News / Thoughts

Pray for Ruli

Please pray for Ruli*, a 17 year old from Indonesia. He’s a Christian who has been forced to attend an Islamic boarding school since members of his family discovered he had chosen to follow Jesus. His uncle, whom he lived with, caught him reading Bible.

Ruli was in Junior High School when he first met Jesus – amazingly in a dream. In the dream, he was in a forest and saw a light. As he approached the light he saw a man in a radiant white robe. He felt so peaceful. Ever since, he has not stopped searching for who this figure might be. “Having done his research, Ruli was finally convinced that the man was Jesus, “said Marlon*, a mission worker, and Ruli’s spiritual mentor.

After spending time learning more about Jesus and Christianity with Marlon and other missionaries, Ruli was finally baptized, but refused to return to his uncle’s home, afraid that he would be forced to perform the shalat (an Islamic prayer ritual). Marlon encouraged him to obey his uncle but reminded Ruli to pray to Jesus. Yet, the young believer could not pretend, and was eventually caught reading the Bible.

On Friday, Jan. 22, Ruli called Marlon’s cellphone from the boarding school, saying that the school cleric was planning to purify him by in a specific ritual (said to be a bit like an exorcism). He was terrified that he would no longer have Jesus inside.

Pray now…

• Pray for Ruli to keep seeking and praying to Jesus so that he knows that Jesus will never leave him.
• Pray for him to be patient until he gets to the age of 18 when he can decide his own faith (according to Indonesian law).
• Pray for Marlon and other mission workers. Their work may be jeopardized after baptizing minors. Pray that God showers them with wisdom in dealing with future, similar cases.

*Real names are changed to protect identities.