As the Church in sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing increasingly violent persecution, they rediscover the power of prayer. And not just for themselves but also for their persecutors, through a growing number of prayer initiatives in West Africa.
“Many are very, very discouraged.”
Balat
“What we see is a Church caught unawares and very helpless as persecution progresses from squeeze to smash”, Open Doors West Africa External Engagement Lead, Balat, explained to colleagues during our monthly Global Devotion Time for Arise Africa.
“Many do not know how to respond to what they are experiencing, and so many are very, very discouraged.”
In response, teams, with coordinators in Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, have come alongside churches to mobilise them to pray, creating awareness of the power of prayer as well as offering training on praying “consistently”, “in line with God’s will”, and “strategically”. The latter meaning having the perspective of Mathew 6:33: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well”.
Balat shared: “In most of these countries [in West Africa], we are concerned about praying emergency prayers: Somebody has been killed, somebody has been kidnapped. That's when we pray. So we are telling people 'let's focus on the establishment of the Kingdom'. Not until we encounter difficulties. So
we take prayer as a lifestyle. And then we are not surprised when things begin to happen.”
‘Praying in line with God’s will’ includes praying for the lost, which has to include the persecutors, says Balat. “Jesus Christ also died for the persecutors. They are completely deceived by whatever they believe in. So, in following in the footsteps of the Master, we feel that
we should make it a priority to pray for the persecutors. Jesus did not kill Saul on the way to Damascus. Rather, He saved him. And saving Saul became, as a matter of fact, a turning point for the Church.”
“Praying according to God's will is far superior than the AK-47s”
Balat
The weapon for the Church is prayer, says Balat. “Praying according to God's will is far superior than the AK-47s that the persecutors are carrying. This is our own way of contributing to solving the problem: [Because] when persecutors are arrested, they can become ‘Pauls’ who go around to bring other persecutors out of darkness.”
Do you dare to pray? Do you believe prayer is powerful? That we serve a God who is bigger than any obstacle we face?
