Prayer Updates

The Indian Government under the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its plan to deport the 40,000 RohingyaA primarily Muslim ethnic group, who live in the Buddhist dominated Myanmar. Muslims living in India as illegal immigrants, as well as registered immigrants under the UN Agencies, registration the government does not acknowledge. According to the news, “A high-profile minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government said in an interview on the weekend that the UNHCR registration was irrelevant. ‘They are doing it, we can’t stop them from registering. But we are not a signatory to the accord on refugees.’” The process for inspection and deportation of the immigrants are still in process.

Among the Rohingya Muslims, there is a group of Muslim Background Believers who are facing great difficulty and chaos because of the plans of the Indian Government to deport them. Pastor Ali*, who looks after the believers, requested prayer for them. “We are facing lots of problems right now. Since there are complaints from the locals, we are not allowed to work anymore and we lost our jobs. We expect that we will also be facing many hardships in the days ahead. Please remember us in your prayers.”

The Rohingya have suffered decades of abuse, torture and extreme hatred because of their religion and ethnicity. They are unwelcomed and unwanted wherever they go. Please pray for our Christian Rohingya brothers and sisters in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and other parts of the world who are facing persecution, not only because of their ethnicity, but also because of their faith. Also let us be praying for the governments of the countries dealing with the Rohingya.

Father, You created all things good and You created man in Your own image. Your imprint remains, though marred, in all people. We pray today for the Rohingya who have become an unwanted people group, who have been turned away from their home country of Myanmar and now face deportation from India. Provide shelter and food and all the necessities of life in the midst of their rejection and struggle. They have become refugees even in their own country; pray for the governments where they have settled. Soften their hearts of the authorities toward this ethnic group and grant them wisdom in how to respond to their plight. Protect the Christians among them, Father, as they experience opposition not only from without the Rohingya community, but also from within. And as the Christians reflect the light of Christ, give the Rohingya people eyes to see You and to find their true home with the Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray with boldness before Your throne of grace, Amen.