India (MNN) — Approximately one of nine Christians around the world is a victim of persecution — acts such as rape, imprisonment, torture, isolation, enslavement, discrimination, and harassment for their faith.
Sunday, November 3 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), coordinated annually by The Voice of the Martyrs.
One noteworthy country you can pray for this year is India.
(Photo courtesy of Mission India)
This was the first year India made the World Watch List’s top 10 worst countries to live as a Christian. Over 60 percent of Indian Christians experience direct oppression for their faith.
To raise awareness, Mission India is releasing a four-day devotional over IDOP weekend with the hopes of helping people pray for persecuted believers in India.
“It will kick off on October 31 and then it will capstone on November 3 and tie in with the actual day of International Day for the Persecuted Church,” Mission India’s Erik* says.
“Over the course of those four devotionals, people who sign up will be able to read about the different types of persecution that Christian Indians have geared towards them, but also what God is doing in spite of all that and how God is working amongst Christians to grow the Church and to strengthen the Church.”
The prayers of persecuted Indian believers can serve as a model for how we can pray as well. Erik says Mission India often gets questions from people wanting to pray for persecution to end.
“We actually posed that to one of our partners in India and he said, ‘Well, persecution is never going away. We never pray for it to go away. We pray to be strengthened and to be protected in the midst of all this.’”
(Photo courtesy of Mission India)
He says, “I think it’s a great reminder of how the Church grew so much when it was persecuted and it continues to be like that. Whenever it’s persecuted the most, that’s when God really seemingly creates these kinds of miracles of the Church growing.”
To sign up for Mission India’s four-day IDOP devotional, click here! The deadline for registration is October 31.
For now, Erik asks, “Pray over these Christians in India that they would be strengthened when they’re persecuted and that they would have the right words in the midst of difficult situations to share the love and grace of Jesus.”
Header image courtesy of Mission India.
*Name changed for security purposes.
