December Answered Prayers
“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them — those who are mistreated — since you, yourselves are in the body also.” Hebrews 13:3
“Now about that time Herod, the king, stretched out his hand to harass some from the church … he killed James, the brother of John … he proceeded further to seize Peter. … Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” Acts 12
And so it happens today. Brothers and sisters are arrested, or harassed because Jesus promised it would happen. All who would live godly will suffer persecution.
Over the past few weeks, we have had opportunity to pray for our imprisoned brothers both in Laos and Tibet. We pray for their safety and for the Word of the Lord to go forth in power. We pray for their families to be able to withstand the terror that comes from these arrests. Often, we are asked by the police to pay some money to get them out. We cannot do this because, once started, this practice will result in the arrest of many others and an ever-escalating ransom figure.
I can tell you from experience that, when you are the one in jail, you are keenly aware of the prayers that are being offered on your behalf. In times when I have had to surrender my passport and have been sleeping on a jail floor or in another secure facility, with no way to communicate outside the situation, I have been very aware that the church is praying for me.
So, when news of Brother S being jailed a second time in three months, we immediately went to prayer and sent out the request to all the prayer networks of which we are a part. Perhaps you prayed for him.
During this season of prayer I was in Surprise, Arizona. Through the networking of Bonnie Lloyd, Ellie and I were invited to share at the Church for the Nations congregation and, during the course of the preaching, I shared that we had received word of Bro S’s release. The pastor’s mother, a woman about our age, began to weep. After the service she asked if we had a picture of the persecuted pastor. Digging through past newsletters we did locate one. While praying she had seen him in a vision. He was in jail in Laos. She was in the church in Arizona. And the Holy Spirit was in both places at the same time.
Pictured are Bro O. and Bro S. Please keep them and brothers and sisters who suffer persecution in your daily prayers. God hears and answers this power prayer.
Mark
