The right to enthuse others peacefully about your beliefs is regularly violated in Cuba, despite government statements guaranteeing freedom of religion for all. At the end of February 2013, the Full Gospel Church in Havana Province was forcibly closed. Cuban authorities closed the church and confiscated everything inside it, leaving more than 200 people without a place of worship.

Pastor Jesus Hernandez appealed to the authorities to resolve the matter, and was informed that there was a dispute regarding the ownership of the church. However, it’s believed that the church was targeted because of Pastor Hernandez’s friendship with leaders of the Apostolic Movement, a rapidly growing church movement that the government has openly and aggressively worked to eliminate in recent years.

This week please:

• Thank God for Cuban Christians who hold onto their faith despite the challenges they face;
• Pray for strong relationships between different denominations in the Church in Cuba;
• Pray for the Full Gospel Church in Havana, as they try to find another place to worship;
• Pray that Christians in Cuba would be allowed to enthuse others peacefully about their faith, without fear of attack;
• Ask God to give wisdom to Christian leaders as they work with the authorities and lead their congregations;
• Pray for favour for CSW’s Latin America team as they work to bring to light cases of religious freedom violations;
• Remember to pray on the 18th for those around the world facing harassment as they exercise their right to peacefully share their faith.
• Thanks for praying on the 18th. In your new 2014 diary, please mark the 18th of each month for prayer for the Operation 18 campaign.