International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church
November 10-17, 2002

Some 200 million Christians today are living with serious persecution (threat of prison, vigilante or state violence, etc.) on account of their faith. A further 400 million Christians live with non-trivial restrictions on their freedom and the loss of many basic human rights, simply because they choose to love and follow Jesus Christ. Persecution of the Church is a huge problem. We are all brothers and sisters, so what sort of family will we be - one that cares or one that neglects?

Persecuted Christians are in a spiritual battle, often fighting for their lives and sometimes struggling in their faith. We can join them in this spiritual battle, fighting on their behalf, by praying for them and supporting them. See www.idop.org/ for more information and specific prayer requests.

The 12 most strategic nations to pray for are the following:

• Afghanistan
• China
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Laos
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• Turkmenistan

Please pray also for the missionaries and ministries which Central supports who are reaching out to these nations or people groups.

See also:

• Prayer for the Persecuted Church
• Links Concerning Persecution of Christians