International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
As we prepare for this coming Sunday’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, let’s lift up our brothers and sisters facing extreme violence, persecution and hunger in Libya, ranked #3 on Open Doors’ World Watchlist of most dangerous countries in the world for Christians to live.
“When one young lady’s dad discovered she was a Christian, he beat his daughter many times and closed and locked the door. He didn’t allow her to use the toilet. She was treated like an animal. She was beaten again and again.
“Another lady’s Muslim husband divorced her when he found out she was a Christian. When her son was born, the husband wouldn’t allow his son to have his name. So, the boy won’t be able to go to school or have an identity. She has suffered since she has become a Christian.
“When (one man) accepted Jesus into his life, he started to share his faith with his family, and they told the radical Muslims about it. They were going to kill him as an infidel, Under Sharia law, he was put in jail, and the judge said he should be killed.”
Katey Hearth, Mission Network News, January 24
Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus’ cross to Golgotha, was from a city in eastern Libya. Christianity grew in that nation during the first centuries after Christ, unopposed by Islam, which didn’t take root until the seventh century.
But today, things are very different. Libya is nearly 97% Muslim, with 31 unreached people groups that have yet to hear the good news about Christ.
“I share the Word of God and my new life and Christ in very closed groups. I can’t share with just anyone,” explained Omar, a Libyan who left Islam to follow Jesus. “Many people are curious to understand and know and have good questions, but some say bad things about us.”
“Libya is effectively a lawless land where both native Christians and those passing through from other countries face extreme violence. With no central government to maintain law and order, militant Islamic extremist groups and organised crime groups both wield power. They target and kidnap Christians, and some believers have been killed,” writes Open Doors.
“If a Libyan from a Muslim background becomes a Christian, they are likely to face intense pressure and abuse from their family and the wider community to make them renounce their faith, or even be killed. Christians who publicly express their faith and try to share the gospel with others are likely to face arrest or retribution from extremist groups.
“Large numbers of refugees from sub-Saharan Africa pass through Libya in an attempt to reach Europe. Many of these are Christians, and their time there is highly dangerous. They are likely to encounter harassment and threats from the Islamic extremist groups, or to be abducted and used as slave labour by organised crime groups. Some are put straight into the hands of these gangs by their human traffickers.”
It’s interesting that even with such great opposition and danger, people are coming to Christ in Libya at a rate of 5.2%, when the US averages only 0.8%, and the rest of the world 2.6%.
About this time last year, flash floods and landslides resulted in over 11,300 deaths in Libya. Let’s continue to pray that Muslims living in the midst of extreme hardship will hunger for Truth and find Jesus.
Father God, please awaken Libya to Your love. Stop the violence, and especially the persecution against Christians and those who want to know You. Guard Your people from beatings, human trafficking, imprisonment, torture and death. In the face of opposition and danger, give them boldness to stand strong in You and share Your message of love and forgiveness. Surround them with Your angels such that those who come against them will see You and fall to their knees in repentance and fear of the Lord. Be a Shield around every Christian, hiding them from those who wish to do them harm. Meet them in their times of fear, and comfort their anxious hearts with Your love and peace. Give them just the word they need from Your heart to overcome every circumstance and stand strong in faith. Bless them abundantly, providing more than they need in every area of their life so they will abundantly bless lost neighbors who are in need and share Your message of love with them. Please have mercy on the more than six million people in Libya who have yet to hear the good news of Your love and salvation, and give them a deep hunger to know You. Drive them to look for Bibles and Christians on the internet, or to travel to places where their lives will intersect with believers who will share Your love with them. So much lostness, Lord. So much violence and terror and hunger and fear. Please have mercy. Remove the plaster from the eyes of those who are spiritually blind so they will at last see You as You truly are, lay down their hatred and religious pride, receive Your forgiveness, and run into Your loving arms. Awaken Libya to Your truth, O God. Set them free to worship You alone. To know You, to love You and to be saved.
Mikaela Vincent and her husband are missionaries who live by faith, trusting in God to provide for their needs as they pray for and share Christ with the nations. If you would like to help their ministry through giving a donation, shopping at Mikaela’s online bookstore, praying for them or inviting them to speak at your church, retreat or other event, click the buttons below:
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