Pray for the Persecuted
24th - 30th January 2020
Each week until Easter, please join us in prayer for brothers and sisters living in the top 10 most dangerous places to be a Christian. We will focus our prayers each week on those living in different persecuted nations around the world. Across the globe, more than 340 million Christians - one in every eight believers - experience high levels of persecution, just for following Jesus. The apostle Paul experienced persecution himself, when he wrote to the church in Corinth, he makes clear that he needed brothers and sisters to help him by praying for him.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
2 Corinthians 2:8-11
1. North Korea
Persecution type: Communist and post-Communist oppression
Estimated number of Christians: 400,000
How Christians are suffering: Being discovered as a Christian is a death sentence in North Korea. If you aren’t killed instantly, you will be taken to a labour camp as a political criminal. Believers have been killed or imprisoned for the 'crime' of owning a Bible. These inhumane prisons have horrific conditions, and few believers make it out alive. Everyone in your family will share the same punishment. Kim Jong-un is reported to have expanded the system of prison camps, in which an estimated 50,000–70,000 Christians are currently imprisoned.
Many parents dare not even let their own children know they follow Christ, as pupils are encouraged at school to report their parents if they see them praying or reading the Scriptures. Neighbours can be punished for failing to report suspected Christians living nearby.
Prayer: Lord God, it is hard for us to imagine life in North Korea for Christians. But thank You that You will never abandon Your children, and that You are with them whatever they suffer. May you grant daily grace for our brothers and sisters who are in danger every moment. Please help North Korean believers not just to survive but to be joyful, despite everything – prepare a banquet for them in the presence of their enemies. Be especially near to those who are imprisoned, may you bring comfort and strength for them. Tear down the strongholds of the Kim family and replace them with prayer and praise. Amen.
More information
Open Doors: https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/north-korea/
Barnabas Fund: https://barnabasfund.org/countries/North-Korea/
If you would like to pray as a family, then Open Doors have a free World Watch List pack for children and you can set off together on a journey of prayer through the year. Each week, children can colour in a flag in the prayer passport, pray for that country and put a sticker on that country on the map. These can be ordered from https://www.opendoorsuk.org/products/product/wwl-21-childrens-pack
This post is based on a very helpful blog post by Joe Carter, editor for The Gospel Coalition, entitled "The Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2021"