Displaying items by tag: witness

Sona lay on a railway track waiting for a train to take her life. A Christian mission worker found her. Sona saw a woman whose expression radiated kindness and concern. When the woman asked why she was there, she sobbed gut-wrenching tears and told of her heartache. ‘Please, there is no hope for me. Just let me die.’ The missionary spoke of Jesus, of hope, of life after death, and the choice of where to spend eternity. She ministered God’s love to Sona, and together they walked away from the railway tracks. Days later Sona returned, but this time as a child of the King - and a railway employee! The very place she almost took her life became a place of provision and hope. ‘My Jesus gave me hope, I am filled with joy and will do His work until my last breath.’

Aisha (not her real name), 27, grew up in a Muslim family. Her father was devoted to Islam but constantly mis-treated her mother, and Aisha never heard him speak even one kind word to them. The more she watched the oppressive treatment, the more she asked why Allah had created her a girl. She began to reject Allah and his rules. One day she asked her mother why she allowed her father to beat her. 'Allah gave him that authority,' her mother replied. 'Then I don’t want to be a Muslim,' she cried. In response, her mother slapped her in the face. 'That is profanity against Allah; you were born as a Muslim and you will stay a Muslim till you die.' Later, talking to a friend at work who was a Christian, Aisha noticed that her friend frequently mentioned God’s name in their conversations. She described her home life, and her friend referred Aisha to her pastor. In time she gave her life to Jesus, accepting him as Saviour and Lord.

4,000 British personnel from all three services will be training alongside the Omani military in October. Amongst them there will probably be practising Christians. Pray for the chaplains who will be travelling with their unit as they give spiritual support, both publicly and privately, providing pastoral care for those away from home for the first time and offering moral guidance to young men. Oman is characterised by pride, diversity, rapid development and a people clinging to traditional Islamic values and customs. Recently technology has opened avenues into the world. 50% of the population is under 16. Although there is resistance to the Gospel, God’s Spirit is drawing Omanis into a saving relationship with Him. Pray that the Christian military will demonstrate to their Omani colleagues, in actions and conversations, their faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. Pray for the chaplains in the group to have God's wisdom in all their counselling. See also

In 2016 you prayed for Nurse Sarah Kuteh who was dismissed from her job after talking to patients about her Christian faith and giving a Bible to one patient. After dismissing her, Darent Valley Hospital reported Sarah to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), questioning her 'fitness to practise'. For nearly two years the NMC has held a series of hearings to determine whether Sarah would continue to be able to practise as a nurse. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the NMC panel unanimously ruled that Sarah was fully 'fit to practise' and revoked all restrictions on her nursing practice.

Christians are to stop putting politics ahead of the Gospel as they advance racial reconciliation, according to comments at an event held in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. While focusing on racial tension in the USA, the dean for intercultural student development at Calvin College Michigan said there had been ‘significant consequences’ of Donald Trump’s win. ‘For those of us who wept as a result of it, we didn't weep because we're big fans of the Democrats. We wept because we knew not just the national but the global witness of the Church was at stake’, she said. A senior pastor from Austin, Texas called on churches to focus on ‘the politics of heaven’ over ‘the politics of this earth.’

Our workplaces provide a unique opportunity to build relationships with nonbelievers. Every day they see the difference our faith makes to how we work, the way we relate, our resilience under pressure, and our attitude to success or failure. We need God’s wisdom and timing to ‘talk Jesus’ to our colleagues. So, like Paul, let’s ask for both words and courage.

(written by Bev Shepherd, LICC PrayerWorks)