On today's Prison Pulpit, we start and finish with Venezuela, as my Venezuelan teammate writes in with four ways to pray for his country at this time of both joy and uncertainty. But the bulk of today's podcast is a story from my good friend Uncle Bundo about what happened in Thomson Prison on New Year's Day 2025. Let his testimony warm and encourage you to pray for all those believers who are in prison! (Scroll down for more notes...)

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(2:43) Venezuela no longer a prison: We have very close friends and teammates from Venezuela, so I understand the situation there better than most, however it dawned on me today that after the liberation of Venezuela from the dictator Maduro, I probably should have been praying for the people (Christians, especially) much more than I have. Their situation these past 10+ years especially has been very much akin to being in a prison cell. Hence, nearly ⅓ (8+ million) “escaped” during that time for survival’s sake.

I may have more to say on a future podcast, but for now I want to point out that although we probably haven’t been praying for Venezuela as we ought to have done, I guarantee you that Venezuelan Christians (esp. those who had found freedom abroad) were quote “Remembering those in prison (back in Venezuela) as if they themselves were still bound with them”. In other words, they knew what it was like in that failed socialist state, and could pray as the author of Hebrews intended; not vague, faraway prayers, but knowledgeable, precise prayers as those who understood suffering and all that was at stake.

For all those who prayed in such a way, whether Venezuelan refugees, concerned Christians around the world, or the Venezuelan people themselves, how awesome it is to see God so clearly answer prayer! (Note: with the current power vacuum there, we ought to continue to pray God would raise up humble, godly leadership during this dangerous transition time.)

(7:26) Uncle Bundo’s New Year’s Prison Preaching Plan: In the summer of 2024, I interviewed a few of my friends who were being sentenced by the Biden DOJ for their participation in a peaceful prayer vigil while blocking the entrance to a (now shuttered) abortion clinic in Nashville back in 2021. Uncle Bundo was given 6 months in Federal Prison, which he served in rural Illinois. I share this by way of introduction, because I want to read you a story, a testimony, that Uncle Bundo shared on his Facebook page on New Year’s Day about what happened on LAST YEAR’S New Year’s Day.

(23:07) Pray for Venezuela: 1) Churches/Pastors 2) Peaceful Transition 3) All Believers 4) Safety

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Thank you for listening! Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! There’s also a donation link at PrayforChina.us if you’d like to support our China ministry. For everything else, visit PrayGiveGo.us. Hebrews 13:3: Remember those who are in prison, “as bound with them”!