Today we are inviting the Body of Christ to stand with us in prayer over the trial for Andrew Brunson. Andrew is an American pastor & our friend from Izmir, Turkey, who has been jailed over supposed connections to the group accused of organizing a failed military coup in July 2016.
The charges against Andrew are completely baseless, and Andrew’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt recently told Reuters, “there is evidence that shows Brunson was arrested due to his faith.” Cece Heil with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) told CBN News, “they have no specific evidence that Pastor Brunson committed any crime. The fact specifically that he’s a Christian and a Christian Pastor is what they are equating as terrorism and the crimes that he has committed.”
To symbolize the importance of Andrew’s case for Washington, Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador at large for religious freedoms, and Senator Thom Tillis were present in the courtroom today. Hurriyet Daily News reported that Andrew told the courtroom today, “I want the whole truth to be revealed. I reject all the accusations in the indictment. I haven’t been involved in any illegal activity. I haven’t done anything against Turkey. On the contrary, I love Turkey. I have been praying for Turkey for 25 years,” added Brunson.
How to pray for Andrew Brunson:
1.) “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” – Isaiah 61:1
“The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God, I cried for help. From his temple, he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” – Psalm 18:4-6
FREEDOM | We pray for freedom and opening of the prison doors to Andrew, and we ask for everything the enemy has stolen from Andrew to be returned to him. We pray that the truth would be exposed like the daylight and also that the lies will be exposed. We pray that the Christian witnesses who plan to speak against Andrew will be convicted by God for the false accusations they have made. We pray Andrew will be set FREE and that God would receive all the glory in this!
2.) “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7
PEACE | God, we pray that Andrew Brunson would be filled to overflowing with Your peace and that it would guard his heart and mind. We pray also for Andrew’s family to be filled with peace & confidence in Your plan as they enter into the trial today. We also pray for his lawyer to function from the peace of God.
3.) “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” – Proverbs 21:1
POLITICS | We pray that the Lord would turn the hearts of Andrew’s accusers from continuing to use Andrew as a pawn in a political game. We pray that there will be confusion in the enemy’s camp — the accusers and prosecutors — that they will become so confused & will not even agree with each other. We pray for Andrew’s lawyer to be filled with wisdom, guidance, and courage.
4.) “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
SALVATIONS | We pray that the through Andrew’s testimony and witness to those who are also imprisoned, many would discover faith in Jesus. We pray that the word of God would go forth from Andrew’s testimony in the courtroom and that many in Turkey would be saved. We pray that God will continue to receive His harvest in Turkey and that there will be no fear because of Andrew’s situation that might hold people back from sharing the Good News.