Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, spent 445 days in a Sudanese prison. Days after returning home, Petr sat down with VOM Radio host, Todd Nettleton, to share his story and thank the thousands of people who prayed for him and his co-defendants during his long months in prison.

Listen in as Petr shares about going to the airport to leave and the point when he knew what he faced was much more than a routine security screening. He’ll share how he kept praying as he was questioned, and how he found out that his cell mates were members of ISIS. 

Your faith will be encouraged as you hear how God had been preparing Petr—even years before his arrest—to remain faithful even during months in prison.

Listen as he shares the verse that became a theme for him during those long months in prison. It was not a verse about setting captives free. Instead, it was a verse about the holiness of God. It became a theme for Petr; he would use it to guide his prayers and recite it over and over each day throughout his imprisonment. Meditating on God’s holiness provided strength for Petr as his radical Muslim cellmates began to pressure, persecute and torture him.

Listen also for the opportunity God provided that encouraged Petr as he began to lose hope after four months in prison. Petr’s story challenges each of us to think about how we deal with hardship or opposition, and reminds us to seek God’s plan and His will, even when we’re uncomfortable or suffering.

From the first days after his arrest in Sudan, Petr repeatedly said, “God is the One who holds the key to my cell.” Listen as he shares how he stopped praying to be released from prison and simply focused on fulfilling the Lord’s purpose for him inside prison walls. 

Petr tells what it was like to hear the judge announce that he was sentenced to life in prison, and the verse he read from Psalms moments before he found out God would be using the key and opening Petr’s cell door.

Petr will also share—from his personal experience—how we should pray for Christians in prison, and for their families who sometimes suffer more than the prisoners. You will be challenged to think about what it means to wait on the Lord as you hear Petr share how, after 445 days, God set this captive free.

Forbidden Faith listeners can receive a free copy of Petr Jasek’s book, Imprisoned with ISIS, as well as an “Imprisoned with Them” wristband to remind us to pray for Christians currently in prison for their faith, when you make any donation to The Voice of the Martyrs at www.Persecution.com/Petr.

Hear fresh stories of persecuted Christians and those working for the gospel in hostile and restricted nations each week when you subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast.

Martin and Gracia Burnham were serving as missionaries in the Philippines, where Martin was a pilot with New Tribes Mission (now called Ethnos 360). The Burnhams went away for a few days to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Those few days turned into more than a year in the jungle when they were kidnapped and held hostage by radical Muslim terrorists.

Listen this week as Gracia tells how she wrestled with God and even with her own faith during those dark days of captivity. She’ll also share how she experienced the prayers of God’s people, even as Martin was killed during a rescue attempt.

Gracia says at times in the jungle she couldn’t allow herself to even think about her three children because it was just too difficult. Today, looking back, she can see the full story of God’s faithfulness to them. Gracia will also give an update on how God continues to work in the hearts of the terrorists that held her hostage.

Gracia’s story will inspire you to find ways to glorify God, regardless of what challenges you are facing. You can read the whole story of her captivity in Gracia’s book, In the Presence of My Enemies (affiliate link).

You can learn more about Gracia and give to support her ongoing work at https://graciaburnham.org/.

This is Bible Month at The Voice of the Martyrs. Give online to help make it possible for every believer living in hostile areas and restricted nations to have access to his or her own copy of God’s Word.

Hear inspiring stories from persecuted Christians and from those sharing the gospel in restricted nations every week on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour helped train Sudanese pastors to prepare them for persecution. He didn’t know he was also preparing himself for the day he’d be arrested by the Islamist regime in Sudan, charged with aiding espionage and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

There were difficult days in prison, yet Pastor Hassan experienced the joy of the Lord—joy so powerful it brought tears to his eyes. It is because of that joy, and because of the ministry God gave him in prison, that Pastor Hassan looks back on those long months as “one of the best times of my life.”

Pastor Hassan shares how his heart remained upbeat, even as he stood in the courtroom while the judge pronounced him guilty, and sentenced Hassan to 12 years in prison. He’ll talk about how reading the Bible is different inside prison than when you’re free. Hassan says he experienced persecution as a blessing from God—a blessing so profound it caused him to weep tears of joy.

“It is really a privilege to be persecuted,” he says.

Your faith will be encouraged, and you’ll be challenged to pray for the church in Sudan and for Christians currently imprisoned for their faith as you hear Pastor Hassan’s amazing testimony this week on Forbidden Faith: Inspiring Conversations With Persecuted Christians.

Pastor Hassan was imprisoned along with the Africa regional director for The Voice of the Matyrs, Petr Jasek. You can hear Petr’s side of the story here.