{"id":26733,"date":"2024-12-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/prayer\/prayer-diary-giving-thanks-6396\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:58:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T20:58:31","slug":"prayer-diary-giving-thanks-6396","status":"publish","type":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/prayer\/prayer-diary-giving-thanks-6396\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer Diary: Giving thanks."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5148bf1300723a653bb7139c157b5676.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before we welcome in the new year, let\u2019s raise our voices in praise and thanksgiving. While many difficult situations will continue into 2025, we also heard much good news in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">S<b>unday 29 December<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After nearly a year in solitary confinement, Bishop Rolando \u00c1lvarez Lagos was released in January 2024. Give thanks that he is no longer serving over 26 years on false charges; no longer in inhumane conditions. However, the bishop was sadly exiled from Nicaragua. Please keep him in your prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Monday 30 December<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson was also released in 2024. He was initially freed in April, but was taken away again the very same day for reasons unknown. After three months in a property within the prison grounds, Rev Samson was released once more. Pray for him and many others in Myanmar\/Burma who bravely stand against injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Tuesday 31 December<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May, an appeal court in Kano, Nigeria, reduced the excessive prison sentence of Mubarak Bala from 24 years to 5 years. Mr Bala, who is the president of the Nigerian Humanist Association, was arrested in April 2020 after he was accused of insulting Islam on Facebook. Pray for him as he nears the end of his sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Wednesday 1 January<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Give thanks that an agreement was reached in Hidalgo, Mexico, which should allow 151 Protestant Christians to return home. The group were forced from their villages (Rancho Nuevo and Coamila) in April 2024 by the religious majority, which is Roman Catholic. Pray that the local authorities would now honour the agreement so that the families can return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Thursday 2 January<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In October, the UN Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the fact-finding mission on Sudan. Praise God that this group of experts will be able to continue their vital work, investigating and exposing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. We pray also for a lasting peace in Sudan and that all perpetrators will be brought to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Friday 3 January<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Praise God for the small victories in Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo\u2019s case. The UN officially ruled that he is detained arbitrarily, which we hope will put pressure on the Cuban government to free Pastor Lorenzo. He was also allowed some day visits home, and even attended his son\u2019s wedding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Saturday 4 January<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read Psalm 145 and celebrate the Lord\u2019s abundant goodness! Could you tell one person about the good news you\u2019ve read in this week\u2019s Prayer Diary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2024-12-29-prayer-diary-giving-thanks.pdf\">Download a printable copy of this week&#8217;s Prayer Diary<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some highlights of 2024, things to give thanks for.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8650,"template":"","regions":[],"class_list":["post-26733","prayer","type-prayer","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/prayer"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41403,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prayer\/26733\/revisions\/41403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=26733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}