ETHIOPIA — After Lalise’s husband was killed in 2012, Open Doors shared her story and asked believers to pray. When Melanie from Germany heard about Lalise, she began to pray for her every day – and didn’t stop shedding tears for ten years.

Open Doors Prayer News 298 (September-October 2023)

Lalise and Dabela had been married just six months when the young Ethiopian pastor Dabela was murdered. It was 2012 and Lalise was only 18 at the time. Open Door’s partners visited her to comfort and pray for her.

Lalise:

My first husband was a teacher. On the day he was killed he had preached at a church. On his way back home, he walked through an area where many Muslims live. Someone stabbed my husband right in his heart. He immediately collapsed. After a week, I was taken to hospital because I refused to eat and I could not sleep. People took turns to watch me because I wanted to commit suicide.

Open Doors shared Lalise’s tragic story and asked Christians around the world to pray. So Melanie, a supporter from Germany, started praying for Lalise and didn’t stop.

Melanie:

It is terrible to lose someone you love, especially because he was murdered in this awful way. That brought her story close to me. That’s why her name got stuck in my head. Sometimes I wondered if it still made sense to pray. But then I told myself, what if she is still alive and needs my help? Well, not my help, but God’s help. So I kept on praying, that she would find comfort, knowing that God sees her, that she would sense his presence.

After praying every evening for 10 years, Melanie emailed Open Doors to ask if there was any update about Lalise.

I was wordless and deeply moved by every word I read from that email that a supporter is praying for such a long time. I cried and said, “Lord, thank you for such people who are taking matters serious and pray for the suffering church.

So back in Ethiopia, Opendoor’s partners visited Lalise to see how she was now.

Lalise:

You helped me to restart my life by encouraging me to go back to school. You even gave me money to buy the books. You came to see me a few times to encourage me. Later, I took the national exam. I scored highly and I enrolled at the teacher training college.

Lalise was very happy too, to discover that someone had cared enough to keep praying specifically for her.

Lalise:

I didn’t realize that anybody prayed just for me. Beloved German Christian, we have never met each other physically, but I want you to know that your prayers have reached God. I remarried and God has renewed my mind. He helped me to give birth and build a family. That’s the result of your prayers. I want to thank you so much. May God bless you.

And in Germany, Melanie was encouraged to know that her prayers had been heard.

Melanie:

It’s so nice to see that it is well with her, that my prayers have helped her. It’s important for persecuted Christians that we don’t forget them. We should pray for them, that they will not feel alone, knowing that God will not leave them and that fellow Christians are praying for them.

About Open Doors UK

For over 60 years, Open Doors UK has worked in the world’s most oppressive countries, empowering Christians who are persecuted for their beliefs. Open Doors equips persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries through programs like Bible & Gospel Development, Women & Children Advancement, and Christian Community Restoration.

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