UZBEKISTAN — Baptists Fined — Forum 18 News

Uzbekistan’s government continues to fine members of the Baptist Union and harass Protestant Christians, according to Forum 18 News. “Valery Konovalov has been forced to pay a fine, after he was forced to appear as a witness in the trial of three leaders of the Baptist Union,” Forum 18 reported. “The three have themselves been forced to pay what the same court claimed was unpaid taxes, and two were removed from their posts.” In addition, the parents of children who attend Protestant schools in Uzbekistan have been warned to stop attending church. “The children were made to write statements promising that they would stop attending churches,” a Christian told Forum 18. “People are afraid to talk to us when they find out we are Christians.” These incidents are the latest in the Uzbek government’s ongoing persecution of believers. VOM stands with Christians in Uzbekistan and encourages you to pray that charges against believers will be dropped. Ask God to encourage and protect believers and their families. Pray that their testimony of faithfulness will draw the authorities into fellowship with Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:9–11

IRAN — House Church Leaders Arrested — Farsi Christian News Network

On Feb. 28, Hamid and Reyhaneh, a former-Muslim couple who led a house church, were arrested by secret police in Isfahan, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). Twenty secret police officers arrested and assaulted Reyhaneh when she resisted. “Hamid was arrested when he returned home an hour later,” FCNN reported. “Other believers present at the time were threatened but not detained, though one was also assaulted when he protested [the arrests].” Police confiscated computers, telephones and literature, including many Bibles. On March 1, Hamid and Reyhaneh’s family contacted the authorities and were told their case would be referred to the Revolutionary Court once charges were finalized. The couple’s two teenage sons are being cared for by Reyhaneh’s sister. Pray that Hamid and Reyhaneh will be released and reunited with their sons. Pray that their sons will be comforted by the presence and peace of Jesus, and pray that Iranian believers will be encouraged. Pray that officials involved will act justly and that they might come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 91

IRAQ — Three Christians Murdered in Mosul — Middle East Concern

On Feb. 23, three men were shot and killed in their home by unknown assailants, according to Middle East Concern. The men, Aishwa Maroki (59) and his two sons, Mokhlas (31) and Bassim (25), were relatives of Father Mzen Ishoa, a Syro-Catholic priest who in 2007 was abducted and later released. Aishwa’s wife and daughter were also in the home but were not harmed. Pray that those in mourning will trust God as the defender of widows and a Father to the fatherless. Pray that authorities will do all they can to improve security for all citizens of Mosul. Pray that the results of recent parliamentary elections will lead to greater stability and a reduction of violence in Iraq.

Psalm 68:5

"Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can tell what is the condition of the heart. The sin of prayerlessness is a proof for the ordinary Christian or minister that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness." - Andrew Murray

"praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" - Ephesians 6:18