As we continue to focus in prayer at the beginning of 2018, it would be good if we spent a day like today praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted around the world. Though the idea of fasting might look foolish to the world, the Christian understands that during a brief time of entering into the discomfort of a fast, he or she also enters into an empathy and compassion for those who don’t live in the comfort of being able to live out their faith in peace.
Today as we are praying about so many things, it’s hard to realize that many of the 1st World problems we pray about pale in comparison to what other Christians face around the world. Today our brothers and sisters face the loss of jobs, food, money, homes, churches, freedom, children and their very lives.
How can we pray? Often one will hear that the persecuted Christians in China do not ask that we pray for their safety, but to pray that if persecution would bring glory to God, that they would suffer in such a manner that Jesus Christ would be revealed to their persecutors. That is such a noble way for them to pray, and we can join our voice with them. But since we have the privilege to live and worship in peace, we should and can pray for them as the Scriptures teach us: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1Timothy 2:1-3).
We can and should also pray, though, that if they be called to be among the saints who have lost all, even life, that it would result in the glory of God being revealed to their towns, cities, peoples and nations. We should pray that a great grace to be upon them–even a joy–knowing that they have been counted worthy to suffer for His sake (Acts 5:41), and that their persecution would result in the further spread of the Gospel. Tertullian, an early church father, when making a case before the Romans on behalf of the rights of Christians to worship in peace, declared in 197 A.D. that the result of Rome’s shedding of Christian blood only resulted in their blood becoming the seed of the church. In other words, the righteous blood of the martyrs resulted in the seeds of the Gospel spreading in the Roman empire! That should be our prayers for the persecuted and the martyred church–that it would result in the salvation of many.
Finally, let’s pray that awareness of the plight of Christians around the world would be in the forefront of our churches, our nation, and the world. As I write this blog today, I am aware that OpenDoors (www.opendoors.org) has discovered through their research that “215 million Christians experience high, very high or extreme persecution for following Jesus.” Let’s pray that we can find open doors to get personally involved in strengthening and encouraging our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.
The Lord bless you today. I’m praying for all of you.
Jim