Pray with Saleha in Afghanistan, who found her true calling in her loss

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters from Afghanistan, which is now the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian.  Meet Saleha (not her real name), in her 40s. She and her husband are members of a movement that wants to bring love and hope to Afghanistan.  So, unlike many around […]

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters from Afghanistan, which is now the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. 

Meet Saleha (not her real name), in her 40s. She and her husband are members of a movement that wants to bring love and hope to Afghanistan. 

So, unlike many around her, Saleha’s marriage to her husband was for love. “She once told me that she was a privilege child in the whole of Afghanistan, even the whole world, because she is the only wife whose husband love her,” shared Open Doors local partner.

This is because, as a member of the hope movement, her husband loves her. He does not beat her like the other husbands in her community. He even taught her how to read and write.

Suspicions and abduction

Instead of understanding, their families and the community became very suspicious of them. “That is seen by them as a bad thing, an anti-fanatical behaviour. They believe that they have sold their faith in Islam and are agents of the West,” our partner said.

As a result, it became too dangerous for them to stay in their home. But before they could move, her husband disappeared. “He was kidnapped. She was left all alone with no one to take care of her,” our partner said.

Some of their close friends, who share the same hope, took it upon themselves to care for her. She was moved to a different city where another family took her in as their daughter.

But she still waits for him to come home, and that waiting has been for many years. “She loves him so much that she refused to believe that he could possibly be dead,” she said. To her, he is alive even though there is no news and every knock on the door could be him.

The waiting and hoping tormented her. There was a season when she was very angry with God. “It was very difficult to see the journey that she went through. She gets excited whenever someone visits her to pray, send her Bible verses and encourage her. But sometimes she is so sad that she is not listening at all. She was so blinded by her grief and anger. It is in those difficult paths, where she could do nothing or see nothing, that her adopted family and friends continue to love and pray for her,” said our partner.

A new hope

She would sing songs that she and her husband used to sing together. She sang it to remember him. But later, the meaning of the songs broke through her anger.

“She came to realise who was with her and protected her. She remembered the original intent of her husband and her to bring hope to the nation. She remembered the difficult times they went through and how He was with them. And she finally realised that the sacrifice she had made as a young wife, in losing her husband, can nowhere be compared to the Greatest Sacrifice of All Time,” said our partner.

So, she learnt to be a daughter in her new home. She also learnt to be an older sister to her younger siblings, and that’s where she found her mission field, God’s calling for her life. She teaches them the Word of God and help them to memorise scriptures. Her adopted siblings became her own children since she doesn’t have any children.

Please pray

• Pray for the movement of hope in Afghanistan, for only truth can free the people from the bondage of sin and death
• Pray for the many people, especially women’s rights group, who does not agree with the teachings of Taliban. May God grant them wisdom and protection to continue their fight to bring light, hope and freedom to the country
• Pray for the Taliban, not for the group but individual members with it, from the foot soldiers to the top leadership. Pray for God to grant them a miracle of understanding. They are looking for a way to heaven, so pray for God to reveal to them Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Light.

—

The Taliban forces schoolteacher from home and job and puts her wedding in doubt

20 April 2022

One day Sister Fazlia* was a schoolteacher, the next she was jobless. One day she was preparing for her wedding, the next it was put on hold. One day she was respected by the community, the next she was fleeing for her life. 

The turning point was last summer, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan and even came looking for Sister Fazlia. 

“Her dreams are now kind of held midway,” shares Hana Nasri*, an Open Doors local partner who visited her in a neighbouring country. “Her wedding dress was all ready but now the whole world changed for her. We held each other crying. And she kept pointing to heaven. That’s where her strength to endure comes from.”

Sister Fazlia left Afghanistan with seven school children, as well as some nephews and nieces. Now out of the country, she continues to teach the children, but with Bible songs. 

“Having lived all her life in a culture where a father, a husband, a brother or a son provides protection and safeguards a woman’s decisions and journey, the stretch of road she’s on now is particularly challenging as she assumes those responsibilities herself in an alien environment,” explains Hana Nasri.

It means that Sister Fazlia’s own dreams may go unfulfilled, as she faces the possibility of having to sacrifice her hopes of a wedding and a family of her own, as well as her career. Her priority today is the children in her care. “I have always loved them very much,” she says. “And I wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of them. I made the right choice, but I don’t know how my story will end.”

“At that moment,” Hana Nasri continues, “Fazlia took my hand and said, ‘Your hands, for now, are like God’s loving hand on me.’ She then pointed to heaven, from where she gets her strength.”

Women disempowered by the Taliban 

Sister Fazlia’s experiences as a schoolteacher are a grim reflection of the way women and girls are inhibited under Taliban rule. 

The group promised the opening of schools for girls on 21 March – a move welcomed by the international community, as it suggested that the new government would not revert to their old ways of not allowing women to study or work.

But on 23 March, just hours after schools officially reopened, the ministry of education overturned their previous decision – secondary schools for Afghan girls were suddenly closed, to the heartbreak and dismay of thousands of young girls and parents in the country.

Hana Nasri says this wasn’t at all surprising and, irrespective of whether or not schools open, the Taliban’s ideology is aimed at disempowering women.

“The death sentence to any woman having a professional career was passed the day the Taliban came to power,” she says. “Regardless of whether schools open or not, the curriculum to be used (if the schools are opened) will be a curriculum meant to brainwash them and keep them hidden, debilitating them and slowing their growth down. The idea is to paralyse them.

“If you give a woman the ability to leave her house to go to a school building, you give her agency. So even if her brother wraps her up in a burqa and takes her from her front door to the school – even if these are the only two doors this woman will ever pass through – it will be empowering for her, and the Taliban doesn’t want that. The Taliban wants to rob women of any agency.”

Afghan women are at a standstill. Those in the country have had to deal with the reinstated anti-women policies of the Taliban – such as being limited in their public appearances without a male chaperone, staying within segregated public spaces, and most recently, preventing teenagers from attending school. 

“The women are confused, angry, disappointed and afraid, both inside the country and outside,” Hana Nasri continues. “Those who are in the country contend with the restrictions being imposed on them, while women who have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees have put their lives on hold.”

“I recently met a mother whose daughter used to freely be able to go to school in Afghanistan, and now as a refugee, she can’t,” shares Desiree*, another Open Doors local partner, following a visit to see Afghan refugees in a neighbouring country. “She doesn’t have papers or any of the requirements needed in this foreign land, she doesn’t have the means. Now this young girl just stays at home. There are no opportunities for her. And they say that as long as the Taliban is in power, they will never go back.”

Choosing to stay hopeful

Despite this, Hana Nasri says that although the future for believers (especially women) will always be bleak as long as the Taliban is in power, they choose to remain hopeful. 

“Times are very difficult and I miss my husband,” she heard from Farah*, an Afghan believer who has been separated from her husband since the Taliban took over for reasons we cannot share. “We try to talk as often as we can in a safe way. Sometimes, I wake up absolutely sure that he must have died. In those moments, I have to decide whether I will live the rest of my life as a rejected widow or a faithful child of God.”

In some ways, it’s easier for women to stand strong in the Lord. “Being somewhat invisible makes it easier for women to have fellowship and seek comfort from one another,” Hana Nasri says. “Women are known to talk to each other, over the walls, in the small spaces afforded them. They encourage each other and serve each other by taking care of one another. When one has something, they  can give to the other. For men who are in the public space, it’s more difficult to have fellowship, as eyes are on them.”

Afghanistan is number one on the World Watch List, making it the most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian. This year, we are inviting supporters to join us in praying throughout the year for Afghan Christians and their country. One way you can do this is through our new A Silence for the Silenced resource, which you can work through individually or with a church or small group. Thank you for your faithful support for our Afghan family.

*Names changed for security reasons    

—

30 March 2022

Fear and uncertainty continue to reign in Afghanistan, six months after the Taliban takeover

While tens of thousands have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, those who remain continue to watch, wait and suffer. The United Nations recently released a report which stated that 400 civilians have lost their lives since the Taliban takeover, and more than 80% of these have been killed from attacks linked to so-called Islamic State.

Disease, water shortages and job losses

“These days, there is relative peace, but uncertainty reigns in the hearts of people as the days unfold,” shares Open Doors frontline partner Hana Nasri*. “The economy is debt-ridden and completely dependent on foreign aid. Thousands have lost their jobs in the political upheaval.

“There’s a huge humanitarian problem. A water problem. Large numbers of families are living together in hiding – when the electricity goes, when something is broken, families in hiding can’t ask anyone to help with the repairs.

“The weather is also changing rapidly. We didn’t have spring – it just went straight into summer. In this heat, there will be more cholera, dysentery, amoebas. There’s a lot of disease, and now, it’s not just Covid-related only. Things are expected to get worse when the heat escalates.”

‘Brainwashing’ by the Taliban

While some women in healthcare and essential services have been allowed to join the workforce, the majority are not allowed to work. The Taliban publicly shared that Afghan girls will be back to school by 21 March. Girls in grades one to six are indeed allowed to attend school under severe restrictions but, out on the ground, people know that this is religious education – a trusted contact calls it ‘brainwashing to create informants for the future’, saying ‘a whole new system of indoctrination is now being used, and that girls in higher grades do not have the freedom to study’.

“We’ve been told a lot about women being stopped and abducted, not just believers,” adds Hana Nasri. “It’s happening to everyone. The door-to-door search is continuing. Intimidation is going on – any kind of religion in the country won’t be tolerated.”

How to keep praying for Afghanistan

“Please pray for those who have no access to jobs, that God will make a way for them to have an income to sustain their families. Pray that education will be freely available to all.

“Please especially pray for the women and marginalised communities. Please pray for people from ethnic minorities, that they can prosper and live freely in the nation. Many live in hiding for fear of being found out and killed. Please pray for those in positions of leadership, that God will open their eyes to see the truth and lead the nation with righteousness.”

With their lives on hold, Afghan refugees ask, “Please don’t forget us!”

Heavenly Father, provide food, water and jobs for those in need in Afghanistan. Bring peace to fearful hearts, and heal all those who are suffering from physical, emotional or spiritual wounds. We especially lift to You those who are being marginalised – encourage them and provide opportunities for them to flourish in their God-given identities and callings. For all Afghans – be that in the country or elsewhere – may there be moments of joy and laughter amid the suffering and challenges. Amen.

*name changed for security reasons

—

21 March 2022

How to pray for Afghanistan

Since the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan last year, it has never been more dangerous to be a secret Afghan believer – and our persecuted church family there are crying out for us to join them in prayer. 

On our dedicated prayer page for Afghanistan you can find an outline for a time of prayer that can be used in church services. and also an undated monthly prayer diary.

Find out more

More ways to pray 

Gulshan’s story

Thank you for your faithful prayers for your Afghan family, and for this country that is facing so much turmoil. Open Doors has received another prayer update, with seven ways you can keep praying for Afghanistan and for your persecuted church family.

—

28 February 2022

Pray for the lawmakers

Last Friday, September 24, a Taliban official declared Afghanistan’s return to executions, including Sharia punishments such as amputation, stoning, and flogging. The Taliban leadership has previously given the impression that they would enforce a more humane kind of governance since they took power in August, yet this new announcement only shows a return to their hardliner roots. Taliban sympathisers within the country have also expressed support for the adoption of these penalties. Pray for the lawmakers and implementers of the law to uphold and preserve human life in Afghanistan. Pray for the Lord to turn their hearts from their wicked ways.

Pray for the flow of information in the country

More than a hundred media companies in Afghanistan have reportedly ceased operations. In the months leading up to the Taliban takeover, many reporters have already fled for their lives, and those who have stayed are living in fear that reporting on sensitive information, such as the situation of women, could cost them everything. Journalists – especially local ones – are afraid.

Pray that Afghanistan would not fall into news censorship. Pray that Afghanistan citizens will continue to have access to reliable information. Also pray against misinformation – a lot of fake news about the situation of refugees and the situation of the underground church has been circulating in social media in and out of the country. Pray against the spread of lies.

Pray for the hungry

Winter is coming in Afghanistan. This exacerbates the already dire situation of locals who have not had enough food, and have been struggling since (and even before) the height of the Taliban conflict. Now that the Taliban has been in power for over a month and that the economy has virtually come to a standstill, food prices have skyrocketed. The World Food Program recently reported that 93% of Afghan people have not been getting enough food to eat. Ask God to have mercy and feed the hungry.

Pray for the sick

The World Health Organization says all aspects of Covid-19 response have dropped in the country, and that the health system in Afghanistan is ‘on the brink of collapse.’ They report that approximately 90% of the country’s healthcare facilities are at the risk of closing. Pray for the Lord’s provision over Afghanistan’s healthcare system and for His healing for all those who are sick.

Pray for the secret believers

Saad*, one local believer, tells our frontline partners that he and his fellow Christians are already known to the Taliban. “The list has been circulated with our names on it,” he says. He mentions that in their secret network all they could do is ask one another about how they are doing – “We call one another and ask about headaches, shoulder pain, injuries, old health concerns, all in a bid to remain connected,” he shares. “For now, this is all we can ask.” Pray for protection for the believers who have been exposed to the Taliban, and protection for those who are already at risk of being killed. Pray for believers who are missing, that their loved ones will be able to find them.

Pray for the ones attempting to flee

Many governments, NGOs and ministries are involved in extraditing Afghan locals. Though many believers have chosen to stay, some desperately want to flee and they face huge risks. Many of those who want to flee are also without passports. Pray for the governments, ministries and private individuals helping those leaving Afghanistan. Pray too that in this situation, where so many are choosing to leave, that the Lord will keep His church within the country alive. Pray that the believers who have chosen to stay would not falter in their faith.

Pray for Open Doors partners and the global church

Open Doors partners are working around the clock to meet with refugees and believers. Pray that they be covered in the Lord’s protection and grace. Pray for their safe travel and for access to the right places and people. Pray for God’s peace to fill their hearts, for God’s love to overflow through them as they minister to and come alongside Afghan refugees. Pray for the church around the world to be prepared for the Afghan diaspora – pray for God to open their hearts to receive Afghan refugees with warmth, and to reach them with the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

9 ways to pray for Afghanistan

20 September 2021

Following the news about Afghanistan makes it easy to feel helpless, especially at the scale of these developments. The barrage of disheartening news can feel overwhelming, but our brothers and sisters in the thick of it all are responding with faith. The one thing they ask the global church right now is to pray for them. Through prayer, we can respond in faith the same way they do. The following prayer points come from partners.

1. Pray for those who have stayed

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, many Christians fled. But there are believers inside the country who have chosen to stay to be a witness for the Lord. Pray for the body of Christ who chose to remain in the country – for safety, security, strength and opportunities as they live through and adjust to their new government.

2. Pray for those who have fled

Pray for those who have moved out of the country – that they will stay faithful to the Lord. Pray that they will continue to receive God’s presence, wisdom and peace in their hearts.

3. Pray for the young girls and the women

Girls and women are more vulnerable under the Taliban rule. Many are afraid that their education will be cut short, or will be a cause of shame, not confidence. Some women have been reported to have burned their diplomas to hide the fact that they’ve received schooling. Pray that the Enemy will not rob them of the desire to continue learning and exploring despite the stance of their new leaders on education.

4. Pray for the secret believers

Practically all Christians in the country are secret believers. Honour killings happen frequently in the Afghan context, if anybody puts so-called ‘shame’ on the family. Becoming an ‘apostate’ is considered one of the worst things you can do to your family. The Taliban are also actively seeking for secret believers.

5. Pray for the seekers

Pray that, inside and outside of Afghanistan, those who want to find truth will find Jesus. Pray for the church around the world to take opportunity in this diaspora to show the love of Christ to the people.

6. Pray for the food and economic situation

While global attention is on the conflict, local Afghans are going hungry. Jobs have been cut, salaries have been delayed and many businesses have been forced to closed because of the ongoing conflict. Locals continue to flood banks in a bid to withdraw their resources, but even currency supply has been dwindling. The World Food Programme fears that due to the drought and famine, 14 million people in Afghanistan could be pushed to the brink of starvation. Ask the Lord to provide food and necessities to the Afghan people.

7. Pray for the Covid-19 situation

The country’s chief of public health recently admitted that healthcare facilities are collapsing, vaccination rates are falling and there is a shortage in oxygen supply. He also mentioned that a third of the Covid tests in the country are coming back positive. Pray for God’s healing for the sick in Afghanistan.

8. Pray that no more terrorist attacks will take place

Last August, two explosions occurred near the local airport, killing more than 60 locals and 13 American soldiers. The bombings were claimed by so-called Islamic State in Khorasan, an extremist group at odds with the Taliban. Ask the Lord to put an end to the plans of these extremist groups – pray that He would confuse them and hinder them from putting more people in danger.

9. Pray for the Taliban

Recently, the Taliban planned the inauguration of its temporary cabinet on 9/11 this year, but postponed the ceremony after international pressure. The new officials include known Islamic fundamentalists who espouse a harsh interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law), as well as one worldwide terrorist wanted by the FBI. The Bible calls for us to pray for persecutors. Pray for miracles – pray that God will reveal Himself to these leaders through dreams and visions.

15 September 2021

Pray for Afghan refugees

The past few weeks have been a devastating, confusing, and uncertain time for all Afghan people, and asylum-seekers have spread from Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to many other places. In the wake of this global crisis, front line partners working with the refugees in Central Asia ask for your intercession, as the past weeks have taken such a huge emotional toll on the people.

 “We are in such a difficult time for all refugees emotionally,” shares Aysha*, one of the ‘frontliners’.

“There are lots of refugees pouring into my area – families, women with children. Refugees, especially women, are emotionally broken, very stressed, and often crying because they lost their homes, because of what they experienced in the last weeks, and because of the situation in their country.”

Aysha continues, “We need prayers for wisdom, strength and new opportunities to serve the women, such as trauma counselling, and helping them assimilate in this new country. Pray that we can share the gospel with them and bring them to local churches. Please pray for the refugee women, for the Afghan people and for our ministry.”

Hamad*, another partner, expresses worry that the refugee crisis could lead to further tensions in his country (which we can’t name for security reasons): “Due to what is happening today in Afghanistan, the situation in our country is now rather tense. We are very concerned that the people in our country with extremist Islamic views – those who dream about creating an Islamic caliphate – can take advantage of the situation in Afghanistan and start an Islamic revolt here.”

Hamad asks for continued prayers: “Please pray for this situation in our country and for the hearts of those people who want Islam to rule the state. Also, pray for us Christian believers, for wisdom and courage in such an anxious time to carry the gospel. Pray that we can carry the goodness and love of our Lord Jesus Christ to Muslim people in our country.”

Please pray

• For the refugees, that the Lord would meet their physical, spiritual and emotional needs
• For Aysha, Hamad and other frontline workers – that the Lord would cover them in His wisdom and enable them to minister to the people entrusted to their care
• For the local believers to stand in faith and ministry, that they would be Christ’s hands and feet in welcoming and loving their Afghan neighbours in this critical time.

9 September 2021

Taliban announce new leadership

Less than a month after its complete takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban has announced the newly appointed officials of its interim cabinet. According to as-yet-unconfirmed reports, this new government will be inaugurated on September 11, 2021 – the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. 

The interim government will be helmed by new Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund, who previously served as governor of Kandahar province. The Conversation describes Akhund as a ‘conservative, religious scholar whose beliefs include restrictions on women and the denial of civil rights for ethnic and religious minorities’.

Another notable appointment is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the new Acting Minister of Interior, a known extremist who’s on the FBI’s most wanted list. He is reported to have a $5,000,000 bounty on his head.

A Christian in the region has managed to share this prayer:

Dear Lord, while surrounded by the sounds and sights and smells of death, we find it hard to see the future. We find it hard to understand why these men of evil intent are the helm of affairs. The Bible says the Government is upon your shoulders. But this government is evil. Lord you change their evil intent. Lord what they mean for evil unto us, you turn it to good. Lord, may an attack like 9/11 never happen again. But may the hearts of believers everywhere pray for miracles and hope in this beloved and beautiful land. Help us Lord to love, to trust and to hope when it feels impossible. Amen

“Pray the Bible,” says contact in the region

23 August

As you continue to see shocking images and hear shocking stories from Afghanistan, we know that you and all Open Doors supporters are keen to stand with Afghan people in prayer. But knowing how to pray is hard.

One of the key prayer beliefs of Brother Andrew, the founder of Open Doors, is that we shouldn’t just pray FOR the persecuted church, but rather we need to pray WITH the persecuted church. Praying with someone means you listen to that person and pray the words that he or she prays. 

What do the believers in Afghanistan pray for? From what we know of persecuted believers across the world, they want to survive and live, but at the same time, have already laid down their lives. They want to stay faithful until the end.

Those are the two main prayers: to survive and to remain faithful.

Praying with your brother and sister is a spiritual embrace, one that connects two hearts, so they can beat as one for the One.

‘Pray the Bible’

And what if you run out of words? What if you don’t have enough information to pray?

“Then pray the Bible”, a local friend in the region says. “Pray for the Esthers, that they can provide protection for the one they love. Pray for the Samuels, who may hear God’s voice calling out to them. Pray that they will say: ‘Here I am, Lord’.

“Pray for Christian Davids, men with a warrior heart. Pray for the Lydias, faithful women serving the church. Pray for the Abrahams leading their families. Pray for the Noahs, Daniels, Ruths, Naomis, Peters, Pauls, Marys and Marthas. Pray for each character in the Bible and their Afghan equivalents.

“Pray the Psalms of praise and the Psalms of lament. Pray the desperate words of Job and the comforting words of Jesus on the mount. Pray for visions of Jesus on the cross and visions of Jesus in heaven, welcoming those who have conquered the world.”

6 ways you can pray for Afghanistan

• Pray for wisdom in how to survive. Ask the Lord to guide the citizens in the country – especially our brothers and sisters – in how to deal with interrogations and brutalities in the days to come.
• Pray for believers will receive the pastoral care that they need.
• Pray for children in Afghanistan. Pray for the schools and educational programs, that somehow they will function. And pray that God will preserve the dignity and wellness of the children, by raising up bold prophetic warriors who will guard children’s safety and fight for their protection from all kinds of abuses.
• Pray for health and wellness. Medicines are in short supply. Pray that clean water continues to run in taps – if water becomes contaminated in the cities, there will be widespread disease and illness.
• Pray for food to be accessible and affordable. People are struggling right now, because supply chains have broken down – as they are slowly reinitiated, inflation and access is becoming a problem. “The Taliban will first feed their soldiers then us,” a local friend of our ministry says.
• Pray that God will provide work for the day labourers and others who are currently without income.

Afghanistan confirmed to be under Sharia Law, posing a grim future for secret believer

20 August 2021

As the Taliban settles into power in Afghanistan and reinstates Sharia (Islamic law), the small population of believers in the country fear the worst. In a recent interview with Reuters, high-ranking Taliban commander Waheedullah Hashimi confirmed that Afghanistan would not be a democracy under the Taliban, and that they will implement no law but Sharia.

He says, “There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country… We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is Sharia law and that is it.”

During their rule in the 1990s, the Taliban had been known to have an extreme interpretation of Sharia, including imposing oppressive rules for women and violent punishments on ‘infidels’, including believers who have left their Muslim faith to follow Christ.

Brother Samuel (name changed), Open Doors Field Director for Asia, continues to ask for prayers: “These are uncertain times for Christians in Afghanistan. It’s absolutely dangerous. We don’t know what the next months will bring, what kind of implementation of Sharia we will see, but we continue to ask you to intercede for our brothers and sisters. They are facing insurmountable adversity. We must pray without ceasing.”

In an exclusive interview with CBN, local believer Hamid (whose name has been changed for security reasons) shares fears that the Taliban will eliminate the Christian population. He says: “We know a Christian believer who we’ve been working within the north, he’s a leader and we’ve lost contact with him because his city has fallen to the Taliban. There are three other cities that we have lost contact with our Christian believers.”

“Some of the believers are known in their communities, people know that they converted from Islam to Christianity, and they are considered apostates and the penalty for that is death,” Hamid continues. “The Taliban are famous for carrying out that punishment.”

Since the Taliban took full control on Monday, chaos and an eerie sense of calm has come over Afghanistan. Images of locals stampeding to board US airships have flooded social media, while in the streets and marketplaces, rifle-brandishing members of the Taliban roam to keep the peace.

Ex-President Ashraf Ghani, previously reported to have fled in Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, has now resurfaced in UAE. Accused by the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan of leaving the country with a helicopter full of cash, Ghani maintains in his first public address that he was forced by his security officials to leave Kabul to prevent bloodshed.

Please continue to pray for Afghanistan.

A prayer for Afghanistan based on Psalm 57:1-5

Have mercy on them, my God, have mercy on them, for in You they take refuge. They will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed. We cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates us. He sends from heaven and saves, rebuking those who hotly pursue. God sends forth His love and His faithfulness. Your children in Afghanistan are in the midst of lions, forced to dwell among ravenous beasts. Men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth. Amen.

5 urgent ways you can pray for Afghanistan

16 August 2021

Afghanistan is now held by the Taliban. This week, Al Jazeera released exclusive videos of Taliban fighters entering the capital city Kabul with ease, taking the reins in the Presidential Palace, and declaring an end to the 20-year war. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country over the weekend, reportedly to prevent further bloodshed.

“It’s a heartbreaking day for the citizens of Afghanistan, and an even more dangerous time to be a Christian,” says Brother Samuel, Open Doors Field Director for Asia (whose name has been changed for security reasons). “It’s an uncertain situation for the whole country, not just for secret believers. Our hearts are broken. We knew this could happen. We are not surprised but this does not make the pain any less.”

Afghan citizens are in a frenzy – lining up in banks in a last-ditch attempt to withdraw their savings and flocking the Kabul airport to flee the country. Many locals who have spent the last couple of years helping the US forces are now applying for visas to leave.

Though the Taliban promises a more modern and reformed approach to government, fears remain as to how they will impose Sharia (Islamic law) in the days to come.

Brother Samuel adds, “Secret believers in Afghanistan are especially vulnerable. Prior to Taliban rule, they already had a very difficult time living out their faith, as they had to keep it secret from their families for fear of being shunned, or worse, killed. Now that the Taliban is in power, their vulnerability increases tenfold. It would be almost impossible to be a follower of Jesus in this country. We are monitoring the situation, but this is the time for us to ask God to have mercy not only on His people, but on this country as a whole.”

Afghanistan is number two in Open Doors’ World Watch List.

Five ways to pray for Afghanistan today

• Please pray for the small group of believers in the country. They are walking on eggshells and are uncertain who to trust. Pray that they find strength, wisdom, and supernatural peace in God’s promises.
• Pray for the displaced. A new wave of refugees is expected to come from Afghanistan to many parts of the Middle East and the rest of the world. Pray for God’s protection and provision over them in their journeys.
• Pray for the women. Many women fear that the Taliban rule would mean they would be stripped of opportunities for education. Women involved in education during the past years could also be at risk – pray for their protection.
• Pray for the sick. Though underreported in international media, Covid-19 cases are spiking in the country and hospitals are limited in what they can offer. There is no certainty as to how the healthcare system will be able to sustain itself with the new Taliban government. Pray that the healthcare system will not collapse.
• Pray that the country will not be a haven for extremists. The Taliban government of 20 years ago are known enablers of extremist Islamic organisations. With their newfound control over Afghanistan, the country could be host to a new generation of terror groups.