Pray with boldness for the Persecuted Church

Hello friends, If you are a true believer in Christ, you have access to the throne of God.   Ephesians 3:11 says,  in whom we have boldness and confident access  through faith in Him. The Greek scholar Thayer says, the word  boldness means freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech,  openly, frankly, i.e without concealment without ambiguity or a need for many words. The word confident means to be persuaded  that God will hear you, that you are certain of it. The word access  means that our Lord Jesus has brought us into a relationship  with God and we have twenty-four- hour a day access because we are standing in grace. Please pray with boldness for your  Christian brothers and sisters mentioned below.

VOM-USA Prayer Update for August 17, 2012 On Wed. Aug 15 2012 at 02:39 PM Moderator wrote: Nigeria--Gunmen Kill 19 in Kogi State Sources: Release International, BBC News Philippians 4:19-20 Gunmen attacked an evangelical church in central Nigeria on Monday, Aug. 6, killing at least 19 people, including the pastor . The attackers cut off power to the Deeper Life Bible Church  in Otite, near the town of Okene, Kogi state, and surrounded  the building to block the congregation's escape. They then  entered the building and fired at worshipers for about 20 minutes.  At least 15 people died at the scene, four died later from gunshot wounds and many others were wounded. No one  has claimed responsibility for the attack, but many believe  the Islamist group Boko Haram was involved. Kogi state,  which is south of Abuja, had not previously suffered attacks by Muslim extremists. Pray that Christians in  Nigeria will respond to their persecutors in a way that glorifies  God and that they will see God meet their needs. Tanzania--Christian Teen Sentenced to Two Years in Prison Source: VOM Contacts 2 Peter 1:2-4 A teenager in Tanzania was sentenced to two years in prison recently after being accused of desecrating the Quran. Eva Abdullah, 17, converted from Islam to Christianity three  years ago. Her parents disowned her after her conversion,   and a group of radicals in her hometown of Bagamoyo  tried to persuade her to renounce her Christian faith. When she refused, they falsely accused her of urinating on a  Quran. Many Christian leaders were afraid to defend Eva  because of Muslim dominance in the district. On July 26,   Eva was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge who  was allegedly bribed by the Islamic militants. Although Tanzania is not on VOM's list of hostile and restricted areas,  our contacts report increased hostility toward Christians  because of radical Islamic influences. Pray that God will  strengthen Eva's faith no matter the circumstances. Azerbaijan--Update: Church's Appeal Rejected Source: Forum 18 News John 14:27 The Baku Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's decision  to liquidate the Greater Grace Protestant Church and ban its  activity. A panel of three judges rejected the church's appeal  on July 31, and church members are already preparing an  appeal to Azerbaijan's Supreme Court. Although Greater  Grace has been registered with the Justice Ministry since  1993, the State Committee lodged a liquidation suit against  the church in December 2011, arguing that the church  had failed to re-register after changes to the religionlaw in 2009. Only six registration applications have been approved by the State  Committee in Baku in 2012 Inaddition, Azerbaijan's parliament  has passed an amendmentrequiring religious materials to have a state-issued verificationmark before the  materialscan be sold. Those selling religiousmaterials- whether electronic or hard copy print, audio orvideo products -- without the verification mark  may face finesand confiscation of the materials. Pray that the members of Greater Grace will find a way to worship no matter what the court decides. Myanmar (Burma) VOM Project Pray for those involved in training a group of indigenous missionaries who are working in difficult tribal areas. The missionaries will be trained in evangelism, church planting and discipleship. If you want to learn about our book, Broken Minds Hope for healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It, go to http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Minds-Healing-Youre-Losing/dp/0825421187