The Apostle Paul was the greatest missionary to walk the earth, but always was having to deal with persecution.
In Romans 15:30, Paul requested prayer from fellow believers: “I urge you, brothers ... to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” Today, there are millions of Christians who are suffering persecution for the same reasons as Paul — teaching the message of Jesus.
So how should we pray for them? Paul spoke on in verse 31 of that same chapter: “Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers...” One of the things we can pray for is deliverance from those who are persecuting.
We need to realize that it is not always God’s will to bring about deliverance. Sometimes, as with at least 10 of the original disciples, the end result will be that they will be martyred for their faith.
The No. 1 prayer request from those who are being persecuted is that we pray they will be able to remain faithful and bold under the test. They don’t want to fail our Lord by denying their faith, but want to be willing to stay strong — even if it means their death.
Another way to pray for them is that many lose loved ones even if they escape death and need prayer for comfort. Yet another thing to pray for is that their persecutors to come to Christ through their witness.
The Scripture teaches us that anyone who lives a new life through Christ will be persecuted, according to 2 Timothy 2:12, and the challenge given to any of us who desire to follow Christ is that we have to be willing to take up our cross daily.
So we need to be willing to always stand up for what’s right and remember to pray for one another.