One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 10
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FOREWORD
Christians will boldly speak the truth of Christ. After Peter and John were threatened and told
not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, believers prayed to the Lord for “great boldness” in
preaching his word (Acts 4:29). Pray that our persecuted Christian family will speak out with
courage even in the face of arrest, imprisonment, and possible death.
Finally, pray that they will forgive and love their persecutors. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus gives us
this unequivocal directive: “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” VOM founders Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand suffered torture and imprisonment for their Christian
witness in Communist Romania; yet while still in prison, they shared the love of Christ with
their persecutors. Richard wrote:
I have seen Christians in Communist prisons with fifty pounds of chains on their feet,
tortured with r ed-hot iron pokers, in whose throats spoonfuls of salt had been forced,
being kept afterward without water, starving, whipped, suffering from c old—and
praying with fervor for the Communists. This is humanly inexplicable! It is the love
of Christ, which was poured out in our hearts.1
An Invitation to Fellowship
Even though you may never travel to meet your persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in the
jungles of Colombia, the Central Highlands of Vietnam, or the desert sands of Algeria, you can
fellowship with them through prayer. As you study each daily Scripture reading, remember
that the Bible—especially the New Testament—was written by and for persecuted believers.
Reading the Bible in this context should spur every believer to follow Christ more faithfully,
both individually and corporately.
As we lift up our persecuted brothers and sisters in prayer each day, may the Lord remind
us of our own utter and complete dependence on him. The God who sustains our persecuted
Christian family members likewise sustains all his children in their time of need. May the
examples of courage, boldness, forgiveness, and love that we see among the persecuted inspire
us to a deeper commitment to Christ and the Great C
ommission—no matter the cost!
On behalf of our persecuted Christian family worldwide, thank you for standing with them
in prayer every day of the year and fulfilling their number-one request: Pray for us!
The Voice of the Martyrs
vom.org/about
1 Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ, 3rd edition (Bartlesville, OK: Living Sacrifice Book Company, 2013), 63.
