Prayers for the Persecuted and Suffering

Prayers for the Persecuted & Suffering

(The Persecuted Church and Victims of Oppressive Governments, Terror, War and Human Trafficking – The Imprisoned, Detainees, Refugees, Displaced Persons, Strangers and Aliens)

Index with Page #s:

Prayers for Comfort and Consolation – 1
Prayers for Deliverance and Freedom – 2
Prayers for Protection – 4
Resources – 6

Hebrews 13:3

Lord we are told to “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.” (NLT)

Matthew 5:10

I choose therefore to pray for and bless those who are suffering because You declared “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (ESV)

2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 5

I pray “that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored” in those places where suffering abounds. 2 “Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” 5 “May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.” (NLT)

PRAYERS FOR COMFORT AND CONSOLATION

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, for as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (ESV)

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill [them] with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit [they] may abound in hope. (ESV)

Father, sustain and strengthen all those who are suffering. Comfort those whose family members who have been martyred, injured or imprisoned for their witness with the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the hope of eternal life. May all who suffer find peace and joy in their faith relationship with you. (Romans 15:13)

Isaiah 61:3

“Give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (American King James Version)

Lord I thank you for the promise of your presence with all who suffer for your sake. You’ve said you would never leave us or forsake us, that you would be with us to the very end and even if we make our bed in hell, you will be there. (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20, Psalm 139:8) Therefore in accordance with these promises give your people, those who serve and call upon your name, a sense of your presence.

I pray that they will feel connected to the greater body of Christ and know they are not alone. Claiming 1 Corinthians 12:20, 26 – “As it is, there are many parts but one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

Somehow by your redemptive grace make something good come of this, with opportunities to share the Gospel and for the furtherance of your kingdom. (Colossians 4:3) As with the early church in the book of Acts, may the seeds of persecution and martyrdom be used to multiply your church for your glory! Increase their boldness to make Christ known. (Philippians 1:4)

May they be strengthened through the prayers of fellow believers and encouraged by God’s word to rejoice in suffering, and forgive and love their persecutors. (Jude 20-25, Ephesians 6:17, Acts 5:41, Matthew 5:44)

Pause now to wait upon the Lord and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to specific peoples and nations for which He would have you pray.

PRAYERS FOR DELIVERANCE AND FREEDOM

Lord you have promised that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) I pray therefore that you would . . .

Psalm 72:12-14

“Deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. . . take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. . . rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in [your] sight.” (NIV)

Your word says that . . .

Psalm 102:19-20

“From his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die.” (ESV)

Psalm 142:6-7

“Attend to [their] cry for [they] are brought low. Deliver [them] from [their] persecutors, for [they] are too strong for [them]. Bring [them] out of prison, that [they] may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround [them], for you will deal bountifully with [them].” (ESV)

Lord prepare and raise up a deliverer, an exile, one of their own, an expat, an outsider like a Moses, a Joseph, an Esther or a Daniel to return with a calling and empowering anointing, wisdom and favor to set the captives free!

Isaiah 61: 1-2

May your Spirit Sovereign Lord visit your people. May the poor hear the “good news” proclaimed to them. “Bind up the broken hearted . . . proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve.” (NIV)

Psalm 10:1-2, 12-18

1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (ESV)

Psalm 74: 2, 10-11, 18-23

2 Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed- Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

10 How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how foolish people have reviled your name.

19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

20 Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long.

23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually. (NIV)

Psalm 146:5-9

5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free,

8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the foreigner (refugee) and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. (NIV)

Psalm 9:7-10

“The LORD abides forever. He has established His throne for judgment. And, He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed; a stronghold in times of trouble. And, those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (NAS)

Lord, just as with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the children of Israel…

Psalm 105:12-15

12 When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,

13 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.

Do for your people today as you did for them…

14 He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake He rebuked kings:

15 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” (NIV)

Pause now to wait upon the Lord and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to further specific prayers He would have you pray.

PRAYERS FOR PROTECTION

We pray that you might keep your children who called by your name, the righteous and the innocent ones from the power of the evil one.

John 17:11,15

Holy Father. . . by the power of your name . . . protect them from the evil one. (NIV)

Father, even as Peter was lowered in a basket over the wall in Acts 9:25, I pray their ministry activities will escape the notice of authorities or others who wish to silence them.

Lord if your judgments are fixed as with Judah in Jeremiah’s day, and you choose not to change the situation in oppressive, war torn and terrorized countries, at least be merciful to the righteous like you were with Jeremiah and Baruch and let them escape with their lives. (Jeremiah 45:1)

You said in

Luke 13:1-5

1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?

3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (NIV)

In the light of that perspective we choose to stand with and claim the promise of your salvation for those with repentant hearts. Save them from suffering and rescue them from perishing!

Grant protection to the righteous, to your children who call upon your name.

Habakkuk 3:2b

“In wrath remember mercy.” (NIV)

And also in your mercy, touch the hearts of those who are unrepentant that they might turn to you as well, repent and receive their salvation and not perish! Send a spirit of humility and repentance into their midst!

Ezekiel 33:11

I claim this Sovereign Lord, because you have said “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die?” (NIV)

Lord Jesus we remember with honor and are inspired by those, who for reasons only you fully know, have had to lay down their lives for your namesake in the face of persecution and terror. Minister grace to their families and to those who remain. “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” comfort them in all their afflictions. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Romans 14:7-9

7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (NIV)

And Lord, as we consider such seemingly senseless and brutal tragedies and deaths, move upon the hearts of all those who remain to turn to you and repent for you have said…

Ecclesiastes 7:2

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” (ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:15

“That those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (NIV)