Pray for Injured Azerbaijan Police Chief

Dear Precious Partners in the Gospel,

I know that we just alerted you to pray for Azerbaijan pastor Zaur Balaev in light of his pending appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. But this morning, we received another report that I just had to pass on to you. Once again, it is a vivid reminder of our sovereign God and His ultimate control in the affairs of men.

My assistant, Sergei Omelchenko, notified me of a special service held in Azerbaijan last night. Brother Alekper Kasimov read the following verse from Proverbs to the church . . . Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles (Proverbs 24:17). After he read this well-known verse, he then reported the stunning news. The police chief in Zaur Balaev’s region — the very one who ordered the raid on Zaur’s church and his subsequent arrest on false charges of resisting arrest — fell victim to an accident, and is now paralyzed in a wheelchair!

While the natural, fleshly reaction from the world would be to rejoice at the downfall of someone who caused great grief and tragedy, the reaction of oppressed believers in Azerbaijan is to pray for their enemies, just as our Lord commanded. They are praying for the salvation of this police chief in light of the tragedy in his own life. We join them in praying for this, in addition to our ongoing prayers for Zaur Balaev’s ultimate vindication, and for a change in heart of the authorities toward evangelical churches. Please pray together with us for the glory of God, and for the advance of the Gospel in Azerbaijan!

Bob Provost
President, Slavic Gospel Association