I have just had a text-message on my mobile telephone from one of my friends in India that our friend Manesh has been assaulted by two men. When he left the worship gathering in his house church he was followed by the two young men. The first time he was able to get away from them, but this time they beat him and threatened him that something much worse would happen to him if he continued to meet with the church in the house.

Manesh is like a son to us. He was a student at a Bible School the first time we met him, many years ago. He was a new believer and had been thrown out of his family when he came to Christ. As I heard his testimony my heart was filled with love for him. When he finished telling his story I looked at him and told him that God loved him and that I loved him. His eyes were filled with tears at this simple expression of love. Then he told us that this was the first time ever somebody had told him that they loved him. From that moment we treated him like a son.

After finishing the Bible School he has been serving God together with other men of God that have been providing a spiritual covering for him. The last few years he has been successful in bringing many local people to Jesus and he leads a growing house-church.

Now he has been beaten and threatened. He needs our prayers. In fact all the Christians in India need our prayer at this crucial time. Opposition and persecution are increasing. There is a growing pressure on believers from fascistic and fundamentalistic Hindu groups. Intercession and prayer are the best help we can give them.