On 21 August, Pastor Kumar*, was attacked and brutally beaten by radical Hindu nationalists in Uttar Pradesh, India. The radicals reportedly accused Pastor Kumar of forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity and used this accusation as a justification for their assault.
According to Pastor Kumar, the radicals attacked while he was returning home from a prayer meeting in Bikampur village, located in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. A mob of 10 fanatics, led by a man named Aklesh Gangyar, surrounded Pastor Kumar and pulled him from his motorbike. Once on the ground, the radicals began to beat Pastor Kumar with wooden clubs.
The attack on Pastor Kumar became so savage that he soon began to think the radicals would murder him.
“God gave me the grace to accept even death,” Pastor Kumar said. “Scriptures were running through my mind as I was being attacked. However, when I thought about my four-year-old daughter and my wife, I was shattered, and it was excruciating.”
The attack lasted nearly two hours. When the radicals finished beating Pastor Kumar, they told him that they would kill him if they saw him in Bikampur village again. As the radicals left, they stole Pastor Kumar’s motorbike and his mobile phone.
Members of Pastor Kumar’s congregation in Bikampur village soon discovered the injured pastor and helped him go to the local police station to report the attack. However, local police refused to file Pastor Kumar’s complaint and accused him of attempting to register a false report. Pastor Kumar’s complaint wasn’t accepted until three days later, after a church leader from outside Bareilly district called the police station and advocated on Pastor Kumar’s behalf.
Pastor Kumar has been serving as a church planter in the Bareilly district for nearly four and a half years. Bikampur village is one of the communities where Pastor Kumar has planted a small church.
To date, the police have not taken any action against the radicals Pastor Kumar named in his complaint. The police have also not recovered Pastor Kumar’s mobile phone or his motorbike.
Unfortunately, the impunity enjoyed by Pastor Kumar’s attackers is not uncommon. Across India, radical Hindu nationalists go unpunished for their crimes against religious minorities. This impunity only emboldens the radicals, whose attacks have become more severe and frequent.
*Name has been changed for security reasons.
Source: International Christian Concern
- Pray for complete healing for Pastor Kumar. Ask the Lord to give him wisdom and strength to continue in his ministry.
- Pray He will help Pastor Kumar, his family and his fellow believers overcome any fear (2 Timothy 1:7).
- Ask the Lord to embolden His church in India to withstand the increasing opposition.
Post your prayer in the comments below.
Blessed and Holy Lord Jesus, thank you for our brother Kumar and his faithful ministry of prayer and evangelism and church planting. Thank you for his family and the faith you have given them to continue. We know the fear of man ensnares us and stops ministry. We plead with you to help our brother by filling him with your Holy Spirit and protecting him and his family from further attack. Whatever the outcome give strength to them to endure and to look to you for wisdom. May you bring justice to this situation (and the many like circumstances that occur all over India) and most importantly, the opportunity for Pastor Kumar to share the Gospel of Jesus with those who bashed and injured him.
Lord Yeshua we bring Pastor Kumar to you this day. Lord you are a God of healing and we ask that you heal Pastor Kumar of not only his physical wounds, but the emotional ones too that come with such a beating. May this beating though strengthen his resolve to continue in his work for you, because Lord you Word says you have not given us a spirit of fear,but of lover,power and a sound mind. We ask that you make that scripture living and active within Pastor Kumar and all the precious believers in India today. So that they can continue to be a strong witness to those in India who do not believe you are God. May your precious Ruach Hakodesh fall on this country today, so we can see a mighty revival occur.
Dear Heavenly Father, maker of all things and all people:
We humbly ask you to take care of and embolden Pastor Kumar and his family, along with his church. Thank you for giving Pastor Kumar to the district of Bikampur. Lord, if it is your will, let these radicals’ eyes be opened and let them see your face. Let us as Christians, come together in prayer, hope, and faith in these tough times for our brothers and sisters. Our hearts break with every report of such heinous activities, but we must stay strong. Keep us strong.
In Jesus’s name, we pray,
Amen
Gracious Father, I praise You and thank You for the life of Pastor Kumar, his family and friends. Give them courage and strength to fight the good fight of faith. I pray they would be uplifted to know they are not forgotten and are being prayed for. For their persecutors; Father bring them under conviction concerning sin, righteousness and the coming judgment. Please take the veil from their eyes, unblock their ears and soften their hearts. Father please bring them to the knowledge of truth and bring them into the Kingdom. I pray that the Gospel will flourish in India, that the Church will be strengthened and that every hindrance to the preaching of the Gospel would be removed. In Jesus precious Name.
Father our hearts break when we hear of our brothers and sisters in Christ harmed in any way. We ask for a hedge of protection to surround Pastor Kumar and his family and to make him invisible to the plans and attacks of the enemy.
I pray for truth and honesty to rise up within the police of India and for the revelation of Christ to infiltrate the darkness and dishonesty.
Bring healing into Pastor Kumar’s body, soul and spirit through the stripes Jesus bore for him. Strengthen him and fill him with greater boldness.
Restore what the enemy has stolen and bless him and his family with the provision they need for daily living, for ministry and for sharing with those around them.
May the work they do in this community overshadow the darkness and draw people into Jesus arms.
Bless them and encourage them
In Jesus Name amen