Lent Day 28: Intercession for Persecuted Christians

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We know for a fact that Christians continue to be persecuted just like the disciples were all over the world.  I am not talking about complying with unfair laws under secular governments. I mean suffering that involves bodily harm, and even death. From communist countries to Islamic-majority countries, through terrorist strongholds, we occasionally hear about dastardly acts. While we hear about these atrocities occasionally, they are actually happening everyday. The reality is that we  have been numbed into subconscious acceptance that these things happen as a part of life.

There could not be a better time than during this season of Lent, as we approach Good Friday, to remember what exactly the persecution of Christians signifies. It is Christ carrying His Cross all over again. Just like Christians who are being murdered for the declaration of their faith, the official reason for our Savior’s death sentence by Pilate was that He declared His truth, that He was the Son of God.

In carrying that Cross, Jesus is bearing our burdens and sins. Sins that we actually committed and should be judged for. However, persecuted Christians are not being killed for their personal sins, but for their declaration of their Truth, their faith. In this regard, they are most like Jesus in dying an unjust death. I would like to think that their innocent burden is a deeply personal one for Jesus, because He relates to it.

As Christians with the benefit of hindsight, if we were walking the Via Dolorosa along with Jesus on the way to Calvary, we would probably feel the pain of His unjust sentencing and seek to help in any way we can. Just like Simeon, just like Veronica. Well, we have that opportunity in carrying the burden of our persecuted brethren in our hearts, knowing how personal their unjust treatment means to Jesus.

We may not be able to do much from where we are, free to worship and safe from threats to our own lives. But we can pray relentlessly for them, making that prayer a part of our own daily prayers.  I would like to think that a prayer that reminds Jesus of His own official sentence will find a warm place in His heart.  We can all do this, and we can trust that God will hear and act. We should also pray for the conversion of their persecutors. If Saul the Zealot Terrorist beheading Christians could become Paul, we can pray for the conversion of any terrorist today.