Christians are urged to pray for other believers facing persecution on Sunday, November 10, which is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.
“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the whole Middle East is on intense fire and might explode any time,” said an official with the organization sponsoring the event, whose name was withheld for security purposes. “It seems that all political, social and human rights achievements in the direction of a possible reconciliation between major foes — Saudi-Iran, or the Israel-Arab world — are now very far way. This, of course, has direct implications for our persecuted brothers and sisters, as they are the most vulnerable and often blamed as being enemies of the state.”
The historical suffering of Christians who have converted from Islam in the region has reached a new level, he said. “All accomplished liberal thinking and religious tolerance in the Middle East are now departing, leaving the battleground for fanatism and Islamic radicalization to take over,” the official said.
David Curry, president and CEO of the persecution watchdog Global Christian Relief, previously called on churches to participate in the special prayer event.
“Over 340 million Christians are persecuted or oppressed because of their faith in Jesus,” he said. “Some of those places like North Korea are exceptionally difficult. If you’re caught with the Bible, you may spend the rest of your life in prison or even lose your life. Then there are other places around the world where the Gospel is opposed. You may be harassed and bothered, so there are any number of ways people can be persecuted for their faith.”
READ: App allows you to monitor Christian persecution around world
His agency recently provided aid to a leader of a group of converts from Islam in the Palestinian West Bank. The leader is from a prominent Muslim family, and his sister’s husband, a member of the extremist Salafi branch of Islam, recently discovered he had become a follower of Christ and reported him as an “unbeliever” to his relatives. The leader’s prominent Muslim father threw him and his family out of their house.
“He then had to flee and hide with his wife and son in a secret place for his security as the whole situation around October 7 got heated up and people became more radical,” the official said. “With the funds we received, we helped him to rent a hideout apartment and provided some living expenses for his family.”
Curry believes the persecution is so great, he created the now indispensible annual World Watch list of countries where Christian persecution is most rampant. He explained that Open Doors has teams placed worldwide to distribute resources to persecuted Christians in need.
“We go and stand with them,” he said. “We don’t just airlift it in. We’re going to deliver things to them. Prayer is what it’s all about, and to pray is to actively do something to help someone else.”
Persecuted Christians are receiving both aid and spiritual care to strengthen their faith in the face of suffering. The aid group Christians in Crisis has compiled a list of aid agency resources and other materials for how to pray for and help persecuted Christians. More information is available at www.christiansincrisis.net.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice