Indian pastors freed: a powerful answer to prayer

Two pastors in Gujarat, India, walked out of prison about two weeks ago, free again to share the Gospel.

Badri and Ramu* had been arrested earlier in the week, accused under India’s anti-conversion laws too often used to silence Christians who share the Gospel. By the end of the week, however, the pastors were freed—walking out of prison thanks to prayer, solidarity and the unshakable courage that defines the persecuted Church.

After being abducted from their ministry work by members of a Hindu nationalist group, the pastors were first handed over to police and reportedly beaten. They were then transferred to a long-term prison facility where they waited and prayed—isolated, hurting, but of course never alone.

When the Christian relief organization Global Christian Relief learned about Badri and Ramu, they did what many of us do: they refused to let the pastors’ pain go unanswered. They collected the needed bail money and a few days later, the pastors were freed!

These pastors—unjustly imprisoned—are now free and continuing their Gospel ministry, supported by faithful believers in their local community.

This is what it means to be one Church, one family. When one part of the Body suffers, we all can do our part to respond.

These pastors stood firm under pressure, trusting God even from a prison cell. Today, they remain committed to leading others to Christ, no matter the cost.

Their story is a real-time reminder of how urgent needs arise in the lives of persecuted believers—and how the global Christian community responds with compassion and action.

*Names changed for security reasons
You can read the original story here, at Global Christian Relief.

Awesome notes of healing and salvation to end the year!

Pastor Paul and team have just wrapped up a week of prayer, fasting and evangelism in an area of India devastated by landslides earlier this year (the deadliest in Kerala's history). BBC News covered it here: The scenic  Indian villages devastated by deadly landslides.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel carrying the body of a victim at the site of a landslide in Wayanad district [Handout/National Disaster Response Force via AFP]

As usual, our Bibles for Mideast ministry leader has an exciting report to share as the week wrapped up.

“By God’s grace, our ministry’s seven days of prayer, fasting and evangelism was a huge success,” Pastor Paul reports. “Hundreds of people attended and experienced the love of our Lord. The Holy Spirit moved throughout the services, with more people attending each day. We also visited houses in the evenings and conducted corner meetings. Many experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ.”

On the fourth day, some of the attendees brought a paralysed Hindu woman, about 26 years old, and placed her in the middle of the prayer meeting. The young woman had been the only of her many immediate family members who had survived the disaster, which she had done, barely, by grabbing onto the branch of a tree for two long, wet, muddy days. More than half of her body had been held fast beneath the heavy mud and water as more mud and mess cascaded down, taking all and everyone with it.  

When rescuers finally found her, badly paralyzed and barely alive, they rushed her to hospital. When released, the young woman, still paralyzed, spent the next four months bedridden at a relative’s home.

This ‘just happened’ to be around the same time Bibles for Mideast had arranged for the seven days of prayer, fasting and evangelism in the devastated area.

So on that fateful fourth day, the young paralyzed woman ended up smack in the middle of the praying people.

“I asked everybody to pray for her,” Pastor Paul recounts. “I saw the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the service.

“When all were praying for her, I held her hand and commanded in the mighty name of Jesus our Lord and Savior that she get up from the floor. Immediately I could see her whole body was shaking violently. And I could actually see blood flowing through her veins.

“Then she stood up from the floor, praising and thanking Jesus! I asked her to walk, then run. She did both, right in the midst of all the prayerful people.

“She then stayed with us and attended the rest of the services and prepared herself for baptism.

“May our Lord’s Name be glorified! She has no house and no land, for it was all wiped out. We pray for her to have a house and a life partner who must be a faithful believer of Jesus Christ.”

The believers held a final worship service Sunday morning, then on Monday the new believers—137 in all—received baptism. Among them were 46 former Muslims and several former Hindus—including of course the formerly paralyzed young woman!

Please pray for all of the new believers: for their spiritual growth, divine guidance, boldness and protection in witnessing to our Lord of lords.

All of us here at Bibles for Mideast pray with Director Pastor Paul that “you have a joyful and faithful season for our Lord’s glory, and a prosperous new year.

“May our Lord be with you, hold you in His nail-pierced hands, and keep you as the apple of His eyes throughout the year and until the end of your life,” he continues. “Amen and hallelujah!”