Transcripts: Interviews and Experiences

Transcript: Pray Intensely for Those Enduring Trials
[At home a brother sits in an armchair holding a tablet]
Matthew Wilson: Before I go to work or go witnessing, I wake up, grab a coffee, sit in my chair, and I check jw.org.
[A news article on South Korea]
I think it’s important because it helps us to keep informed with what our brothers are going through.
Glynis Desroaches: When I read about my brothers and sisters facing trials, I just feel I want to do something to help these brothers and sisters.
Andrei Skantsev: When Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned in Russia, a lot of negative, false, and questionable information about us began to appear in the media.
Oksana Skantsevai: It was all so unreal. It was hard to believe.
[Matthew sits at his dining table with an open Bible]
Matthew: When the apostle Paul was facing a trial, he was asking the brothers to ‘exert themselves in prayer to God for me.’
[Romans 15:30]
For our brothers going through jail or through natural disasters, they need all the support and help that they can get. We’re so close to the end; we want our children to understand what we might face. We’ve done the videos on praying for others, and the brothers have given us good worksheets.
Joshuah Wilson: For family worship, we did some worksheets.
Joshuah: They might not know that we are praying for them, but Jehovah feels happy when I pray for them.
[He writes on an activity sheet]
They have courage, and I want to be like them too.
Leanna Wilson: As a mother, I think it’s really important for our children to know what’s going on with others’ trials. And if they can stop and really feel for those brothers and then offer a prayer, they’re taking part in them being faithful.
Sahbella Wilson: It’s always encouraging to pray for others because you’re actually building your relationship with Jehovah.
[Family worship at the Wilson home]
Leanna: When you stop and consider what others are going through and how they’re being faithful, that’s really built my faith, and then I want to imitate their faith.
[At home near a window Glynis, wearing a robe looks down despondently]
Glynis: I was involved in a car accident, and that impacted my life.
[A doctor looks at spinal scans]
I have pain every day. I was feeling lonely and depressed.
[Now on a coach she stares blankly]
And while I was scrolling through the website, I came across the Newsroom, and I read about our brothers and sisters, the things that they were going through, the challenges they were facing. If they didn’t give up going through all those difficult times, then I don’t have to give up either.
[She bows her head and folds her hands]
My sequence of prayer now is to pray for others first and then for myself last. When we pray for others, it helps us to build our faith in Jehovah and trust in him because we know that he has helped our brothers and sisters, and he will also help us.
[Footage of authorities raiding a Kingdom Hall]
Andrei: When the persecution in Russia began to grow,
[They confiscate Bible literature]
a sense of uncertainty arose about what was happening.
[At home Andrei and Oksana look at a web article on their cell phone]
Oksana: When we saw the news on jw.org, we realized that our brothers all over the world knew about the situation in Russia. Although we did not hear how brothers from other countries were praying for us, we knew that they were doing it and cared about us.
Andrei: The knowledge that the brothers were praying for us really strengthened us. I knew that everything was under control.
[Hand in hand they walk by a pond under lush trees]
When you know the problems that a brother or sister is facing, then our prayers are more sincere, and they truly come from the heart.
[Glynis holds her tablet]
I must use every opportunity. I must not let up to pray for my brothers and sisters.
[Matthew with his open Bible]
Matthew: When we pray and it’s for his name, Jehovah answers our prayers.
[He closes his eyes and bows his head. A video montage of brothers and sisters worldwide. They read articles and watch videos from the newsroom on jw.org then bow their heads in earnest prayer]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2023 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)