FREEDOM
Church
Prays for the Persecuted
By
Terry Madison
Open Doors USA
CBN.com
-- SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) -- This week thousands of churches across America
and tens of thousands of Christians are praying for suffering believers as a part
of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This year
more Christians were mobilized to pray than ever before. At Open Doors, we had
more than 20 percent of an increase in requests for IDOP materials! This demonstrated
that Christians in the West, and churches in the West, are deeply concerned about
the status of the Persecuted Church. And they should be. Because of their
faith--and their resulting identification with the "Christian" West--Christians
living in Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, [Karen Yates] and Philippines have suffered
intense backlash from their communities. In the past year, 39 Christians
have been killed and 75 wounded in five anti-Christian assaults targeted against
Pakistan's Christian minority. Missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham were held
in the Philippines by Islamic radicals for over a year, and tragically, Martin
never made it home. Thousands of Christians have died in violent riots in northern
Nigeria because of the proclamation of shari'a law. At this very moment, Iraqi
Christians are gearing up for similar backlash in the face of possible war between
the U.S. and Saddam Hussein. These reports remind us that persecution is
a daily reality for over 200 million Christians worldwide. Their suffering doesn't
take place only on November 10. Every morning, our brothers and sisters decide
to follow Jesus, regardless of the cost. Every morning, they need to be in our
prayers. Imagine our world if American Christians followed Jesus with the
same devotion and passion exemplified by the Persecuted Church! With all our freedoms,
the challenge is not one of life or death. It is of discipline and faithfulness.
On behalf of the Persecuted Church worldwide, I challenge American Christians
to discipline themselves to pray daily for those who suffer, and to be faithful
to that commitment for the rest of their lives. We are "our brothers' and sisters'
keepers," as the Bible states. More
from Open Doors Ministry More
from Assist New Service
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