A Guide to Praying for the Persecuted Church

Each year, the first Sunday in November is designated the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As many as 380 million believers around the world face high levels of persecution or discrimination for their faith in Jesus. That’s more than the population of the entire United States. 

How should we pray?  

It’s challenging to make lists of persecuted Christians, since so many are suffering in so many places. But here at Radical, we’re thinking especially of nations where we know and work with local believers making Jesus known and facing intense persecution for it.

Radical has gospel-centered projects in five of the top 10 most persecuted countries on earth. Here’s a short guide to praying for these believers in their suffering, and ways to ask God to continue to bless their ongoing service, despite opposition:

1. North Korea

North Korea consistently ranks at the top of lists for persecuted Christians worldwide. The nation known as “the hermit kingdom” is so reclusive, it’s difficult to know the full extent of the population’s deep suffering, including those facing severe persecution for following Christ. Even possessing a Bible can be punishable by death.

The church is fully underground, but still grows. North Koreans who escape the regime have also testified to meeting Christ for the first time.

Pray that God will protect brothers and sisters in North Korea facing extreme danger for even believing in Jesus. Pray they could find ways to meet secretly. Pray for courage to tell others about Christ. And pray for efforts to disciple and connect North Korean believers, and to provide humanitarian relief to highly impoverished areas.

2. Libya

Libya is a North African nation home to 6.8 million people. The majority are Muslim, and any converts to Christianity face violence and pressure to renounce their faith. Believers migrating to Libya from other parts of Africa (seeking work) also face danger and violence. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the brutal execution of 21 migrant workers targeted for their Christian identity. 

Pray for God’s protection of followers of Jesus in Libya. Pray for opportunities for believers to gather. Pray the Lord will preserve the nation from descending into civil war. And pray for efforts to train and develop church leaders from a Muslim background.

3. Pakistan

Pakistan is a nation of nearly 200 million people, and the first Islamic state in the modern world. Being a Christian is difficult in the predominantly Muslim nation, with believers facing discrimination, violence, and opposition to sharing the gospel. Converts from Islam to Christianity face especially harsh treatment and oppressive laws.

Pray for God’s protection of believers in Pakistan, and particularly for Christian women and girls who face heightened threats and dangers. Pray for more Pakistanis to hear and embrace the gospel of Christ. And pray for efforts to train young believers from rural areas to be equipped to evangelize Muslims.

4. Iran

Iran’s history with Christianity goes all the way back to Pentecost. People groups from Iran were present at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church (Acts 2), and returned to their homeland with the good news of the gospel.

Islam gained dominance in the 7th century. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution ushered in the Islamic Republic of Iran and erased many religious freedoms. In the mid-1990s, the government cracked down on Christian activity in Farsi and the church went underground.

Today, believers still face threats, harassment, and oppression for their faith. But the church has also reported substantial growth. 

Pray the Lord will continue to draw Iranians to Christ, and that he’ll draw believers into deeper patterns of discipleship. Ask God to protect the church from threats from the outside, and from dangers within. Pray believers will have the courage to gather in the face of danger. And pray for efforts to train church leaders in sound doctrine and Bible study. 

5. Afghanistan

Afghanistan is another country with a long connection to Christianity. Tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas may have brought the gospel to Afghanistan. Thousands of years later, Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian.

Not long after the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021, its leaders declared there were no Christians in Afghanistan. But that’s not true. Though many Christians did escape the country in 2021, a remnant of the church remains, and even grows with new believers.

Pray that the Lord will continue drawing Afghans to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Pray he will provide good leadership for the small number of Christians still in the country. Pray for new believers who long to meet in person with other members of the body of Christ. And pray for efforts to use digital platforms to evangelize and to disciple believers in Afghanistan.