But until the day this all goes away I will face this demon straight on, knowing I have the power of Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is way smarter than me, or any demon, and thankfully He resides within me, so there’s one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: I’m not alone. I can face my nightmares having faith in that one fact, because now when these dreams do occur – whether I feel like I’m floating above my bed, or dealing with an overpowering mess, or someone is trying to break into my house, or if I have little demon children running through my hallways, I find myself praying and praising God! And guess what? My nightmares haven’t entirely stopped, but when they do come, not only am I able to wake up, but I’m able to peaceably fall asleep afterwards.

Dang. The power of prayer and praise, to a God so worthy of it, amazes me still!