Prayer has more power than an atomic bomb. It has changed both Russia and China, where the situation has eased to some extent, though the governments are still decidedly anti-religious. The chief cause of this change has been the loving prayers of the sufferers for their henchmen, seconded by the prayers in the West of Christians we have alerted and informed.
When I was in prison, Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals and Adventists were all in the same cells and endured the same atrocities. Instead of arguing about less important things, we united in love and prayer for the killers, and we used every occasion to tell our torturers about Christ.
This Sunday, we encourage you to join with believers around the world and pray for Christians who suffer for their faith during the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Downloadable resources such as prayer points, Bible readings, devotionals, video, testimonies and children’s material are still available at http://www.idop.org/.Just as the Apostle Paul asked the church in Thessalonica to pray, we ask you to stand with us and pray for those in the midst of persecution, that God would continue to work in their lives and do a work in the hearts of those around them.
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honuored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.