Praying for the Persecuted Church
“They all raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4.23-24).
By Grant McClung
The Sundays of November 1 and 8, 2015 are designated by the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) as “International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church” (see www.idop.org). Also, on November 2 – 6, 2015 the Global Christian Forum will gather a consultation in Tirana, Albania to consider “Discrimination, Persecution, and Martyrdom: Following Christ Together.” Please remember them, and join in this year’s prayer effort from WEA.
After the Day of Pentecost, it did not take long for the active evangelism from the early church to be resisted with persecution. After being arrested, threatened, and released, Peter and John reported to the prayer group waiting for them and then they all, “…raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4.23-24).
Followers of Jesus Christ will suffer persecution. This is a basic but often forgotten fact of Christian discipleship. Jesus used the word “when” (not “if”) as he prepared His disciples for coming persecution: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you “(Matthew 5.11-12).
Early Christian leaders taught this same truth from their master. Paul reminded Christians that, “…everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3.12). Peter reminded suffering believers that, “…Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2.21). Millions of contemporary believers in Jesus Christ are currently “following his steps” as they endure persecution. According to scripture, as our family they belong to us and we belong to them. Therefore, we must pray for those suffering persecution.
How shall we pray for the suffering in our global church family? Here are some practical ways that you, and those you mobilize and gather for prayer, can effectively pray for persecuted believers around the world. The following practical steps are taken from the “Resources” section of www.MissionsResourceGroup.org. I encourage you to share them with your family and friends, Sunday school class, home Bible study group, or intercessory prayer meeting.
1. Pray Sensitively – Hebrews 13.3 teaches us to, “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” With Christian compassion and empathy, we are to identify with our brothers and sisters in persecution as if we were there with them, enduring the same hardships together.
2. Pray Scripturally – As we follow key word searches throughout the Bible, using words like “persecution,” “suffering,” “tribulation,” multiple stories and incidents of individuals and the collective people of God in their suffering will begin to emerge. Their stories form a pattern for our personal prayer time and also for group Bible studies and intercessory prayer.
3. Pray Spontaneously – One of the joys of the Spirit-filled life is to be “on call” for the Lord, ready to pray as God places a burden upon us. The Holy Spirit of God is an indwelling intercessor (Romans 8.26-27) and knows how to lead us in prayer. When we sincerely make ourselves available to plead with God on behalf of persecuted believers, the Holy Spirit will lead us.
4. Pray Sensibly – The individual or prayer group that is serious about praying for the persecuted has a wide variety of helps and resources, most of them through internet websites. Some of my favorites are www.operationworld.org, www.persecutedchurch.org and www.opendoors.org.
5. Pray Systematically – Praying systematically means staying faithful to pray for persecuted believers on a regular basis, with consistency. Most prayer resources and ministries provide a daily prayer calendar, with a systematic listing of nations and persecuted peoples.
6. Pray Strategically – Prayer is not only a means to a strategy, it is God’s strategy. When we pray, God acts. When we pray, God leads us to strategic action, activism, solidarity with the persecuted and involvement with ministries and groups that work to end discrimination and persecution.
Dr. Grant McClung, President of Missions Resource Group (www.MissionsResourceGroup.org) is Missiological Advisor to the World Missions Commission of the Pentecostal World Fellowship and International Missionary Educator with Church of God World Missions – Project #065 — 0853.
