International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

The Voice of the Martyrs has set today November 9th, as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. They are asking us to join together in prayer for the persecuted and suffering church across the world.
When I interviewed Mr. Nettleton for the November Issue of GGM, he told me that "The first thing persecuted Christians say when I ask them what we can do for them, is to pray! They want prayer more than anything! They don't want us to pray that their suffering will end, because they gladly endure it for Christ, but they ask that we would pray that they will be able to continue to stand for Christ through the persecution."
Here is what he said about IDOP-

Miss Amanda: Can we talk a little bit about the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church? VOM has set November 9th as IDOP... What is the inspiration behind this day?
Mr. Nettleton: IDOP was established by several groups that came together and wanted to remind people that the persecution of Christians is not just something that happened in the book of Acts. It happens every day. Out of brainstorming from these groups for a remembrance in honor of the persecuted church came IDOP. Different groups have different priorities, but we can all pray for the persecuted.
The first thing persecuted Christians say when I ask them what we can do for them, is to pray! They want prayer more than anything! They don't want us to pray that their suffering will end, because they gladly endure it for Christ, but they ask that we would pray that they will be able to continue to stand for Christ through the persecution.
We set this day up as a reminder that we need to continually pray for the persecuted daily and not only on Nov. 9th. It is to motivate to pray for them daily!

Please join us in remembering our persecuted brothers and sisters in other countries today. If you would like more information on how you can get your church involved with IDOP, make sure to head over to International Day of Prayer to look into how you can get a IDOP church kit.

From the site-

The Voice of the Martyrs is calling on Christians worldwide to set aside Nov. 9, to pray for Christians around the world living daily under the threat of persecution as a part of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

VOM will join hundreds of churches and thousands of individuals in remembering our brothers and sisters suffering around the world. These believers risk discrimination, imprisonment and even death because of their active witness for Jesus Christ.

"This is an important day in the church calendar," said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s Director of Media Development. "Scripture instructs us to remember those in bonds as though we were bound with them. This special day of prayer is one of the ways corporately we do that."

Christians are encouraged to pray for continued boldness and courage for believers as they share the gospel and for hearts to be softened to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray not only for persecuted Christians, but for the persecutors as well.

To help you pray effectively, The Voice of the Martyrs offers a Church Resource Kit, including a six-minute video presentation to show during IDOP church services. You can view details of the kit, and preview the video here.

"Our hope is that this day of prayer encourages people to be active all year long in prayer and support for our persecuted brothers and sisters," Nettleton said.

Make sure you go and check out the specific prayer requests for the persecuted that VOM has listed!

Today I am going to spend time in prayer for the persecuted because that is the only thing I can do for them that will help the most. I am not only going to remember to keep them in my prayers today, but everyday so that they will have the strength to endure the suffering for Christ's name!
Prayerfully,