Global prayer for persecuted Christians on Nov 8
Pastor Dale Morgan
Global prayer for persecuted Christians on Nov 8*
by John Malhotra
Posted: November 7, 2009, 15:58 (IST)
In one of the largest prayer events to happen on Sunday, Nov. 8,
thousands of churches from over 150 countries will pray for the
persecuted Christians across the globe, and this includes those in Orissa.
An initiative of the World Evangelical Alliance, the International Day
of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) will cry for "thousands of
our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer
persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord."
Executive Director of the Religious Liberty Commission of WEA, Godfrey
Yogarajah, asks Christians to pause their busy lives and think of those
who are enduring persecution for the sake of Gospel.
He urged Christians to go on their knees praying for "those who have not
eaten for days because they are given nothing to eat…those languishing
in prison…Christian families who have watched their homes burn to the
ground…pastors who are brutally beaten and tortured for their
faith…those who are facing death, even right at this moment, for
refusing to denounce Christ…"
He recalled his meeting with widows of several Christian leaders who
were killed during the Kandhamal violence last year. "They had lost
everything: their homes, their possessions and their husbands. ‘We have
lost everything except our faith,’ one told me, clutching her baby," he
shared.
“Pray that we stay strong and bring up our children in the faith for
which their fathers gave their lives,” Yogarajah quoted a victim saying.
Yogarajah says Christians must “unite in prayer for the persecuted
church, in the spirit of oneness that Christ commanded, 'For, if one
suffers, we all suffer'."
Originated in 1996, the prayer event co-organized by the Open Doors USA,
"presents a tremendous opportunity for millions of people to make a
difference in the lives of those being persecuted for their faith in
countries like North Korea, Iran, Iraq, China, India and many more,"
according to the ministry's President Carl Moeller.
"Persecuted believers have asked us who live in freedom to pray for
them—always their number one request," he adds.
Incidentally, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
falls in the month of November which also celebrates "All Saints Day"
and "All Souls Day" - set apart to remember the saints of the church and
the souls of those who departed this world.
According to the organizers, the prayer campaign has been earlier
participated by over 100,000 US churches, representing nearly every US
denomination.
The goals of IDOP are three-fold: increase awareness of the persecuted
church worldwide, lead in prayer on behalf of the persecuted church,
promote ongoing and appropriate action on behalf of the persecuted church.