Donar
Donar

Because many of the people we work with are imprisoned for their beliefs, a lot of our work deals with trials. Sometimes there’s a straightforward progression from arrest to trial, verdict and sentencing. Sadly, it’s not always the case Trials often get delayed or postponed for months or even years. We’re praying for everyone caught in this limbo.

Today, please pray for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. Her case was registered in 2009 and the verdict was delivered in 2010: seven years later, she is still waiting for a judge to hear her final appeal.

As we go to print, eight Christians are on trial in Nepal for giving out comic books about the life of Jesus. Their trial hearings have been postponed several times: please keep praying that they would be set free.

Sometimes, a trial is delayed because the judge hearing the case feels pressure to deliver a certain verdict or to set a legal precedent that they know is wrong. Today, please pray for the judges in charge of these trials: that God would grant them courage and protection.

“Don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!” Luke 18:7-8. Pray this verse over those who are awaiting trial today.

In many countries where CSW works, the rule of law isn’t a given, so the progression from arrest to trial to verdict isn’t as straightforward as we might expect. Today we’re praying that God would be at work in these countries, to bring about justice and a fair legal process for all.

When a trial is delayed, it makes it harder to sustain international attention on an unjust situation. The news cycle is short, and, unfortunately, people lose interest. But we know, Lord, that you do not lose interest and your passion for justice burns strong and eternal. Thank you for this. Amen.

Lord, today we pray for all those who are stuck in the terrible limbo of being permanently on trial. Grant them justice, we pray: and until it comes, give them, their families and their legal teams courage, perseverance, and the hope that only you can provide. Amen.