Faith in the Face of Persecution

In the quiet town of Ayodhya, a small church gathered in humble faith, not in grandeur or safety, but in courage and conviction. At the heart of this gathering stood Pastor Ram, a devoted servant of God, leading a simple satsang in his home. Surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and a congregation seeking comfort, healing, and truth, Pastor Ram never imagined that this ordinary day of worship would become a defining moment of his faith journey.

What began as a peaceful time of prayer soon turned into a storm of accusation, hostility, and unjust suffering, a trial by fire that would test the strength of his soul and the foundations of his calling.

Earlier that day, a man entered the church under the pretense of wanting to know more about faith. He asked Pastor Ram’s young grandson for a Bible, promising to pay later. In reality, he had secretly recorded the entire service and shared the footage with people hostile to the church. What followed was swift and brutal, a complaint was filed at the local police station, accusing Pastor Ram of forced religious conversions.

Soon after, a mob descended on his house. Voices rose in anger, fingers pointed in accusation, and threats echoed through the compound. Pastor Ram stepped forward calmly. “I am not converting anyone,” he told them. “People come because they are sick, because they are hurting. They come for prayer and healing, not pressure.”

But his words were lost in the fury. The crowd grew. More vehicles arrived. Pastor Ram, his son-in-law, and a church member from another town were dragged to the police station, locked up without proper cause, and held for three harrowing days. Outside, the mob demanded harsh punishment, imprisonment and heavy fines.

Inside the jail, Pastor Ram did what he had always done, he prayed. He asked for favour, for mercy, and for God’s will to be done. When called to testify before senior officers, the man who had filmed the service continued his false accusations. Pastor Ram stood his ground: “I do not know this man. No one is forced to come to our church, they come because they believe.”

Eventually, he was released on the condition that he return later for further questioning. In the days that followed, over fifty people from his congregation came forward to testify in his defence. His family, frightened and burdened, begged him to close the church and leave. But Pastor Ram stood firm in his calling. “If I run now, I run from what God has called me to do,” he said.

Persecution didn’t stop. Worship services shrank in size and went quiet. Legal notices kept coming. Pastor Ram was summoned again and again. The costs mounted. Lawyers demanded high fees, and unofficial expenses piled up. To keep up, his son took out loans. His nephew left for the city to find work and hasn’t returned. The weight of debt pressed heavily upon them.

But even in this valley of hardship, God did not leave them alone. At a critical time, help came from the Persecution Relief family. Their support reminded Pastor Ram that God’s people never suffer alone,  that the body of Christ stands together, especially when one part is hurting.

Eventually, a court verdict was pronounced. Pastor Ram was sentenced to prison. Upon arrival, he was placed in a barrack with three men who questioned him harshly. When he explained he was there because of his faith, they ridiculed him. But when he gently asked what crimes they had committed, they confessed, they had taken lives. “You’ve killed people, and yet you mock me?” he asked quietly. Silence followed. One of them, convicted of murder, simply asked him not to speak further. The mockery stopped.

Later, Pastor Ram was moved to another barrack, with fifteen other inmates. Though surrounded by hardened criminals, he experienced peace. He prayed, for them, for the jail, for the country, for justice. During his time there, he came across other believers who had been similarly imprisoned for their faith. The fellowship of suffering only deepened his resolve.

Upon release, another test awaited him. While riding home on his motorbike, it slipped and fell on him, pinning him underneath. People feared the worst. But by God’s grace, he emerged with just minor bruises, a miraculous reminder that God’s hand still covered him.

Today, Pastor Ram continues his ministry, though scars remain. Some believers are afraid to attend church. He urges them to hide God’s Word in their hearts, if not in their hands, to live out their faith even if they must do it quietly. He continues to preach, to pray, and to stand, not in his own strength, but in the unshakeable foundation of Christ.

Through betrayal, jail, debt, and fear, his faith has not wavered. Instead, it has deepened. Like countless faithful before him, Pastor Ram now knows: the cost of discipleship is great, but the reward is eternal.

The encouragement we need to continue to faithfully follow the Cross lies in the reality that Jesus went before us and was victorious.— Bro. Shibu Thomas, Founder, Persecution Relief