Praying for the Persecuted

FACE TO FACE

Praying for the Persecuted

Yousaf Sadiq

PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church 2021

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is a special time to pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their Christian faith. The mark of their suffering is a proof of their faith. The Bible says that the immense suffering for the sake of Christ is not to be considered astonishing, for “all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) These words of Paul provide Christians with a realistic perspective on the cost of discipleship to follow Jesus.

God does some of his strongest and most evident work in the hard times. Amid trials and pain, God’s people keep growing and flourishing. Our North Korean brothers and sisters when discovered to be Christians, have been arrested and deported to labor camps as political criminals where they work like slaves and are brutally tortured. Hundreds and thousands of Iraqi Christians had to flee for their lives from the radical ISIS group, faced with displacement from their homes and separation from family members for years. When a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old Anglican church in the city of Peshawar in Pakistan, 127 were martyred and 170 were badly injured in this deadliest attack. Despite these circumstances, persecution does not stop Christians in these countries and in many other places from doing what they are called to do, which is to share Christ with others. They remain faithful and pray for their persecutors. God provides them supernatural peace and comfort that supersedes human understanding.

Persecuted believers have come to understand through experience that suffering creates perseverance “perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:4, NIV). The Greek word (hypomone) for perseverance carries the notion to remain firm, constant and patient. The suffering church stands firm and faithful to the greater purposes of God. Through his Word, they learn to persevere, for in Matthew 5:11-12 it says, “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.” (NIV) Persecution leads to perseverance where these believers do not lack in anything.

Asia Bibi exemplifies the story of a woman who faithfully chooses to love Jesus despite the cost which led to even greater flourishing of her faith and encouragement to the world. She spent nine years in a solitary confinement in Pakistan, still receives threats, and has forgiven her persecutors. Maryam and Marzieh faced extremely cruel and dehumanizing conditions in Iranian prisons, where the temperature was sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. What brought these Christian women hope in an environment of fear was knowing that their fellow believers around the world were praying for them.

The persecuted believers courageously talk about their faith with others. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Despite challenging conditions and dangers involved, they enthusiastically and passionately speak of their Christian faith to others. They don’t keep it to themselves. Stories of the persecuted church ought to give us encouragement and motivation to share our own faith with others.

As one body of Christ, we ought to feel the pain of our suffering brothers and sisters. When one hurts, the whole body feels it. We must not forget to remember those who are in prison. We should strive to be aware of the hostile conditions that other Christians live in and advocate for those whose voices are taken away.

As part of our call to love and stand in solidarity, we need to recognize the repression, persecution, and identify the struggles that so many Christians encounter. Second Corinthians 1:5 states that “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (NIV) God calls us to comfort the suffering believers. On this International Day of Prayer, let us pray for those who are persecuted for their faith in Christ, because prayer acts as one of the main avenues to support the suffering church.