Yemen: Pray for Christians facing arrest

Christians in Yemen are experiencing a sharp rise in arrests and torture, resulting in a traumatising impact on affected believers and their families.

The spike has come in recent months. These are not linked to one specific church network, but several different ones.

“We are specifically concerned because torture is used to force the Christians to give information about the activities of believers or names of other believers,” says an Open Doors spokesperson.

Some of the arrested Christians have been released, but they are struggling with the aftermath of what they have experienced.

“We see that their arrest and the torture had, and still has, a deep impact on their families, too,” the spokesperson adds. “They are shocked and are struggling with their faith, as they were counting that God would spare them, that God would intervene. Their faith is shaken.”

Pray for believers shaken by persecution

“Pray that they will see God as a loving and caring God,” they continue. “Pray for the Christian community in Yemen, that the Christians won’t be paralysed by fear and stop visiting and encouraging each other out of fear that, for example, their mobile phones would be traced.”

The persecution of Christians in Yemen – which is number five on the World Watch List – has been extreme for many years. Believers are mostly converts from Islam, but because conversion from Islam to Christianity is forbidden in Islam and Yemeni law, they must keep their faith hidden, with pressure coming from both the government and local communities. A rise in reported incidents of violence meant the country rose two places in the latest World Watch List.

What’s it like to be a Christian in Yemen?

A Christian who goes by the pseudonym Naser not long ago said, “We, the believers, carry hope that helps us with the certainty that tomorrow will be better and that by the will of our Lord, we will pass through this and all the anxieties and fears surrounding us.”

Please use these words to inspire your prayers for our brothers and sisters affected by this recent spate of arrests.