International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians – November 1

Some American Christians interpret Covid-19 restrictions on worship services as the beginning of persecution. Regardless of your opinion on that topic, I think we can all agree that any persecution we face pales in comparison to the persecution that our Christian brethren in other nations, especially in the Middle East and northern Africa, endure. Let’s take time this week to set aside our own problems and lift up the myriad of believers who risk imprisonment or death for exercising their faith.

On Sunday, Pastor Dave’s main point from the Exodus 13:1-16 passage was that God wants His people to know Him experientially, not just know about Him intellectually. Persecution is a trial by fire of a person’s faith. If his “faith” is head knowledge only, it may well be burned away. But a faith that is based on truth, confirmed by experiencing the reality of God, survives the flames. Pray that believers facing persecution will experience God in powerful and unmistakable ways.

Here are more suggestions for how to pray:

If you have been apathetic about the plight of persecuted Christians, repent of your indifference and ask the Lord to show you how to share in their suffering.

Pray that pressure will strengthen, not weaken, believers’ faith. Pray that their trust in our good God will grow every day and that He will fill them with peace.

Pray for courage and boldness that can only come from God.

Pray for family relationships – for believers cast out of families because of their faith; for parents who faithfully disciple their children to follow Jesus even under dangerous oppression.

Ask the Lord to provide for the physical needs of those in prison and those who have lost their livelihoods because of their faith.

Ask for wisdom from above for believers who must decide whom to trust and when to speak.

Pray for protection and deliverance in accordance with the Lord’s will. Pray that the suffering and loss He permits will advance His kingdom. Tertullian said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

Pray for the pastors who shepherd the afflicted flock.

Pray for the persecutors. The names of some may be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, as was the name of Saul of Tarsus. Pray that believers would be able to supernaturally love their enemies.

To learn more about the persecuted church, visit the websites of Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs, and Barnabas Aid.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert
Calvary Community Church of Brea

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