Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: November 13, 2021
Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147:1)
Thousands of people have prayed, campaigned and learnt more about our work in recent weeks, through campaigns like Sing for Freedom and IDOP. We may not have seen the fruit of them yet, but we can still thank God for every person who has taken action. Each one is a gift from God.
Give thanks for IDOP
Last Sunday on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), over 2,200 people joined our online prayer meeting in partnership with Open Doors, Release International and the Evangelical Alliance. At least 230 people used our prayer pack and many others committed to pray with their church. Thank you if you were one of them!
If you missed it, you can still watch the prayer meeting or pray for the persecuted church on another Sunday this month.
Sing for Freedom
Thank you for raising your voice for freedom! In a few short weeks, our Sing for Freedom campaign raised awareness of school abductions in Nigeria and connected hundreds of new people with our work – both in the UK and the US.
We’re also thankful that we were able to pray and protest outside the Nigerian High Commission in London on 28 October – our first in-person protest since the start of the pandemic – while over 1,000 others joined us online.
Please pray that these actions lead to a breakthrough of justice for Leah Sharibu and other young people at risk of abduction in Nigeria.
Prayer for Pastor Lorenzo
On 26 October we were encouraged by how many people took up the call to pray for Pastor Lorenzo on his 50th birthday. His family were able to speak to him on the day, thanks to his fellow inmates gifting him their collective phone time. This answer to prayer is a powerful reminder that God is with the family in the midst of their traumatic ordeal.
Sadly, we recently learnt that the Cuban pastor was subjected to even worse treatment than we previously knew, when he was transferred to Boniato maximum security prison in August.
Another sinister revelation is that Pastor Lorenzo appears to have been targeted since 2009, when the authorities confiscated their church and family home. The same officer involved 12 years ago – Luis Noel Plutin Rodriguez – is now in a higher ranking position and is responsible for the charges Pastor Lorenzo is currently facing.
In summary, please pray:
- For Luis Noel Plutin Rodriguez, that he would have a miraculous change of heart and cease all targeting of Pastor Lorenzo and his family.
- That our Sing for Freedom campaign and Safe Schools protest leads to better protection for students in Nigeria who are at risk of abduction.
- Giving thanks for every person who learnt more, prayed and took action during our recent campaigns.