Lord, we pray for all those Christians who are held in prisons in so many countries around the world simply because they love You.
Father, we cry out against the injustice of their incarceration, held away from their families and, in so many cases, in appalling conditions.
We remember all the prisoners of faith in Pakistan, in North Korea, in Eritrea, in China, in Algeria, in Laos, in Iran – Lord, in so many countries – be with them all. Give them Your peace which passes understanding, restore and fortify their spirits. Use them as beacons of light in the dark places they find themselves so that they and others will come to learn more about You.
Thank you for being with them as they endure solitude and the constant threat of harm to their minds and bodies.
We also pray for their families. Families who face so many hardships even though they are not in prison. Lord, we ask that you will continue to provide for them, that they will receive all that they need to survive and to resist the curses and hatred which surrounds them. Unite these families, Father, in their love of You and help us to remember them in our prayers.
Father, help us to keep all prisoners of faith and their families in our thoughts and prayers. Build us up, as well, to be able to speak of Your presence in our lives, without worrying what other people think or may do to us.
In Your name, Lord,
Amen.