Category Archives: Asia

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/27/2015)

The first time I heard the term “religious nut” was in the 1950’s when my mom spit those words out of her mouth. It happened when we shopped at Meiners’ Grocery Store in Forreston, Illinois. Mom picked a few items off the shelves and carried them up to the checkout. Lillian Meiners, the cashier, attempted to talk about the Lord to Mom while totaling the purchases on the cash register. It was a one-sided conversation with Mom saying nothing.

“She’s a religious nut!” Mom proclaimed as we walked to our 1955 Pontiac, parked outside the door.

From that day forward, Lillian Meiners personified a religious nut to me. I would often see her and when I did, Mom’s words popped into my mind. Lillian never knew my true feelings about her. It was one of those inner character assassinations I never spoke aloud to anyone.

Lillian’s name was filed on a forgotten corner shelf of my mind until late 1985. It would still be there covered with layers of dust and cobwebs except for the question I asked the Lord one morning during prayer.

“Jesus, why did you save me?”

A clear voice whispered to my heart.

“Because of Lillian Meiners’ prayers for you.”

His words shocked me, but a few years later, I talked with her pastor, Rev. Orin Graff. He told me Lillian was a diligent prayer warrior for kids who attended Bible Camp.

The first saint I am going to hug upon my arrival in heaven will be Lillian Meiners. I want to thank her for faithfully praying for an agnostic who always thought she was a religious nut. We can have a good laugh about my ignorance and how Jesus set me straight.

(Excerpt from The Hunt for Larry Who by Larry Nevenhoven, 2014, Amazon eBook)

My prayers for today:

Lord, I ask that you raise up faithful prayer warriors that keep on praying for Asia, no matter what others think or what they themselves see, believing that You are just as influenced by a single voice as You are by a million.

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

 

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/20/2015)

The above photo was taken by Mark Pedder on December 25, 2008. Mark is a missionary to the slums of Manila and wrote about this scene:

It’s a family we know who are scavengers and they’re having their Christmas meal…

The father got permission to scavenge from a local fast food outlet’s bins for Christmas. So they have three big bags of rubbish which they’re going through and sharing the scraps of food with the kids. While I was there they opened up a styrofoam container with chicken bones and a part of a hamburger crust in it. It was given to their little girl because the boy got the last bit of chicken they found. Some of the food is being unwrapped from servettes, some is still in the packaging, sauce sachets are found and squeezed for that last drop of sauce, a plastic cup with the lid on it still has a mouth full of drink for someone. The family is not ashamed or shy, we know them and they just have to do this, it’s how they live.

But on the positive side, they were all having Christmas together and they actually had something special – three whole bags of rubbish. They really were happy. The kids were smiling and laughing, no one was arguing or fighting over the food, there was plenty for all of them.

If there was ever a picture or an event that really shows us what Christmas is about, this was it for me as I sat by a fire, in a muddy rubbish dump, with two adults and three kids having Christmas. What a world we live in. But in all honesty, I really felt special, they were happy I was there, not embarassed or ashamed in anyway – it was sad, but at the same time it was great. (Mark Pedder’s Weblog, December 25, 2008)

My prayer today:

Lord, I ask for You to open American believers’ ears to hear the cries of the poor in Asia so that in our times of need You will hear our cries for help. (Based on Proverbs 21:13)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/13/2015)

Children's Church markpeddar.wordpress.com

Children’s Church
markpeddar.wordpress.com

Have you ever wondered if I always fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays or do I sometimes fake it? You know, write the article and then go out for a large pepperoni pizza at Papa Johns. Who would know, right? So, here’s my rule of thumb: if I don’t write an article, I didn’t fast that day. Simple enough, okay?

But all rules have exceptions…even this one. 

Today, I took my wife to breakfast at the Swing Inn Cafe in Old Town Temecula. There was no specific reason for doing so, except that it felt right according to my spirit. Fasting, like almost everything else, has to be backed by the Holy Spirit because the Spirit gives our efforts life whereas just following the letter of the law will always bring death.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I come boldly to Your throne of grace asking for Your mercy and grace to fall upon the people of Asia in their time of need. (Based on Hebrews 4:16)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

 

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/6/2015)

One Indian brother said, “The way they preach the gospel in the West is that they say, ‘Are you having problems in your marriage? Jesus can help your marriage. Are you having problems in your family? Jesus can bless your family. Are you having problems in your job? Jesus can prosper you.’

“The way we preach the gospel in India, we say, ‘If you have a job and give your life to Jesus, they may fire you from your job. If you’re married, your spouse may leave you and your family may disown you.'”

Our contemporary mentality would say, ‘Then, why would I do it? What’s in it for me?”

There’s not an understanding in the West that we are sinners who are under God’s righteous judgment…and we need a Savior…and the fact that He sent His Son to die for our sins is absolutely mind boggling. (Dr. Michael Brown, Living for Messiah’s Glory)

Today I prayed:

Lord, I ask You to raise up laborers in Asia who preach the Gospel that sets people free of their sins and destroys the works of the devil. Do not allow our Western compromise to creep into their Gospel messages. (Based loosely on 1 John 3:8)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (9/29/2015)

Soon, I had a dream…

I saw myself standing in front of a vast wheat field looking out upon a harvest that was clearly ripe. I stood there for a while overwhelmed at the sheer size of the harvest. What seemed like endless acres continued for as far as my eyes could see.

Watching the golden wheat sway in the breeze, I got this sudden understanding that I was looking upon the fields that Jesus spoke about in John 4 and Matthew 9. It was as though the Lord was telling me this harvest was free for the taking, much like Psalm 2 tells us to ask for the nations and He will give them to us.

Overcome with excitement at seeing such a great harvest ready for reaping and knowing this represented millions of souls being rescued from an eternity in hell, I began to jump up and down in excitement.

I could see it. The harvest was plentiful. It’s ready…

As I raced toward the field with all my might, I was already thinking about printing tracts and missionaries going door-to-door to tell people about the Gospel proclaiming the Good News to everyone in sight! This is what I knew of bringing in the harvest.

But I was wrong!

I suddenly couldn’t go any further. Right in front of me was a river so wide and raging that I dared not step any closer or try to cross it. I had not seen it from where I was standing before.

My heart broke. Was I only going to look at the harvest but not be able to embrace it? I stood there weeping, feeling so helpless and full of despair.

All of a sudden there appeared before me a bridge reaching from one side of the vast river to the other. It was not a narrow bridge, but one that was very broad. It was completely filled with little children from all over Asia — poor, destitute children, like those I’d so often seen on the streets of Calcutta, Kathmandu, and other Asian cities.

Then, it was as though someone spoke to me and said, “If you want to have this harvest, it’s all yours. But this is the bridge you must cross to get it.”

(Excerpt from No Longer A Slumdog by K. P. Yohannan, © 2011 by K. P. Yohannan, GFA Books, pp. 89-90)

I believe the above vision given to K. P. Yohannan is a true prophetic word for all of Asia.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I ask You to raise up many ministries who believe Yohannan’s vision is the bridge to the 4.4 billion people in Asia. I pray that each ministry interprets the vision as You lead them.

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

 

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (9/22/2015)

Don Bosco Slum in Manilla  markpedder.wordpress.com

       Don Bosco Slum in Manilla
       markpedder.wordpress.com

 

Once I spoke in the West and a Christian told me, “I’ve been praying for years that the Communist government in China will collapse, so Christians can live in freedom.” This is not what we pray! We never pray against our government or call down curses on them. Instead, we have learned that God is in control of both our lives and the government we live under…

God has used China’s government for His own purposes, molding and shaping His children as He sees fit. Instead of focusing our prayers against any political system, we pray that regardless of what happens to us, we will be pleasing to God.

Don’t pray for the persecution to stop! We shouldn’t pray for a lighter load to carry, but a stronger back to endure. Then the world will see that God is with us, empowering us to live in a way that reflects His love and power.

(Excerpt from The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway, © 2003 by PiQUANT Editions, pp. 286 – 287)

Today I prayed:

Lord, I pray that Your grace is sufficient for the believers in Asia so that Your power is made perfect in their weakness and that the power of Christ may rest upon them. (Based on 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (9/15/2015)

The above four-minute video begins by saying: “And then there’s China…”

The first scene in the video shows a church meeting at 4:30 in the morning for two hours to pray and worship God. They do this everyday.

Another scene shows a church meeting in a cave, another meeting on a farm, another had an outreach with one thousand people giving their lives to the Lord, another shows a house church in Shanghai where there is now over three thousand house churches…

Another scene shows a church service being held inside a building where the temperature is 120°. The jam-packed assembly met for twelve hours straight!

The last scene shows a hungry group of believers in a remote area who were so packed together that everyone had to stand because there was no room to sit down. The visiting preacher asked how long he should speak. The reply: “From 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. with no breaks.”

The preacher did this for three days. You see, the people had no Bibles and were hungry for God.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I pray for all Chinese believers who hunger and thirst after righteousness to be filled by Your Spirit and then go and make disciples of all nations, including America. (Based on Matthew 5:6 and Matthew 28:19)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (9/8/2015)

 

The door burst open and Quon stood in the doorway, his face red with anger.

“Next time, you better have a baby boy or I’ll send you back to North Korea. You’ll end up in prison, and this time, you’ll die there,” he screamed with his fists clenched, ready to strike.

Twenty-year old Soo Jin flinched, lifting her arms to protect her face from the expected blows by her elderly Chinese husband. She said nothing, knowing her excuses would only provoke him to greater wrath.

“And don’t even spend time thinking about your baby,” Quon said, “she’s dead.”

“How? Can I see her?” said Soo Jin, looking up at his gray whiskered face, but revealing little response in her vacant eyes.

Quon shook his head.

“I told you if you had a girl baby I’d throw her in the river and I did,” he exclaimed as he turned and partially closed the door. He added, “Tomorrow, you’ll clean the barn. It smells like you. You’re such a loser.”

He slammed the door and locked it.

Soo Jin leaned back against the wall with her knees pulled up near her chest. Her breasts ached from engorgement, but the vaginal discharge from the delivery had ceased. She hoped to wash up in the morning after finishing her chores and then change into clean clothes. Yet, changing clothes presented a problem as Quon would watch on and might be aroused by her nakedness, something she could not bear to think about.

Although exhausted and filled with grief for her dead daughter, Soo Jin braced herself and refused to curl up on the mat. She needed to make decisions, ones she had postponed until after her baby was born. It now was time.

“Oh Jesus, if only You could help me today and not just when I’m dead and in heaven,” she whispered, not waiting for an answer or expecting one.

 

Fourteen months earlier, a frail woman at the prison camp near Hoeryong, North Korea, just across the Tumen River from China, told Soo Jin about Jesus. The woman quoted John 3:16 and stated that if Soo Jin believed in Jesus she would go to heaven when she died.

It was an easy decision to make because heaven sounded better than any future Soo Jin could ever have dreamt for herself. She asked Jesus into her heart. Peaceful warmth comforted her, but agony and hunger soon dimmed its effects. It was now a distant memory hidden in the recesses of her heart.

A friend convinced Soo Jin to escape the prison camp with her. This was another easy decision. Eating rice husks, having electric cattle prods stuck in every body cavity by guards, and watching mothers boil young children for food had driven her close to the edge of insanity and suicide. Escape seemed to be her only answer.

The two girls’ plan was simple: avoid the guards, cross the Tumen River at night, and live happily ever after in China. Their plan succeeded on two out of three counts.

As soon as they crossed the river, two traffickers captured them. Soo Jin’s thirty-year old friend was sold for 3,000 yuan ($761) to a Chinese prostitution ring. Soo Jin was purchased by the elderly Chinese bachelor, Quon, for 7,000 yuan ($1,066).

Thus began her yearlong ordeal at Quon’s farm. Farm chores. House chores. Constant sexual assaults. Beatings. Verbal abuse because she was a North Korean, a loser in Quon’s eyes. It all blended itself into a living Hell for Soo Jin.

Soo Jin made up her mind. She would no longer be a slave and a sperm depository for Quon. She would escape and take her chances. Maybe, this time, she would make it to South Korea.

“Oh, Jesus, why did You create me to be such a loser?” Soo Jin whispered.

(The above fictional story is an excerpt from Deceived Dead and Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook, 2013)

The above fiction was based on the testimonies of thousands of woman who have fled North Korea and crossed into China.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I ask You to raise up thousands of women who have escaped from North Korea, anoint them with Your power, and send them back into North Korea. Help them, Lord, to overcome the Devil’s plans for North Korea with the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and help them to love not their lives even until death. (Based on Revelation 12:11)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

 

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (6/30/2015)

Children's Church markpeddar.wordpress.com

Children’s Church
markpeddar.wordpress.com

In Asia, over 2.5 million children – as young as 4 years old – are enslaved in the sex trade as prostitutes. Half of the total is located in the world’s largest democracy, India.

The reasons for such high numbers include poverty, drugs, lack of morals, political corruption, and huge profits for the brothels and pimps. Murder and accidental death rates are high for the child prostitutes, as are suicides, and very few trafficking victims are ever rescued or escape.

As hopeless and as horrendous as these facts are, we can make a difference through our prayers and fasts.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, You said that if we prayed and fasted, You would hear our voices on high. So, Lord, I ask that You honor Your words spoken through Isaiah that the chains of wickedness enslaving the child prostitutes in Asia are broken and that these oppressed children are set free right now, in Jesus’ name. (Based on Isaiah 58)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (6/23/2015)

Don Bosco Slum in Manila markpedder.wordpress.co

Don Bosco Slum in Manila
markpedder.wordpress.co

In 1892, at the age of twenty-seven, John Hyde departed by ship for India to preach in the Punjab region. After being at sea for a few days, Hyde remembered a letter from a family friend. He opened it and read: “I shall not cease praying for you, dear John, until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The letter angered Hyde because he felt he had everything he needed. He crumpled it up and tossed it on the deck. A few minutes later, he humbled himself and asked the Lord to fill him with the Holy Spirit, no matter what it might cost him.

At that moment, John Hyde became Praying John Hyde.

His fruitlessness and discouragment drove Praying John Hyde to spend days and nights fasting and praying for India and its people. At the end of seven years, he had one solid convert. His missionary friends considered him crazy, a fanatic, and unsuccessful, but Hyde paid no attention to them. He continued to pray and fast.

Praying John Hyde is now recognized as an Apostle of Prayer because he saw thousands of converts and revival break out in the second half of his twenty-year ministry as a missionary to India.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I ask that every discouraged minister and preacher in Asia be filled with Your Holy Spirit so that they will not grow weary in doing good for You. (Based on Acts 9:17 and  Galatians 6:9)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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