Praying for the Persecuted Church - Laos #2

I know that I have been primarily focusing on our persecuted brothers and sisters in these prayer posts...but I feel that there is a need to not only be praying for those who already know the Lord, but for those in Laos who do not yet know Him. Not just for those doing the persecuting but for every single person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus.

OMF (originally founded by J. Hudson Taylor) has a great guide for praying for the people of Laos. Join me in praying through this list and remembering those in Laos.

• The church still faces restrictions and Christians still face persecution. Pray for freedom for evangelism, church planting and building, for the effective use of present freedoms and for changes that will open Laos up for the preaching of the gospel. Rather than retrenching, pray that Christians would reach out, especially to the ethnic minorities.
• Pray for unity, integrity and godly leadership in the church.
• Pray for leadership and Bible training. Pray for the effectiveness of informal study programs [by radio and through Theological Education by Extension].
• Missionary work is not officially permitted, but there are openings for Christian professionals and those working with aid and relief programs. Pray for a reopened door for Bible translators, church planters and Bible teachers.
• Unreached peoples in which there are no known churches:
  - Tai peoples, speaking 15 languages.
  - The northern peoples, many of whom have responded to the gospel in neighboring China and Thailand.
  - The small southern ethnic groups that were being evangelized for the first time between 1957 and 1963. War prevented the planting of churches among most of these peoples and they remain deeply enmeshed in the fear of spirits.
  - The Vietnamese and Chinese, among whom there has been little evangelism.
• There are at least 13 languages for which there is a definite need for Bible translation teams and a possible total of 66 languages. Pray for discernment in prioritizing, and for men and women to invest their lives in translating God’s word.
• Christian radio: FEBC broadcasts 16 hours weekly in Lao, Hmong, Khmu and Lahu. Pray for a good reception and spiritual response.

Tozer Devo

This devo has SO much truth to it! I can see it all around me, in our world today, with the young and the old....those who have such energy and drive, and yet put their focus in the wrong things...or things that are not eternal...definitely food for thought.

.............................................................................

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You
created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.
--Revelation 4:11

Without worship we go about miserable; that's why we have all the
troubles we have. You wonder why young people act like such idiots.
Some young people have a lot of energy and don't know what to do
with it, so they go out and act like idiots; and that's why gangsters
and Communists and sinners of all kinds do what they do. They are
endowed by God Almighty with brilliant intelligence and an amazing
store of energy, and because they don't know what to do with it they
do the wrong thing. That's why I'm not angry with people when I see
them go off the deep end, because I know that they have fallen from
their first estate along with Adam's brood and all of us together.
They haven't been redeemed and so they have energy they don't know
what to do with; they have capacity they don't know how to use. They
have skills and don't know where to put them, and so they go wild
and police have to arrest 16-year-olds and put them in jail. If they
had been taught that they came into the world in the first place to
worship God and to enjoy Him forever and that when they fell Jesus
Christ came to redeem them, to make worshipers out of them, they
could by the Holy Ghost and the washing of the blood be made into
worshiping saints and things would be so different.

-AW Tozer

Praying for the Persecuted Church - Laos

We continue on with our month to month praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are in countries where serving our Lord comes with a heavy price.

This month we will be praying for those in Laos. According to OpenDoorsUSA's World Watch List, Laos ranks #10 on the list of countries in the world, for it's oppression of Christians.



Here is some information on Laos to help guide you as you pray. (All info is from Open Doors)
Leader: President Choummaly Sayasone
Population: 6.4 million (200,000 Christians)
Main Religion: Buddhism
Government: Communist state


Laos is the only other Communist-ruled country in the top 10 of the WWL (with North Korea). Despite many people's expectations, the situation in Laos has not improved much in the past year. The church is relatively small but continues to grow (numbering about 200,000 believers, mostly belonging to ethnic minorities). There has been no improvement in religious liberty and persecution in Laos includes a few restrictions in legislation. The government’s attitude is very negative and restrictive towards Christians, and all believers are under strict surveillance because they are regarded as agents for the USA to bring political change in Laos towards “democracy.” The church cannot operate freely and its activities in society are limited. Christians are restricted in their roles in the family and in the village. Christian converts who renounce evil spirit worship come under great societal pressure. From time to time believers are arrested, and many of them experience extreme physical and emotional pressure (torture) to renounce their (new) faith. In the 2010 at least 25 Christians were killed; at least another 20 were arrested and held without trial. Christians were physically harassed on a regular basis and a number of churches were destroyed or damaged. Thousands of (Christian) Hmong refugees are living in Thailand. Despite the high level of persecution in Laos, there are many unregistered activities and the Church seems to be growing.

PRAY:
For God’s protection and provision for the 11 families expelled from their villages, especially the young children.

That Christians will have the courage to remain in the faith, in spite of the high price they must pay.

That policies designed to promote religious freedom will be implemented in rural areas and benefit believers, who are mostly tribal and rural.

Please continue to hold up Laos in your prayers throughout the month of June!

grace and peace
rachel

Beautiful.

A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
~Isaiah 35:8-10

The Abiding Companionship of God

"His soul shall dwell at ease." In tribulation, misunderstanding, slander, in the midst of all these things, if our life is hid with Christ in God, He will keep us at ease. We rob ourselves of the marvelous revelation of this abiding companionship of God. "God is our Refuge" - nothing can come through that shelter.
-Oswald Chambers

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