DAY 5: IRAN (12 Days of Christmas Prayers)
ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS my Savior gave to me, a burning prayer for the believers in Iran.
Christians in Iran are going through one the hardest years in recent memory. Both the United Nations and the United States have written extensive reports regarding the unfathomable persecution that Iranian Christians are facing today.
There are currently more than one million Christians in Iran and that number continues to explode. Iran has seen more believers come to Christ in the last 20 years than in the last 1,000 years. However, this has resulted in the Iranian government doing everything possible to stop the underground church from growing.
There are currently no legal churches in Iran for Persian speakers. It is illegal to convert from Islam in Iran. It is illegal to teach your children about Jesus. It is illegal to print or distribute Bibles. It is illegal to share about Jesus with others. It is illegal to train pastors or teachers.
If you are caught breaking any of these laws, you can be immediately arrested and sent to prison.
BTJ has been working together with the underground house church in Iran to help them reach the people of their nation against unimaginable opposition – they desperately need your prayers. BTJ has been printing and distributing Bibles, supporting training, conducting disaster relief outreach, and providing aid to persecuted believers who have been imprisoned.
On this day during the Christmas season, may we pray the prayer found in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome when they were persecuted:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him.” – Romans 5:3-6
This is our prayer for the persecuted church in Iran.
Listen to the audio podcast for Day 5
