Delhi, India: Church Attacked by Hindu Mob

As Pastor Satpal Bhati and other fellow believers prepared for church in his home last month, a group of about 100 Hindu extremists entered with weapons and sticks. To shouts of, “Jai Shri Ram” (Glory to Lord Rama) and “Hindu Rashtra Hamara Hai” (This Hindu nation is ours), they tore pages from Bibles, vandalized a portrait of Jesus and attacked the Christians; five ended up in the hospital. So far, no one involved in the event has been arrested. (Read the full story at Global Christian Relief, Sept. 1.)

About 69,000,000 Christians live in India, but in a Hindu nation where more than 1.3 billion people (including 2,135 unreached people groups) have never heard the Good News about Christ, they have become a severely persecuted minority. Tens of thousands of attacks against Christians are reported every year, ranking India #11 on the World Watchlist of most dangerous countries for Christians to live.

“In recent years there has been a big increase in Hindutva, an ideology that believes only Hindus are true Indians, and that Christians, Muslims and other religious minorities have ‘foreign’ roots and must be expelled. Hindu extremists seem able to attack others with impunity, even using extreme violence in some parts of the country. 

“Increasing numbers of states are implementing anti-conversion laws, supposedly to stop Hindus being forcibly converted to other religions, but in reality they are often used as an excuse to harass and intimidate Christians who are just doing things like distributing aid or having a private church meeting. These laws do not seem to protect Christians from being coerced back into Hinduism.”

Open Doors

Lord, we thank You for the faith of these Christians. Please heal their bodies, minds and hearts from the effects of these attacks. Give them grace to forgive and love that casts out fear. 1 John 4:18. Draw all the Christians in this church closer together in You, and increase their faith to stand. Don’t let them stop meeting out of fear, but be a Shield around them, empowering them to share Your love all the more boldly. Protect them from any future attacks. If anyone comes against them, open their eyes to see Your angels standing there with swords blazing. Drop their weapons in terror and send them running away, never to return except to seek You as the One True God and know You. Bring the attackers of this church to justice, Lord, but more than that, draw them to Yourself. Visit them in their dreams at night, and all throughout the day. Get up in their face, invade their space, and show them Your power and glory. Make them so miserable over their sin, they will fall to their knees in fear of the Lord, lay down all their false gods and worship You alone. For only You are the God who can fill the empty spaces in their hearts. Only Your love can fulfill them in the ways that they hunger. Break the chains that bind them to demons, and set them free to lay down hatred and violence and choose the One who loves them so much He gave His life so they can live.

More prayers for India:

• Pray God will place a deep hunger for Him in the hearts of every person in India, awakening them to His love.
• Pray He will break the chains that bind Hindus to more than 3,000 false gods, and set them free to worship Him alone.
• Pray for legislation to be overturned and reversed in states that restrict conversions, and for Christians to be protected by law from brutal attacks. 
• Pray God will block anti-Christian laws from being signed in other Indian states.
• Pray for God to surround every Christian with armies of angels shielding them from persecution and harm.
• Pray persecutors will visibly see those angel armies, tremble in fear of the Lord, repent and be saved.
• Pray God will miraculously rescue Christians who are in danger.
• Pray imprisoned Christians will feel God’s presence near, and He will embolden and anoint them to spread the Good News with the lost who are also in jail.
• Pray for a special anointing on every believer to share the Good News, and that God will bring to them those who are hungry to hear. Pray for boldness to share, even in the face of opposition, and all will see their faith and God’s love demonstrated through them and be drawn to Christ. 
• Pray for the Gospel to reach every one of the 1,332,045,000 people in India in a way they can easily understand, and their hearts will be moved by Truth that sets them free.
• Pray the Bible will be translated into every language in India and made available to every person.
• Pray God will raise up all the more prayer warriors to fight for the peoples of India.
• Pray for pastors, evangelists, churches Christian orphanages, leadership trainings and other ministries in India, that God will bless them abundantly and give them favor with authorities and everyone around them; that He will provide all their needs so abundantly they will also abundantly bless their communities; that He will shine His light in the darkness through them bringing millions to faith; that churches will multiply again and again until every person in all of India has had the opportunity to choose Christ.

Let’s also continue to pray for Christians who have lost church buildings, homes and loved ones to violent attacks in India’s northeastern state of Manipur.

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Mikaela Vincent and her husband are missionaries who live by faith, trusting in God to provide for their needs as they pray for and share Christ with the nations. If you would like to help their ministry through a donation, or by finding gifts for those you love at Mikaela’s online bookstore, click the buttons below:

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