On November 3, we at Summit, along with churches around the world will observe an International Day of Prayer for persecuted Christians. Open Doors’ current research estimates that there are more than 245 million persecuted Christians. These are people that are harassed or attacked because they identify themselves as being Christian.
To break it down a little more, this means that 1 in 9 believers in the world today are being persecuted.
In Indonesia, three churches in East Java were attacked by suicide bombers on May 13, 2018, killing 11 Christians and wounding many more. The shocking nature of this event is magnified by the fact that it was orchestrated by one whole family, including girls that were 9 and 12 years old.
In India, a week after Pastor Gideon Periyaswamy complained to local police about opposition from radical Hindus, he was found hanged from the thatched roof of his house on January 20, 2018.
One of China’s largest house churches in Chengdu was raided by Chinese police 15 days before Christmas 2018. Lasting for days, the raid resulted in the arrests and detainments of more than 100 Christians including Pastor Wang Yi who is one of China’s most well-known pastors.
These are three examples from the most populous countries in the world. There are much more devastating reports to be found on the Open Doors USA website. They also have a prayer app, videos, and a World Watch List of the top 50 persecuted Countries with very specific information.
But what can we do? Pray.
1. Pray that whatever their circumstances, God will give our brothers and sisters the right words to say to their persecutors.
2. Pray that persecuted Christians will understand and find peace in the sufficiency of God’s grace and His presence, even in their weaknesses.
3. Pray that our brothers and sisters in Christ would receive from the Lord everything they need; strength to endure, faith to believe, protection from harm, food to eat.
4. Pray their witness would actually transform those who seek to harm them.
Planning on traveling internationally? Check out the World Watch List to see if the country you are visiting is on it. You’ll likely be surprised at the countries listed. Begin to pray for believers there.
Our desire is to begin to pray regularly, and not just this Sunday, for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Now as we hear global news, let that be a prompt to pray specifically for those believers that are suffering for their faith.
“A biblical and globally astute prayer for believers in persecution would ask that Jesus would be made known, that believers would remain obedient through their suffering, and that we identify with believers in persecution by sharing our faith in whatever environment we find ourselves.” Nik Ripken