Prayer For Those Being Persecuted
Sovereign God,
we worship You
and we acknowledge that You know all of those
who suffer in Your name.
We remember those who are imprisoned for their faith
and ask that they would join with the Apostle Paul
to see that even though they remain captive,
their chains have furthered the gospel,
not frustrated it.
May they inspire and embolden their fellow believers
to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
God of all comfort,
for those who are tortured both in body and mind,
give them the grace to endure
and to see their suffering as part of following in Christ's footsteps.
Merciful God,
for those asked to pay the ultimate price;
who are martyred because of their love for You,
may they truly know Christ
and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings,
becoming like Him in His death.
Father God,
for those who are widowed and orphaned
may they know the comfort that comes from Your promised presence
even when they walk through the valley.
May they be strengthened by Your Spirit,
enabling them to rejoice with the psalmist
as they proclaim that the Lord will not abandon them in death.
Heavenly Father,
we ask that You would make us ever mindful of our brothers and sisters around the world
who need us to stand with them
as they suffer in Your name.
Teach us what it means
to overcome by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of our testimony;
we pray that we would not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Father, today I come to you for strength. God, you said you are my shield. In your Word, you said that you will be with me in the valley and on the mountaintops. You will never leave me nor forsake me.
Abba Father, the enemy is coming against me from all angles. But I choose to stand on your promises. I rest in the comfort of your Word.
Father, I choose to follow your Word and your precepts. Though the enemy comes against me like a roaring lion, seeking to devour me, I rebuke the devourer from my life, in the name of Jesus.
Jehovah Nissi, Oh Lord my God, as we hunger and thirst after You, diligently seeking You, there are those around us that may not comprehend Your Great, Divine power, causing them to react negatively against us. They mock, they laugh, they degrade and persecute us, Your children, but You are a just God and You will never leave us nor forsake us in these difficult times.
Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
O God, thou knowest my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from thee.
Let not those who hope in thee be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek thee be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel.
For it is for thy sake that I have borne reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brethren,
an alien to my mother's sons.
For zeal for thy house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult thee have fallen on me.
When I humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of thy steadfast love answer me.
O God of all the nations,
the One God who is and was and always will be,
in your providence you willed that your Church
be united to the suffering of your Son.
Look with mercy on your servants
who are persecuted for their faith in you.
Grant them perseverance and courage
to be worthy imitators of Christ.
Bring your wisdom upon leaders of nations
to work for peace among all peoples.
May your Spirit open conversion
for those who contradict your will,
that we may live in harmony.
Give us the grace to be united in truth and freedom,
and to always seek your will in our lives.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us.
Loving Father, I lay each and every one of Your children that are suffering as a result of persecution in prison or hard labour camps. Father God, please be very close to every single one that has been confined to prison for their faith, and pour out Your life-saving grace into each life and heart.
May Your Holy Spirit permeate their being with Your peace that surpasses all understanding, and may Your sustaining hope warm their aching hearts, knowing that they can draw near to you and that You are with them in the terrible ordeal that they are going through. Infuse them with a sense of Your closeness and presence, and may Your holy angels be ministering spirits that surround and support them every moment of the day and night.
Lord, I am sure that the doubts and fears that flood their minds during their capture must be shocking and far beyond what we, who have never had to taste such atrocities, can imagine. But in Your great love and mercy, pour in Your strength and support them with Your loving kindness and tender pity. May each one find in You the depth of peace and rest that their soul needs. Father, they are Your children and our brothers and sisters. Hold them closely in the palm of Your loving hands. In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
Loving Lord, we live in an evil world and know that You are coming back soon for Your Church. Be with all those who are suffering persecution at the hands of so many that would destroy the truth of Your Word.
Help every man and woman, boy and girl that is going through some form of persecution today. May You guard and guide and encourage each one, no matter where they are.
Give them the strength to remain firm in their faith, despite any physical, emotion or psychological pain they may have to endure for the sake of Jesus Christ. Protect and keep each one from harm and danger that stalks their path. Hide them under the shadow of Your wing, and support and strengthen them in the ordeals that they will be subjected to.
Let Your peace and joy and love reign in their hearts, and help them to walk humbly before You, as they identify with the sufferings that the Lord Jesus endured for them. And Father, may their lives, and possibly their deaths, be a fruitful witness. May the seed of Your love be planted in the hearts of their persecutors, so that their life may produce much fruit. In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.
Oh Lord, we bring before You all persecuted Christians in so many parts of the world, and we particularly lift up their children, knowing that children can be so abused and ill-treated and used as pawns to cause their parents to falter in their faith.
Guard and protect all these little ones. Keep each one from any long-term psychological harm, emotional pain or feelings of bitter revenge that can result from the atrocities that they have had to go through and witness.
Protect every single life we pray, and we ask that You would intervene in any attempts to abduct the children of Christians and expose them to forced corrective teaching or child labour camps.
Lord, You were the one that said, "let the little children come to Me and forbid them not." I pray that each and every child that experiences some form of persecution against their faith, will be kept and protected by You, and brought at last into Your everlasting kingdom, where every tear and all pain will be wiped away, forever.
Amen.