Heavenly Father, your people in Bhutan are hard pressed on all sides – but not crushed.
Please sustain them, Lord, and remind them that their strength is in you and you alone. Remind them that you overcame the world.
Show your love and faithfulness to the officials, the neighbours, the Buddhist monks who all conspire to make life difficult for your people. Reveal yourself to them in all your glory so they understand just who it is they are rejecting.
Lord of all, may your name be exalted across Bhutan.
Amen
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Lord, you warned that brother would turn against brother, fathers would betray their children, because people would reject you (Matthew 10:21).
We lift to you our friends in Afghanistan where people’s opposition to Christianity is tearing families apart and where your people are rejected by their nearest and dearest.
Father, please work in the hearts of family members whose relatives have turned to Christ.
May they start to hunger for the blessings they see you pouring out upon Christian relatives, and desire for themselves the deep peace they witness in their relatives’ lives. Draw them after you with cords of human kindness, Lord.
Amen
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Lord, you call your church a city on a hilltop which cannot be hidden. Help us to shine the light of your love into even the darkest places on the planet.
Father, we cry out to you for Syria and for an end to the violence that has gripped that fractured nation for so long.
May the quiet witness of your people there speak deep into the hearts of the men and women of violence, the militias and the army.
Lord, we pray that people in their droves in Syria and across the Middle East will be drawn by the light of your love and surrender their lives to you, for your glory.
Amen
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Father, thank you that you knew us before we were even conceived, and you have a plan and purpose for our lives. You are not a vengeful God, but a loving God whose plan is to prosper us and give us hope.
Lord, we speak this truth over those in Laos who are persecuting your people today. We declare your goodness, gentleness and mercy over them.
May they start to question the meaning of life and the reason for their own existence – and may they recognise the God-shaped hole in their life.
Meet them, Lord, and show them that the best is yet to come if they surrender their lives and walk in step with you.
Amen
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Lord Jesus, thank you for making a way so that we can approach your throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16).
We praise you that the same applies to anyone who comes to you in repentance and faith – whatever their past. What has gone before has no bearing on our future in you.
Lord, the same applies to the cruellest of prison guards in North Korea and the most ruthless of leaders. May this truth about your grace and your mercy reach the ears of North Korea’s most notorious persecutors, and may it resound deep in their hearts.
We pray for a miracle, Lord: that North Korea’s leaders will turn to you and lead the people into repentance and faith in you. May the capital Pyongyang be called the ‘Jerusalem of the East’ once again.
Amen
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Loving heavenly Father, your goodness never fails and you never change.
We lift to you those people in Iran who are persecuting your people because they don’t know you, Lord – whether they are judges or prison guards, officials or even family and neighbours.
We pray that your Word and your Truth will break through into their lives so that they see you in all your glory and in all your goodness.
Lord, meet that deep need inside them for love and reassurance, and cast out all fear.
Amen
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Merciful Father, we pray for those who are persecuting your people in India, even to the point of death.
Lord, we thank you that you are rich in mercy and that you showed mercy to each one of us, when you gave your precious Son to die for us on the cross.
Lord, please show mercy to those who are hounding your people in India, to the violent and to the merciless. Bring them to repentance and show them a better way, Lord.
Thank you, faithful God, that your mercies are new every morning, for anyone and everyone.
Amen
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Holy One, we praise you that there is no place on earth where we can flee from your presence. Your love envelopes the whole earth.
We lift to you our family in Central Asia and thank you for your presence with them and faithfulness to them.
Lord, speak to those who do not know you, who refuse to accept you, who will not allow themselves to believe you are real. Whisper words of love to those who believe your church has no place in Central Asia and those who oppose your people.
May your Word spread across this region, breaking down strongholds and destroying the lies of the enemy, by the power of your Holy Spirit.
Amen
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Loving Father, we speak your words of love and hope over the troubled nation of Myanmar, in faith: ‘Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise’ (Isaiah 60:18).
We lift to you the men and women of violence who continue to wreak such destruction and pain in the name of national unity.
Lord, please speak to key army officials about the cruelty and injustice of their recent campaigns. Meet them in dramatic ways as you did Saul on the road to Damascus and remove the scales from their eyes.
May these individuals grow into a movement of change for good, so that Myanmar is reborn as a nation.
Amen
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Father God, we thank and praise you for the way your people in Algeria are pointing others to you through their faithful witness and service.
We pray for the Algerian officials involved in closing down churches in the north of the country, in what seems to be a concerted campaign of persecution.
Thank you, Lord, that you love every one of those officials.
Please put across their path people, words and signs that will speak to them of your boundless love – and cause them to choose tolerance over persecution. May they choose life and may they choose you.
Amen
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Lord, we declare that the beautiful island of Sri Lanka is yours and everyone in it. Your banner over that nation is love.
So, we lift to you those who would sow discord and intolerance and disunity. We pray for those who are prepared to use violence to try to silence your people and impose their beliefs.
Please give Christians in Sri Lanka the courage and determination to be peace-makers and channels of your love – so that their persecutors will start to doubt their own agenda.
Lord, we pray that the men and women of violence will recognise you as their Saviour, Prince of Peace and Lord of all.
Amen
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Dear God, we lift to you all those who are responsible for keeping your people behind bars in Iran – from judges to prison guards.
As sentences become increasingly harsh, we pray that you will touch the hearts of those charged with administering justice in Iran. Please speak to them about what true justice is and cause them to question the judicial system that they uphold.
Thank you, Lord, that you came to set the captives free. Break the chains off those who do not know you, Lord.
Like Paul and Silas’s jailer in Acts 16, may they fall down and recognise you as the God of justice and their king.
Amen
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Father, we thank you that you are a loving father who holds us close and keeps us safe.
Lord, we lift to you the men and women of violence in India who threaten and attack your people there.
We pray that they will recognise their need of you – a father who loves them unconditionally.
We pray that your persecutors in India will hear and accept your invitation to make them co-heirs with Christ. And we pray that they will see those they persecute today as their brothers and sisters and become one body in Christ.
Amen
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Heavenly Father, we lift to you our brothers and sisters in Central Asia who are ‘hard pressed on every side’ (2 Corinthians 4:8). We praise you that you give them the strength to endure and overcome.
Lord, we ask you to speak to those who persecute your people in Central Asia, whether they are relatives or officials, neighbours or the government.
Frustrate their efforts to crush, weaken and destroy. Make them marvel at the staying power and strong faith of our Christian family, and start to question what, or rather who, it is that sustains them.
May they recognise that you Lord, their opponent, are reaching out in love to them too.
Amen
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Lord, we pray for the beautiful island of Sri Lanka and its people.
We pray especially for those of other faiths who see you as a threat to their beliefs and worldview, and who persecute Christians because they carry your name.
Teach them that they have nothing to fear from your people or from you – and speak to them about your great love for them.
Father, show them that your people care deeply for their country – and for all its people – and only want the best for them. Thank you, Lord, that the best is you!
Amen
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Lord Jesus, we praise you because you have all authority and, at your name, every knee must bow.
We lift Kenya to you and ask you to stand against the tide of persecution rising against Christians.
Please block the ears of those who might be open and vulnerable to extremists trying to recruit new followers. Remind Kenyans that their nation has a good, strong record on religious freedom and tolerance, and that these things matter in a democracy.
Lord, we pray that you will show extremists the folly of their ways, and frustrate their efforts to sow division. May Kenyans unite against the things that threaten to divide them, Lord, for your glory.
Amen
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Lord, your name is above all names and none compares with you, King above all kings.
We praise you that the government of China is on your shoulders and the Government of that nation answers to you. You know the name of every official in China – and you love them as sons and daughters.
Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit will move among China’s authorities and speak to them about repressive policies such as recent church demolitions. Help them to see that those behind bars in China for their faith do not deserve to be there.
Give Chinese officials a vision of how great their nation could be if they walked in step with you, Lord.
Amen
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Lord, we thank you that your perfect plan for humanity is that we are restored to living in close relationship with you and with one another.
We lift Mexico to you and ask you, merciful Lord, to convict those in power that they need to do more to end the divisions and corruption that dog their nation.
We pray that the Government will take firm action to protect your people from violence, persecution and discrimination – for the good of their nation.
Lord, please raise up a new generation of leaders in Mexico who want to work towards unity, peace, equality and religious freedom.
Amen
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Lord, we praise you as the One who makes all things new. Whatever our past, you wipe clean our slate and extend the promise of new life to everyone.
We pray for Bhutan, a nation rich in history and steeped in traditions, and a country which is keen to hold on to its traditional religions and customs.
Lord, we pray that you will open the eyes of officials in Bhutan and help them see that Christians offer no threat to the nation, even if they turn their back on ancient rituals.
Father, we pray that those in authority will discover new life in you – life in all its fullness (John 10:10).
Amen
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Heavenly Father,
Thank you for breaking down walls and casting aside barriers when people are united in your perfect love.
We lift to you the beautiful country of Laos and ask you to bless its people, even though so many do not recognise you.
We ask you, Lord, to speak peace and reconciliation into divided communities where some have turned to Christ and are perceived as a threat to cherished traditions.
Touch the hearts of village leaders who see new Christians as traitors – and pray that they will start to see your people instead as peacemakers and channels of your love.
Amen
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Lord, thank you that your Spirit is everywhere: there is nowhere on earth beyond your reach (Psalm 139.
We lift up to you our brothers and sisters in Bhutan, a remote land where to be Bhutanese is to be a Buddhist. To be Christian is to be a second-class citizen.
Lord, thank you that Bhutan is known as one of the ‘happiest places on earth’. We pray that its people will embrace you and that your joy will become their strength.
Break down their distrust of Christianity and ‘foreign religions’ – and draw them into relationship with you, the true and living God.
Amen
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Father God, we praise you that your perfect love drives out all fear.
Lord, we lift to you the religious and state officials in Iran who persecute your people – for fear that Christians will undermine the state and the status quo.
Please speak to that fear and overwhelm politicians and prison guards, imams and ayatollahs, with your love. Show them they have nothing to fear from Christians who want to serve others and build your kingdom in Iran.
Show them too that they have nothing to lose by reaching out to you, Lord – and everything to gain.
Amen
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Lord of all, we thank you that you are even-handed and you look with love on every person you ever created, regardless of how they treat your people.
Lord, we lift to you our Christian family in Egypt who are routinely discriminated against in many areas of the country.
We pray that judges will be convicted of the need to deal fairly with Muslims and Christians alike and mete out justice equally to all.
Father, speak to those in power in Egypt and convict them of the need to uphold religious liberty and ensure that all citizens enjoy equal rights. Make Egypt a bastion of peace and equality in a troubled region, Lord.
Amen
Father, thank you that you are ‘slow to anger and rich in love’ (Psalm 145:8).
Lord, teach us how to respond graciously to those who attack and even kill our Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan. It’s hard not to let our feelings run away with us and to want to see them punished.
But we want to respond as you do, Father, and look on those persecutors with love and mercy, rather than with rage.
Lord, show mercy to those who show no mercy to our family in Pakistan. Teach them the error of their ways and lead them in the way everlasting.
Amen
Lord, thank you that we are one in Christ and so our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan are part of our family.
We lift to you Christians in Afghanistan whose relatives have turned against them – because they have turned to you and ‘brought shame’ on the family.
Lord, please pour oil on troubled waters and bring reconciliation between these broken families. Use your sons and daughters in Christ to show their earthly families the power of your love and forgiveness.
We pray that, through the witness of Afghan Christians, whole families and entire tribes will come to know you as Abba Father.
Amen
Heavenly Father, you are Lord of all the earth and you reign over every nation – including those like Myanmar that don’t recognise you
Thank you, Lord, that you are the breaker of chains, the One who speaks to hard hearts and unstops deaf ears.
Lord, we lift those in authority in Myanmar to you and ask you to give them dreams and visions about your kingdom. Speak to them of your majesty and power – and of how you long for them to know you as Saviour.
Help them to see that your people in Myanmar love their nation. Lord, we pray in faith that you, the Prince of Peace, will bring true peace to everyone in Myanmar. For your glory, we ask.
Amen
Lord Jesus, we lift Colombia and its people to you as it emerges from a long civil war and sets about building the peace.
Jesus, Prince of Peace, please speak to those who persecute your people and see the church in Colombia as a threat, whether they are criminal gangs, guerrillas or indigenous groups.
Open their eyes, Lord, so they see that your people are working for peace, for change, for the good of their nation, not for themselves.
Help people to put aside their agendas, their struggles for land and wealth, for power and authority, and lead them along a different path, one that leads to peace and unity.
Amen
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you can speak to the most stubborn of hearts, even to those who have given themselves over to evil.
We lift to you those who have set their hearts against your people and your work in Malaysia: the bomb-throwers and kidnappers, the extremists and hardliners.
Lord, give them glimpses of an alternative road to tread. Instil in them a restlessness and a frustration with the choices they have made. Put people across their path who will challenge their belief systems.
Help them to understand in their hearts, Lord, your perfect plan for their lives – and help them to embrace it.
Amen
Lord, we praise you that you are bringing good news, proclaiming peace and salvation, to those who live in the mountains of Vietnam, such as you did in Isaiah 52.
Thank you, Lord, for drawing so many ethnic Hmong people to you, despite the persecution that can bring.
Father, we ask you to use the witness of these mountain-dwelling Christians to speak to the hearts of people they meet: neighbours, village chiefs, local officials and all those who are determined to make the Hmong turn their back on you.
Prompt these persecutors to ask why Hmong Christians are prepared to pay such a high price to follow you. Help them to take that first step towards you, loving Father.
Amen
Father God, we thank you that you cause the desert to burst into flower and new life to spring up where none seems possible. You speak new life into dry bones, Lord.
We lift the nation of Iraq to you, and those who want to deliver their nation into devastation, destitution and sin.
Melt the hard hearts of the extremists and make them weary of their violence. Turn them, Lord, into people who will sow peace and harmony, who will weed out extremism and discord.
In faith, we pray, Lord: make them to be like a well-watered garden in a sun-scorched land, a people who will help build a hope-filled future for Iraq.
Amen
Lord, we pray for President Isaias Afewerki and all those in power in Eritrea.
Thank you that President Afewerki knows your name, Lord – as he was raised in the Christian Highlands of Eritrea. We pray that he will hear your voice too, just as his namesake Isaiah did.
May he seek your face, Lord; may he come to know you as his Lord and Saviour, for his sake and for the sake of his country.
And through Isaias Afewerki, we pray that every official in the Eritrean regime will come to know you and bow their knee before you, Sovereign Lord.
Amen
Father, thank you that you love China and her people with all your heart, including those who persecute Christians.
We may struggle to comprehend it but we know that your unconditional love extends even to the torturers.
Lord, we declare that your banner over China is love. We thank you for the amazing grace and powerful witness of your people there who demonstrate that love through their lives.
We pray that all those people who harass, persecute, imprison and torture our Christian family in China will be arrested by your love. May they be confronted with the reality of the fear and hate that drive them – and may they choose instead life in you, Lord.
Amen
Lord God, you created everyone in your own image, including those who have turned their back on you and rebelled against you.
Thank you that you know intimately every Islamist extremist in Egypt who is persecuting Christians. They too are precious to you, even if their actions cause you grief and pain.
Speak to their hearts, God, and open their eyes to see that only you are the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the Good Shepherd who leads his people in paths of righteousness.
Lord, we want to see your Spirit move among the ranks of so-called Islamic State in Egypt and elsewhere, so that their swords become ploughshares and their hatred turns to love.
Amen
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are Lord over all the earth and the government is on your shoulders.
We lift to you the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and ask you to speak to him in dreams, in visions and through unexpected people – about your awesome majesty and your deep love for him. We pray that the Supreme Leader will learn to live in reverent fear of you, Lord.
We pray that you will sow seeds of doubt in Kim Jong-un’s closest advisers about what they are living for – and give them a deep longing to discover more about you.
May the name of Jesus be lifted high above Pyongyang, just as it was at the start of the last century – for your glory, Lord.
Amen
Dear Jesus, give us the faith to pray for big issues and tough situations such as those facing our family in Pakistan.
Lord, we thank you that you are the same Jesus who spoke to the storm and calmed the waves. Speak to the growing swell of extremism and intolerance in Pakistan, and cause it to subside.
Lord, please speak to the hearts of radical imams and extremist leaders. Take away their appetite for unrest and violence: defuse their anger.
May they see that righteousness lies elsewhere, in pursing peace and walking in close relationship with you, Lord.
Amen
Lord, we pray for those who are trying to erase Your name and Your people from Sudan. We praise you that the government of the world is on Your shoulders and you rule and reign in Sudan.
Give visions and dreams to those in authority in Khartoum: may President Omar al-Bashir and his ministers hear Your name and start to wonder why believers are willing to pay such a high price for following you.
Speak to Sudanese officials of every rank, disturb their sleep and interrupt their thoughts: nudge them to find out more about you, Lord.
Pray that they will be overcome by a reverent fear of you, Lord, so they stop their acts of violence, their arrests and their church closures.
Amen
Heavenly Father, show us your heart for those we write off as murderers and terrorists.
We lift to you members of al-Shabaab and their sympathisers inside Kenya, who are targeting both Kenyan Christians and believers of Somali descent.
Lord, help us to pray for those with hard hearts: reveal to us the reasons for their choices and attitudes, so we can see them as you do.
Through Your Holy Spirit, speak to the person behind the mask and the weapon, and remind them of Your unconditional love. Lord, may they see the vanity and cruelty of their violence. May they see you in all Your glory and fall to their knees before you.
Amen
Lord God, we lift to you all those who are intent on crushing the spirits and destroying the lives of our family in Nigeria.
Father, for the Fulani herdsmen who attack Christian villages with impunity, we pray that you will rid them of the desire to raid and destroy, and replace it with a deep longing for peace.
We pray that you will turn Boko Haram terrorists away from sin and violence. Speak to the hearts of their leaders and rank-and-file members, Lord, and teach them to walk in paths of peace.
Father, we pray in faith that this year the men and women of violence will tire of bloodshed and start to look for meaning and purpose in their lives. May they find it in you, Lord!
Amen
Heavenly Father, we pray for those who are persecuting our Christian family in India.
We ask you, Lord, to touch the hearts of key leaders in Hindu nationalist movements such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. We ask you to give them an alternative vision of a thriving nation where religious freedoms are cherished.
Father, we ask you to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet: prompt them to act to calm the swell of intolerance in India.
And we pray for ordinary people from all walks of life, that they will unite in an effort to make India a tolerant nation where Your people can build Your kingdom, for Your glory.
Amen
Almighty God, please give us Your compassion to intercede for those who attack and harm our Christian family.
Grant us the faith to believe that even torturers and terrorists can be transformed by Your love.
In just one holy encounter you reversed the destiny of the Apostle Paul forever: from great persecutor to greater church-planter.
Let Your Holy Spirit bring many more ‘Pauls’ to faith in Jesus in our generation!
Amen
