Why My Church Started Praying for the Persecuted

What does the church look like to you? Is it that familiar room filled with people, where you know each person’s usual seat? Or perhaps it’s the place where you’ve grown in knowledge and your relationship with God?

For many of us, the local church represents community life to the point that we assume it’s every believer’s regular experience. You’re born in Christ, join a church, grow through evangelism (or by bringing a friend to church), and live forever.

This reality is entirely different for millions of members of the Global Church. Gathering with the saints can mean rejection, social abandonment, cultural isolation, torture, and even death for many of our brothers and sisters. That’s why I ask: How much do you care about your family in the faith? The daily life of many members of the Global Church certainly doesn’t cross our minds often.

The social and economic reality experienced in many countries appearing in international news should open our eyes to the reality that the church there rises, and moves, and is more alive than we think.

Jesus purchased people from every tribe, language, people, and nation at the price of his precious blood (Revelation 5:9). This blood has reached us wherever we are, in every continent, and in every nation. This means that, although our gatherings may look different, we have the same God. Although we worship in different conditions, the day will come when we’ll kneel before him, with no distinction of race or language, and the only nationality that will matter is the heavenly one (Revelation 7:9).

I want to intentionally bring this truth to your mind, not only because we forget how glorious it will be—and that it is!—to be one in Christ, but also so that your heart will understand that it has to matter to you.

Globalization and Knowledge Compel You

Living in the digital generation, where information is a click away, removes any claim of ignorance. The unreached are no longer confined to encyclopedias or dictionaries. A simple search transports you virtually to countries you might not be able to locate on a map.

Cultural context has escaped from books, now reaching us on social media. Christian persecution is known. The consequences of confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life range from insults to beatings, as we can see on live broadcasts.

Our brothers and sisters understand that all this is worth it. Jesus Christ is worth everything. Clinging to promises engraved in their hearts, they hope the Savior’s words will be fulfilled in their lives and in those they love most around them.

You and I play a significant role in the lives of our persecuted brothers and sisters. As Hebrews 13 says, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” 

The command to serve, bear each other’s burdens, pray, support, encourage, equip, and remind one another transcends the geographic coordinates where you’re reading this article.

Make It Practical

If you acknowledge the reality of being one with your persecuted brothers and sisters, look for resources, statistics, and materials that can help foster the sense of belonging that God has called us to have for our family in the faith. 

For instance, you could check out Stratus to get an idea of how to pray, explore the Joshua Project website to focus specifically on a nation or visit Open Doors to pray for nations where Christians face the highest levels of persecution. When you pray, you can ask the Lord to bring to your memory those brothers and sisters who face persecution today, not letting you forget them, to grow comfortable, or to take everything for granted.

Moreover, learn the names of those who serve as missionaries in these areas. Ask the Lord to show you who works in regions that capture your interest, and begin to pray for them actively.

But don’t do it alone. Move and motivate others intentionally. The local church, small groups, and faith-based chats with friends can be platforms for mobilizing prayer, giving, and encouraging others to prepare to go.

Set up prayer times with friends and family. Learn the name of a tribe. Look for information to share with those around you. Research translation initiatives, and see how you can contribute. 

Find missions and mercy projects that serve locally, and intentionally see what you can do alongside your church leaders.

Here’s something special: the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is coming up. Don’t let it go unnoticed! Perhaps there could be a special prayer time in your church’s Sunday meeting for persecuted Christians, a night of documentaries, or reading testimonies of laborers in the harvest. Although it may seem simple, these steps can burst the bubble of comfort that we experience daily.

Make sure this doesn’t just lead you to superficial gratitude for how God’s sovereignty has placed you in a different congregational setting. Their lives should challenge us to meditate: If the conditions were different for me, would my faith be the same? Would I place my trust confidently in God?

While our brothers and sisters are broken physically and emotionally for the gospel, we can be megaphones to ensure their voices don’t seem like whispers to the Western Church. The cause of Christ is worthy, and the victory is assured.