Prayer Fuel

Pray as the Lord leads you as you read today’s verse

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12) ESV

Tunisian testimony

I have been a follower of the Messiah for a couple years. Recently, the police arrested me, confiscated my phone and money, and interrogated me. They had noticed that I often share about Christ with others. In our town, most people have never met a Christian, so they were suspicious and asked me a lot of questions. I admit that I am fearful now. I want to share with others about what Christ has done for me, but I am afraid. Please pray that I will be encouraged and will boldly share Christ. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

Praying with insight

Throughout the Muslim world, Christians are falsely accused of worshiping three gods or of teaching that God and the Virgin Mary had a sexual relationship. Christians are reviled because they hold to the truth that salvation comes only through Christ. Today, as we pray Matthew 5:11-12, think of our brothers and sisters in Christ here who are persecuted by their family members, employers, police, and government. Pray for them to courageously rejoice and be glad in the midst of it all. Pray for persecutors to have their hearts softened by Christians’ responses to persecution.

For believers

We pray today for the believers who are afraid to declare that they stand with Jesus. For those who have been falsely accused of conspiring against their people or of immorality or faithlessness. May they never believe the lie that they are alone. Let them never fall into the spiral of self-pity in the assumption that they are the only ones who have suffered in this way. Let each one see that Jesus has walked the path of suffering before them, that the prophets before also suffered, that it is an honor and blessing to lift the cross of suffering and follow Jesus.

For the lost

Father, we pray for those who are persecuting your children. For those who have uttered evil against them falsely. We pray that they will see the good deeds of your children, feel the weight of their sin, turn, repent, and glorify God. Let them see a peace and trust in your children that they cannot understand. May they long for the confidence in love and redemption that they see in believers. May your gospel be made plain among those who are bringing food to those in prison, those who are testifying in courts, and those who threaten your children in their homes. We ask for life for them, Jesus.

For the church

“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things…” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13) ESV

Since the very first church, this has been the experience and reality of believers in many parts of the world. We pray for the church of Tunisia to respond to persecution in the same ways that Paul writes here. Today we stand as the church and ask for God’s grace to grant:

• blessing to persecutors
• endurance in the face of hardship
• consolation and encouragement
  

For areas of influence

Pray for places of government in Tunisia. Pray for:

• compassionate judges to preside over cases against Christians in which they have done no wrong. Pray for God’s justice to be upheld and that the judges wouldn’t allow false accusations
• lawmakers, as they write new laws, to protect human rights
• government officials who would refuse bribes and act justly towards all of their citizens, even Christians

Declaration of the scripture

“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:23-24) ESV
Jesus, this is not possible in our own strength. Only you can do this for our brothers and sisters facing persecution. May house churches, leaders, and disciples model and then pass on this example to the new churches they start, the new leaders they invest in, and the new disciples they make who will go on to do the same with others.

Pray as God leads as you watch this video from Tunisia