| Pray for the Persecuted Posted: 27 Aug 2012 08:06 AM PDT Each week, we will post some specific ways that we can be praying together for our brothers and sisters around the world who are actively sharing in Christ's suffering through persecution. Take some time to lift the believers in each of these regions before our Father in heaven. At the same time, pray for those enacting the persecution to be kindly drawn to repentance and to experience new life through faith in Jesus. North Korea  “North Korea is the worst perpetrator of persecution against Christians in the world. Christians are tortured, imprisoned and murdered. Private, non-state-sanctioned religious activity is prohibited. Anyone discovered engaging in clandestine religious activity is subject to arrest, torture or even public execution, but the NorthKorean government is careful to maintain its facade of religious freedom. When Christians are executed, they are typically charged with being spies or being involved in illegal activities.
 “As many as 100,000 believers are thought to worship secretly. Experts estimate that of the hundreds of thousands incarcerated in labor and concentrationcamps, about 30,000 are Christians. Religious prisoners are typically treated worse than any of the other inmates. Many North Korean Christians have fled to China, where there are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 North Koreans. When these refugees are caught by the Chinese government, they are repatriated to North Korea, where they face torture, imprisonment and often death. As a result, North Korean refugees flee to a number of other places around Southeast Asia. The North Korean defectors are often considered to be ignorant and are unwanted in many countries.” – Voice of the Martyrs
Pray - Pray for those believers to unite, patiently endure, and depend on the God as they are strengthened, comforted, and faithful in the face of the harsh, anti-Christian government that oppresses them.
- Ranked 1 on Open Doors World Watch List, ranking “50 countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for their faith,” pray for the non-believers there. In an environment that forces people who wish follow Christ to count the cost, which is very high, pray that people would miraculously hear the gospel and turn to Christ in complete dependence, surrender, and self-abandon.
- Pray that the North Korean officials overseeing their labor camps, corrupt law-enforcement, and all other forms of persecution will be softened toward Christians as they see their strength and joy. Pray the the Lord would convict them, draw them, and give them the grace of Christian faith and repentance.
- Pray for the ongoing effort to drop Bibles into North Korea via large balloons. Voice of the Martyrs reports that “more than 7,900 New Testaments have been sent to North Korea this year alone” (VOM story). Pray that these Bibles would fall into the right hands and be used to unveil the hearts and minds of nonbelievers while at the same time propelling believers into deeper communion with the Lord.
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