'Remember My Chains' -- Prayer for Persecuted Christians This Sunday
by Allie Martin
November 10, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Christians in the United States are being encouraged to join in a corporate prayer effort for believers worldwide who face persecution.Sunday, November 12, is the annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Christians in America are asked to pray for more than 200 million believers who suffer for the faith in Christ. Pastors are being encouraged to incorporate sermons about the persecuted Church into their Sunday services.
Dr. Carl Moeller is president of Open Doors USA, a ministry that helps raise awareness of the persecuted Church worldwide. Moeller says it is important for Christians in free nations to remember those in persecuted countries. He reminds believers that when the Apostle Paul was in prison, he asked his fellow believers to "remember my chains."
"And today, literally hundreds of thousands of others join with the Apostle Paul in asking Christians around the world to remember those who are in chains," says Moeller, "[and] to remember those who suffer oppression, those who suffer physical and emotional abuse at the hands of those who would persecute them for believing in Jesus Christ."
According to Moeller, most Christians in the U.S. do not understand the persecution faced by many believers worldwide. "We take for granted that our freedoms here in the United States are present in most countries around the world," he shares. "And the sad truth is, most countries around the world don't have anything like the freedom we have here to worship Jesus Christ."
Jerry Dykstra with Open Doors says a particular focus during this year's International Day of Prayer will be prayer for North Korean Christians, who face imprisonment, torture, and even execution for their faith. He explains why he expects God to work in that situation.
"God assures us, in Matthew 18:19, that when we agree on something in prayer, He will answer," Dykstra tells Associated Press. "And just our Open Doors Eastern Communist prayer campaign preceded the fall of communism in Europe, so we are hoping that our North Korean prayer campaign is going to have the most powerful impact on that oppressive communist regime."
The International Day of Prayer's website, IDOP.org, offers teaching materials that can be downloaded for use this Sunday. The material is suitable for churches, small groups, and Sunday school classes.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
