“I knew I had to do something to help…”

Prayer underpins everything we do. For the whole CSW team and those whom we serve, prayer is what makes this work possible. It’s prayer that sets people free from prison. It’s prayer that changes nations and it’s prayer that brings freedom.

That’s why we were so privileged recently to spend time chatting with Ros Dalton, one of CSW’s Ambassadors, who has run a prayer group for us for 18 years. Their faithful prayer has underpinned us and our work time and time again.

Here Ros shares her passion for prayer…

Can you tell us a little about what first prompted you to run a prayer group for the persecuted Church?

I was listening to Premier Radio, to a show called Voice for the Voiceless with Mervyn Thomas and Stuart Windsor, talking about persecuted Christians around the world. I didn’t know anything about it before this, but I thought I had to do something about it. I thought there must be other people feeling the same way as I did and if we could get together to pray, that would be something positive we could do.

Can you tell us about a time when you saw your prayers answered?

We were praying for Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani as part of CSW’s 24 hours of prayer for him on the day he was due to appear in court. I had just finished my half hour slot and as soon as I turned on my computer, I discovered that he had been released from prison. It was amazing, I was really excited!

It was even more exciting later on, when he came to speak at CSW’s conference. When he got up to speak, I had a clue that it was going to be him, but when I saw him I started crying. It was so wonderful to see him there in the flesh as we’d been praying for him individually and as a group for many months.

What advice would you give to someone who might want to set up a prayer group?

I’d just say, go for it! You can do as little or as much as you like, but it’s better to do something than nothing. Even if there’s only two or three of you praying together regularly, it’s still so powerful.

Want to follow Ros’ example? Here’s how:

• SIGN UP to receive our weekly prayer emails at www.csw.org.uk/prayer
• CALL OR EMAIL Geni Johnson so she can give you some ideas of how to get started. See next page for her contact details.
• ASK AROUND at your church or among your friends to find one or two people to join you.
• ASK GOD to bring more people to your group and show you who to pray for.

To watch our full interview with Ros, visit www.csw.org.uk/prayer