The leaders of two Communist and one post-Communist nation met together Tuesday, as China‘s Xi Jinping put on a display of hundreds of advanced weapons and more than 10,000 troops in a massive parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia‘s Vladimir Putin joining him.
Over the last few years, the two neighboring Communist nations have partnered together in their persecution of Christians. North Korea, the world’s most dangerous country for seekers and followers of Christ, believes religion, especially Christianity, is the greatest threat to its power. Not far behind in thought is China, which ranks among the top 15 most dangerous. Hundreds of North Koreans who miraculously made it across the border have been forcibly returned by China. Such repatriated North Korean Christians face torture, sexual violence, enslavement and murder in their home nation’s detention centers.
In addition, North Korea has contributed to Putin’s ruthless war against Ukraine by sending an estimated 15,000 troops, perhaps 2,000 of which have died in battle. As the two leaders attended Xi’s parade in Beijing, Russia launched over 500 long-range drones and 24 missiles at Ukraine. Most were shot down, but three missiles and nearly 70 drones struck their targets in more than a dozen locations in the war-torn country once known as the “Bible Belt” of Eastern Europe and a hub for Christian work throughout the region.
The day before the show in Tiananmen Square, Xi and Putin met with India‘s Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nation ranks #11 on the list of most dangerous countries for Christians and is known for beating, imprisoning, killing and otherwise persecuting followers of Jesus.
Modi did not attend the parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but key leaders of these nations that persecute Christians did:
- Iran‘s Masoud Pezeshkian (president)
- Belarus‘ Alexander Lukashenko (president)
- Indonesia‘s Prabowo Subianto (president)
- Cambodia’s Norodom Sihamoni (king)
- Vietnam‘s Luong Cuong (president)
- Malaysia‘s Anwar Ibrahim (prime minister)
- Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing (military leader)
- Laos‘ Thongloun Sisoulith (president)
- Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif (prime minister)
- Nepal‘s Khadga Prasad Oli (prime minister)
- Maldives’ Mohamed Muizzu (president)
- Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (president)
- Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon (president)
- Kyrgyzstan’s Sadyr Japarov (president)
- Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev (president)
- Turkmenistan’s Serdar Berdimuhamedow (president)
- Mongolia’s Khurelsukh Ukhnaa (president)
- Cuba‘s Miguel Díaz-Canel (president)
- Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev (president)
Also in attendance were Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan (prime minister), Serbia‘s Aleksandar Vucic (president), Slovakia‘s Robert Fico (prime minister), Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa (president), and Republic of Congo’s Denis Sassou Nguesso (president). (Kanis Leung, Associated Press, September 3)
Today, let’s pray for these nations and leaders by name. “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:1 RSV.
- Pray God will lift the veil from their eyes so they will see Him as He truly is, and break the chains that bind them to the evil one.
- Pray He will meet with them in powerful ways and show them His plan for their salvation.
- Pray they will hunger for God so desperately, they will seek Him with all their hearts and surrender their lives to Christ.
- Pray He will bring to them as trusted friends and advisers Christians who care for their country’s people and will help them open doors for the Good News to freely be preached and for Bibles to reach every citizen and foreigner in a language they can easily understand.
- Pray God will give them wisdom and courage to do what is right and bless them abundantly when they do, but that He will bring their downfall if they continue to do evil.
- Pray God will even now raise up leaders in each of these countries who will bless and not oppress their people, who will fear God, not man, who will do what is right and who will allow God’s people to worship Him freely so their countries will know the love, protection, peace and abundant life that come through faith in Christ.
- Pray for Christians who are persecuted in each of these countries, that God will comfort them with His love and empower them to boldly share His good news as light in the darkness. Pray He will be a Shield around them, protecting them in such miraculous ways their persecutors will fall on their faces before Him in fear of the Lord and surrender their lives to Jesus.
- Pray for a Great Awakening to Christ’s love in each of these nations, with millions, even billions turning to Him to be saved.
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