Pray for the Persecuted

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:9)

Persecution for your faith can come in many different forms and from many different places.  We are blessed in the Western church to boldly share and practice our faith in most countries without fear of physical persecution.  Yet sadly, across the world, there are many who do not share that freedom.  Our hearts yearn for a way to ease the hardship of Christians who are discriminated against, harassed, unjustly arrested, beaten, imprisoned or even killed by regimes who oppose Jesus Christ.

The early church, in the book of Acts, also went through severe torment, not just from Gentiles, the ‘outsiders’, but from those they would call brothers, their fellow Jews!  Peter, as one of the early church leaders, had to bear the brunt of a lot of persecution, as he was often the one boldly standing up for his faith, and preaching the message of Jesus Christ.  Yet what is so clear throughout the book of Acts, is that the believers did not pray for Peter’s release per se, but rather for him.

Often we think that praying for freedom for oppression, or from hard situations, is the answer but when we read of the prayers of the believers, we are challenged to refocus our prayers.  Perhaps we should pray instead that God may give the persecuted the strength to endure, because even in the midst of persecution, something beautiful can be birthed.  Take for example, Paul and Silas’ captivity in Philippi. (See Acts 16)  Through their imprisonment and an earthquake, the prison guard and his whole family were saved, baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Today, if you are going through some adversities, persecution, or you know of someone who is, why not try and pray, that God would give them the strength to endure it and birth something beautiful from it; that God may be glorified.  After all, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” (Romans 8:28)  We might not always see the fruit of our suffering, but we can rest in the knowledge and peace, that God will always get the glory.  Don’t give up!

Some suggestions on how to pray for the persecuted:

1) Pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ would give persecuted believers the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of their hearts enlightened, that they may know what is the hope to which He has called them, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His resurrection power toward them. (See Ephesians 1:17-20)

2) Ask God to provide refuge for persecuted believers, acknowledging that He is their Lord and their source of every blessing.  Praise God for being their portion, and that God would counsel them, and instruct their hearts in the night.  Pray that as they set the Lord always before them, they will not be shaken.  Ask that God would grant them a glad heart, and that they would rejoice with their whole being, knowing that they are secure in God’s hand.  Rejoice that He will not abandon them, and ask that He would make known to them the path of life.  Ask for a keen sense of His presence at every moment, bringing a fullness of joy that exceeds human understanding. (See Psalm 16:1, 5-11)

3) Pray that persecuted Christians would themselves be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.  Ask God to open up a door for the Word, so that they may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which they have been imprisoned; that God may make it clear in the way they ought to speak.  Ask that God’s grace would enable them to conduct themselves with wisdom toward unbelievers, making the most of every opportunity.  Pray that their speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that they will know how they should respond to each person. (See Colossians 4:2-6)

4) Remind God of His promise of grace that is sufficient in every circumstance, and of power that is made perfect in weakness.  Pray that His persecuted children would glory in their weaknesses, trusting that the power of Christ would rest upon them.  Ask Him for supernatural grace that would allow them to be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10b)

5) Ask God to grant persecuted believers a limitless joy in spite of their situations, because according to the measure that they share in Christ’s sufferings, they will be exceedingly glad when His glory is revealed.  Pray that God would remind them that if they are insulted for the name of Christ, they are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon them.  Pray that God’s grace would keep them above reproach, and that they would not be ashamed, but would glorify God and give thanks that they can bear the name “Christian.”  Ask that those who suffer according to God’s will would entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (See 1 Peter 4:12-19)

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