“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” – Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)

“Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” – Hebrews 13:3 (NLT)

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.” – Acts 12:5 (BSB)

“But God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.” – 1 Corinthians 12: 24b-26 (ESV)

“Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 (BSB)

Again, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-14 (NLT).

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NKJV). Hallelujah!

Some of you may know that I lead a prayer for the persecuted church every month, joined by a small but mighty group of faithful believers. You may wonder why we do it, so I hope the scriptures above sufficiently answer your question. In addition to that, I do feel a particular burden for the persecuted church, which only prayer seems to ease.

As such irrespective of whether it feels easy or convenient, when I think of the faith of our persecuted brothers and sisters, standing strong in the midst of the kind of intense persecution some of us are fortunate to have never experienced, I cannot imagine not doing this little act…  All the while hoping that God can do a lot with our little, as He did when he used a boy’s lunch of five small barley loaves and two small fish to feed five thousand men (and more women and children) (John 6:1-14).

In verse 9 in particular, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, articulates this challenge, “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?” (BSB). And it is tempting to ask what difference our prayers will make when the troubles and challenges of the persecuted church are so many, and the stories are so heartbreaking.

However, as we know from the rest of the story, it certainly made a difference, because Jesus was present. Praise be to God. Like the hymn lyrics say, “little is much when God is in it”.

And indeed God is in this, and He answers prayers. Acts 12:5 emphasises that the church was fervently, earnestly praying. When we read the rest of Acts 12, we see the results of that prayer. What was supposed to be an inevitable death row sentence for Peter ended in an amazing miracle of God’s powerful rescue. The number of soldiers, guards, chains, doors, gates etc in the way did not stop God from rescuing Peter then, and it won’t stop Him now.

Our brothers and sisters all over the world face all sorts of persecution – from ostracization and rejection from their families and communities, to being beaten, stoned, their children being bullied and taunted in schools, hunger, loss of livelihood, injustice, arrests, imprisonment, kidnappings, death threats and death itself. And yet, they still hold on to their incredible faith in God. What amazes me is that sometimes the main prayer request they have is that God will keep their faith strong in the midst of all, and continue to give them opportunities to share the gospel. From Africa to Asia to the middle East and beyond. They don’t even necessarily always ask that they be rescued, although we do pray for that, but for grace to show their persecutors the love of God. How powerful a witness is that.

I would like to share a recent testimony of God’s intervention with you to encourage you and make us realise that God indeed answers our prayers.

On 13th February 2017, Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted in broad daylight in Selangor, near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has not been seen since then. Three years later, his wife, Susanna Koh, sued the Malaysian government and several senior police officers for their negligence in their investigation of his disappearance. It was a lengthy legal battle, and as a group, we prayed regarding this situation multiple times over the years. We also prayed the night before the verdict was to be given, for God to handle the situation and cause justice to prevail.

And praise the God of justice and mercy, justice prevailed! On 5th November 2025, Susanna Koh won her lawsuit against the state over the disappearance of her husband.

“According to the High Court in Kuala Lumpa, one or more police officials were involved in the abduction, misusing their power and acting ‘oppressively and arbitrarily’.

The court has ordered the Malaysian government to pay the family RM10,000 (£1,800) per day from the day the pastor was taken until he is found. The amount currently totals RM31 million (£5.7 million). Just under RM4.3 million is to be awarded in other damages and costs.

The judge also ordered the police to reopen their investigation into the case and provide reports to the Attorney General on their progress every two months.” Praise God! (Source here, and here also.)

There are many other testimonies and prayer points on the Open Doors website, so I will encourage you to have a read, pray and act as God leads you.  Some of the stories we read are heartbreaking, but I am learning to continue leaving them at the feet of Jesus, so that I don’t get disheartened and falter.

The story above really encouraged me though, because sometimes I feel like we pray for the same situations over and over, and over and over, and over and over, and yet, we keep hoping. Especially the incidences of kidnappings and attacks in Nigeria. However I am encouraged that even though it may not feel like anything is changing on the ground, I can confidently trust that God is indeed at work. I am also encouraged by the testimony of Saul Paul, who went from a passionate persecutor to passionate preacher of the gospel, after one encounter with Jesus (Acts 9). As such, we pray that even the persecutors will have a Damascus road experience, a heart-transforming, life-changing, direction-altering encounter with Jesus.

However even when our prayers are not answered in the way we hope, and people still end up martyred for their faith, we know that death is not the end, for Jesus has swallowed up death in victory. As such, we are always on the side of life, abundant, eternal life! (John 11:25-26, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, Revelation 21:4).

And so we pray that, like Stephen, they will gaze steadily into Heaven and see the glory of God, and Jesus standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand, and be able to say, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56). Isn’t it interesting that Jesus is usually recorded in Scripture as seated at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1, Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 3:1, Ephesians 1:20-21)… But Stephen saw Him standing. Was He standing to welcome a martyr for the faith? I will leave you to ponder on the mystery, the wonder, the preciousness of that.

As you reflect on this post, I pray that you will be inspired to continuously lift up in your prayers our family of believers from all over the world who are being persecuted for their faith. I pray that you will also be encouraged by their faith and faithfulness to God in the midst of such difficulty, and that God will use you in your own little (or big!) way to make a difference. May our faithful, merciful and just God continue to show Himself strong on the behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters who trust in Him, and may He keep their lamps burning brightly. Amen and Amen.

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P.S. Our next prayer for the persecuted church is on 2nd December, 2025 at 7:30pm (GMT). If you do want to join us, please kindly contact me for details. God bless you.

Some ways to pray for the persecuted church are outlined here.

Image by Walter Rane, Courtesy Church History Museum, Sourced here.