Pray for the Persecuted!

             The next two Sundays have been designated as Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  While we live in a land that allows us to worship our God freely without fear, millions around the world do not have the same freedom.  According to one report, worldwide, 13 Christians are killed every day for their faith and 12 Houses of Worship are attacked.  1 in 7 Christians worldwide experience some form of persecution every day. Yet, despite the persecution, Christianity is growing in places like China, Afghanistan, and even Iran, some of the most persecuted places on the planet.

            Why is Christianity growing?  Perhaps because it offers hope amid untold suffering.  It reveals a Savior who understands injustice and pain.  It offers a peace that only Christ can provide.  It provides comfort, strength, and courage from a Savior who has promised never to leave us or forsake us.

            So, what should be our response to persecution?  First, and foremost we must pray for these persecuted Christians.  Pray that they will continue to persevere despite the persecution.  Pray for those who have been imprisoned that they will be bold in their witness, causing their captors to wonder what (or who) empowers them to remain strong despite such pain.  Pray for the families of those who have been imprisoned or martyred that they will remain faithful and that their children will not fall away.  Pray also that the Gospel message will continue to spread, just as it did when persecution broke out against the early Church (Acts 8: 1).

            Secondly, we need to pray for boldness among Christians everywhere.  We can no longer hide our light under a bushel.  We need to project Christ’s light to the ends of the earth.  Paul said it best in Ephesians 6: 19 – 20: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (NIV84).

            Now, more than ever, our world needs to know our Savior!  We need more Christians who are willing to take risks for Christ.  That might not mean going to a faraway land; it may simply mean talking to your neighbor, your co-worker, or a family member.  We can’t stand on the sidelines and wait for someone else to do it.  God has appointed us as that “someone else”.  

            Thankfully, we do not yet face persecution here as many countries around the globe do.  That does not give us the right to sit back, enjoying our freedom but failing to advance the Gospel message.  People are dying all around us without the Savior.  That should break our hearts just as it breaks God’s. 

            This week, as you remember our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, pray also that God will embolden each of us to speak the Truth in love, to go where He leads, and to move out of our comfort zones to take risks for Him.  As the author, Christine Caine, reminded us in a recent Bible Study, death is inevitable for all of us unless Christ returns first.  How absurd would it be to arrive at the moment of death and say, “Because I didn’t take risks, I managed to get here safely”?  That might be a hard concept to explain to Jesus as He stands there with nail-scarred hands.

Ephesians 6: 19 – 20

Matthew 5: 10 – 12