Pray for the Persecuted

Persecution isn't a thing of the past. Many of us will attend church today without even stopping to consider how blessed we are to worship without fear, to own Bibles, to pray openly. But Christians around the world don't share those freedoms--and they need our help.

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It's our reminder to stop and consider, to lift up our suffering brothers and sisters. "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body" (Hebrews 13:3).

I once heard a presentation by a staff member from The Voice of the Martyrs in which she shared about visiting persecuted believers and asking what kind of help they needed. Can you guess the number one thing they always ask for? It's not food, or shelter, or legal help, or even Bibles. They need prayer. More than anything, they want their brothers and sisters around the world to intercede for them.

Stacy at PersecutionBlog has provided a list of some specific prayer requests. The IDOP website also lists prayer requests for individual nations and world leaders, and in November 2006, I wrote a post with suggestions and links about praying for the persecuted church. .

For tons of other ways to get involved, including writing letters to Christians in prison, sending Bibles to restricted nations, or providing other help to the persecuted members of our Body, please check out The Voice of the Martyrs. You can also read archived posts from my blog about the persecuted church.