International Day of Prayer, 2012

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Dying, we conquer. The moment we are crushed, that moment we go forth victorious.” –Tertullian, early church leader (197 AD)

On November 11, thousands of Christians worldwide will set aside the day to remember and pray for the persecuted church around the globe. As the Bible commands us, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated…” (Hebrews 13:3 ESV)

Many seem to forget that persecution of the Body of Christ is something that still happens around the world. We sometimes have the mindset that the early Christians in Rome were the only ones who died for their faith; now, in our 21th century world, we can’t imagine being imprisoned simply for believing that Christ truly was the Son of God. And yet this is a reality to millions of Christians worldwide.

Today, there are more Christian martyrs (someone murdered for their faith in God) than there were in 100 AD (the days of the Roman Empire). In 1999, an estimated 164,000 people worldwide paid the ultimate price for their Christian convictions. All in one year. That means an average of 450 Christian were killed every day.

In China alone, more than 250,000 Christians have been martyred for their faith since 845 AD. In Iran, being found with a Bible means you may be rejected by your family and imprisoned; in Algeria, you might be beaten by police; and in North Korea you would be executed.

Yet, in the countries where Christians are rejected for their faith, God’s Spirit continues to grow. Despite Satan’s hardest efforts to extinguish Christianity, it has refused to be stopped.

Mehdi Dibaj, a Christian martyred in Iran in 1994, said these words: “I would rather have the whole world against me, but know that the Almighty God is with me, I would rather be called an apostate, but know that I have the approval of the God of glory…” These Christians who stand for Christ no matter what the cost, even giving their lives, are those “Of whom the world was not worth…” (Hebrews 11:38)

 This week, especially remember those brothers and sisters who are persecuted for what they believe. Pray that God would be their strength in times of trial, and that their light would not be dimmed.

Reagan Schrock, GOA blog manager

 
For more information, see the websites persecution.com and idop.org.