Prayer is the Key

“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees."  William Cowper

In the last post we put on this blog, we took a look at the suffering church around the world. In our present-day, twenty-first century mindset, it seems unreal that Christian still face harassment and even death for what they believe.

Yet the church has grown, doubling its size between the years 1990 and 2000. It is like trying to douse a fire with gasoline; the harder Satan tries, the faster God’s Kingdom is built.

But the price is large. Thousands have lost everything for Christ; many, when under the heat of persecution, deny Jesus. Here in the West we have no idea what that is like. Stories are told of Christians in prison, who are given two options: deny Christ and you may walk out a free man, or hold to your religion and remain in this prison until you die. It is easy to say we would never forsake Christ, but in the West, we simply don’t know what it is like to be persecuted.

When Christians in restricted nations are asked what can be done to help them, the response, over and over again, is simply, “Pray for us.” They do not even ask that persecution stop, but rather that God would give them the courage to be strong through the trials.

On November 13, two days ago, was the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church (www.idop.org). This week there is a special emphasis on “remember those in bonds” (Hebrews 13:3). Throughout the following days, take the time to stand by our brothers and sisters all over the world through prayer. In this small way, we are being bound with them in their chains.

Never underestimate the power of prayer; this is what moves mountains.

“Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces."  S.D. Gordon

-Reagan Schrock, GOA blog manager