Prayer is how the body of Christ holds together when the world is trying to tear it apart
A believer is kneeling on a concrete floor in Eritrea. It is 4am. The window is covered. Her Bible is hidden inside a pillowcase. She is praying for her husband, who was taken from their home for leading a prayer group. She has no idea if he is alive or dead.
She is not alone. Across the world, believers are praying with her and for her – lifting her name before God, asking for her husband’s safety, holding her family in prayer across the miles.
That is why we pray. Because prayer is how the body of Christ holds together when the world is trying to tear it apart. Because a sister in Eritrea and a church in Birmingham can stand together before God, united by the same Spirit, even when thousands of miles divide them.
Prayer runs through Scripture
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
“Pray continually.”
And to Timothy, that prayers should be made “for all people”
"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people."
All people. The believer hiding a Bible in North Korea. The pastor on trial in Iran. The family sleeping on a church floor in Burkina Faso after their village was burned.
The call to pray without ceasing reflects a life shaped by constant dependence on God. It reminds Christians that prayer remains central to faith, especially when believers face trials.
The early church discovered this instinctively. When the pressure came, prayer was the first thing they reached for. It still is. Persecuted believers today, when asked what they need most, say the same thing: pray for us.
Jesus prayed first
Mark records that (Mark 1:35).
Prayer came first. Persecuted believers around the world follow the same pattern. Under extraordinary pressure, they turn to God before anything else. And they invite the global church to turn to God alongside them.
“very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”
Prayer came first. Persecuted believers around the world follow the same pattern. Under extraordinary pressure, they turn to God before anything else. And they invite the global church to turn to God alongside them.
The early church prayed under fire
When Peter and John were arrested and threatened, the church did not organise a campaign. They did not write to the authorities. They prayed.
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Prayer was not their last resort. It was their first response. The persecuted church today operates on the same instinct. When Voice of Persecuted Christians’s partners ask what believers need most, the answer is almost always the same: pray for us. Before money. Before Bibles. Before legal help. Pray.
God hears
The Psalmist wrote:
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth”
And Paul told the Philippians:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”
We do not pray into silence. We pray to a God who has promised to be near.
When we pray for a pastor in prison, God hears. When we pray for a widow in Nigeria, God is close to her. When we pray for a teenager in China reading the Bible for the first time in secret, God is in that room.
Prayer is not a gesture. It is participation in one another’s lives across the body of Christ. Hebrews 13:3 says to remember those in prison “as if you were together with them.” Prayer is how we get there.
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Start where the Spirit is moving right now
Here is today’s prayer alert from our partners in the field, alongside live requests from believers who have asked us to bring their names to you. Pray a single sentence. Pray for one country. Pray with us.
Thank God that our partner has been able to help Christian widows such as ‘Rachelle’ (pictured), who now rears pigs to provide for her and her five children. Pray for God’s blessing on other widows who are receiving support through our partner project.
How can I pray for persecuted Christians?
Start with a name. Voice of Persecuted Christians provides daily prayer alerts, country-specific prayer guides, and stories from believers who will tell you exactly what to pray for. You do not need special words. You need a willing heart and a brother or sister’s name.
Pray with knowledge. Stand with those who stand for Christ
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