November 4
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” -Matt. 5:44-45a
On Wednesday evening, I sat with my sisters in Christ and we began to pray over the persecuted church. Each of us held a flyer that painfully awakened us to the atrocities of the world’s most severely persecuted country: North Korea. Sitting on a cushioned chair in a heated building, my heart broke for the millions of Christians who not only live uncomfortably because of their faith, but dangerously.
Today is a Sunday set apart to pray for these churches who face persecution. Here are three ways you can specifically lift up our oppressed brothers and sisters around the globe:
- Pray for protection. Christians in these countries live in a vulnerable and precarious situation. They face persecution from family, friends, and neighbors.
- Pray for spiritual strength. Some of these Christ-followers are suffering in prisons, labor camps, or remote areas.
- Pray for the salvation of rulers. Pray for spiritual healing and restoration in these countries.
Please join me in praying hard to our great God who rules sovereignly over calamity. He can deliver.
“The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” -Psalm 9:9
In Him,
Bethany J.
(Find out more about these churches suffering persecution at opendoorsusa.org)
bethanyjmelton.com 
Today during our Sunday School, the teens and I spent time in prayer using a handout from “The Voice of the Martyrs”. As local manifestations of the body of Christ, I am encouraged by my youth and by churches like yours who pray for the global church. May we continue to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ!
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