Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: August 1, 2026
Many of us tend to pray most urgently when a story is new. Yet some situations remain unresolved for years, and the people at their heart still need our prayers.
Today we return to two Christians in Mexico, whose stories you may have heard before. Let’s stand with them once again, remembering that they represent many others facing injustice because of their beliefs.
Juan Nicolás, a pastor's assistant, was among a large group of Protestant Christians forced from their villages in 2024. This was after a dangerous escalation in threats of violence, on top of a decade of discrimination.
He and the other displaced families eventually relocated to a different state, where they named their new community ‘Peace’.
Juan Nicolás said:
‘I invite you to pray for our country, Mexico, especially my state of Hidalgo, where I belonged. People suffer a lot of persecution; there are expulsions. So please pray – pray a lot.
‘I would also like you to pray for my family and my community, as we are starting over again. I ask for spiritual strength so that we can move forward. It is difficult, but I am very grateful for your prayers.’
Luis, a pastor from Jalisco State, has also experienced displacement because of his beliefs.
‘According to the law, we are supposed to be free in Mexico. But in practice – especially in communities like mine – that is not respected. Those rights are violated and we are not free to practise another religion, and that is why we were expelled [from our community].’
‘My family left in 2002 – we were children at the time – and 13 families were expelled. So now we are in another community, because the original community does not accept any belief other than its own.’
When we asked how we could be praying, Luis said:
‘I would like to ask my brothers and sisters to pray for Mexico first of all, and for our Wixárika ethnic group. Please pray that we can truly be free – that we can believe in what we want and be free from persecution, more than anything else.
‘I really wish there was no persecution, no racism. Because now that we have moved to another community, to another municipality, our children are bullied a lot because we are Christians. I wish all that would end and that there could really be a result.’
As you pray this week, please remember Luis and Juan Nicolás, their wives Amelia and Angélica, their children, and the many others whose names we may never hear. Ask the Lord to provide, protect and draw near to those who face injustice because of their beliefs, and make a way for freedom, peace and justice to break through.