In North America we are truly blessed with the level of peace, freedom and justice that we experience. By and large, human rights are reasonably well protected. The judicial system is reasonably impartial. We know that because when a person is found incarcerated for a crime not committed, it makes the headlines and receives focused government attention. Groups that have been mistreated in past injustices demand and receive redress.

Perhaps, then, it becomes hard for us to identify with a culture where one can be jailed, tortured, or killed without a true crime being committed; where the only offence is that one observes the wrong faith -- or a faith at all.

In Psalm 43 we hear the prayer of an innocent man. A man who feels utterly alone is his afflictions. His enemies have taunted him saying, "Where is your God?" (Psalm 42:3,10) and he has begun to listen to them. He begins to wonder if God has, indeed, forsaken him. He stands before the court of life and he looks for his defence lawyer, and no one is there. His accusers stand there; mocking, accusing, tormenting. The psalmist stands alone. No one will come to his defence.

And he thinks to himself, "This is not right. This is not fair." But he refuses to accept that this is the way life ought to be. He serves a God who, he knows, is a stronghold (43: 2). And so he cries out, "Vindicate me, 0 God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men " (verse 1). He asks God to become his defence counsel and to take up his case.

He knows that God is the one to whom he can still run and find the shelter he needs; the One whose light and truth will deliver him and lead him to a place of worship and service to God (verses 3-5).
Despite his pain and anguish, the psalmist knows that just because God feels far away, it does not mean that He is far away. He moves beyond the limitations of feelings to the confidence of faith, the assurance that God can do and will do what He says He will do.

So he concludes by saying, "Why are you downcast, 0 my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God" (verse 5).

It is not difficult to hear in these few verses the words of today's Persecuted Church.
The young Indonesian girl, whose tormentor asked her, while pressing a shard of glass to her stomach, "Do you believe that your God will help you now?" echoing the words of the psalmist's enemies. "Where is your God?"

The cries of the Sudanese families, whose lives have been torn apart by a government set on making their country a model fundamentalist Islamic state. Some testify that they have never doubted God's presence in the midst of their affliction. But others have wondered where God was when the Islamic soldiers raped their children and wives and set their homes on fire. And their cries have echoed the psalmist, "Vindicate me, 0 God, and plead my cause...."

The Persecuted Church is not a perfect church. It is made up of people just like you and me. The only essential difference between them and us is geography. Like us, they experience fear, doubt, and sorrow.
But unlike us, they do not assume that their faith is simply a quiet, personal choice that can be made or dropped without consequence; that devotion to Christ is a safe choice.

The sort of torment they experience, the stuff of the video we watched, is something totally foreign to our experience. But it is the way life is in this fallen world for those who would follow Jesus on the path of the cross.
 

"Vindicate me, 0 God, and plead my cause.... " This is the cry of today's Persecuted Church. Together we can cry out with them, asking God to "plead their cause," to come to their aid and to bring them the comfort they need. We can pray that God will keep them faithful to Himself and to His Word; faithful "even unto death" (Revelation 2:10).

For today, let's leave behind the prayer that says, "Thank you. Lord, for our freedoms here in Canada." The Persecuted Church does not exist so that we can feel grateful. Instead, let us simply cry out to God on behalf of the over 200 million Christians, who today face imprisonment, torture, and even death simply because of their faith in Christ. Let us plead their cause to God in prayer.

Let us also consider how we may, as God's people and God's instruments, plead the cause of the persecuted in our daily life, in our family, and in our church. Prayer is the appropriate starting point for our love and concern. But should it end there?
[based on notes prepared by Rev. Glenn M. Penner, Director of Development for The Voice of the Martyrs]
 

We’re going to sing a hymn together, and following that will enter a time of quiet prayer for our brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith. Our prayer time will conclude with group prayer.

PH# 502 "The Church's One Foundation"

PRAYERS FOR CUBA

Wuille Marcelina Ruiz wrote the following letter after being released from prison:

"It was five years and four months that I spent as a prisoner at the Castro Castro prison. During that time, I can truly say that my Lord was always present. We cannot say that God abandoned us at any moment. Although at times, like Job, we could have said, "Lord, Lord, why are you doing this to me?"

However, brothers, in my mind, heart and my ears still linger all those praises that, right from the beginning, the Spirit of God would prompt certain brothers to sing. Even though we were confined to our cells for 23 and a half hours; even though we only had a visit per month for 30 minutes; even though we could only be in the courtyard for half an hour; even though we had a deplorable diet.

In spite of many other circumstances, of being separated from our families, of intense heartache and tears, we always continued to sing songs of praise and lift up prayers to the Lord.

I encourage you brothers to visit the prisons. Let us keep visiting the imprisoned brothers and sisters. There are wonderful testimonies of salvation. There is an incredible hunger for God and His Word; for a new beginning. We also know that there are still many innocent believers unjustly detained.

After 5 ½ years in prison, apart from my family, I can truly say that the Lord never abandoned me, and I’ve honestly told Him, "Lord, here I am. Do with me as you please.

PRAYERS FOR SAUDI ARABIA

Donnie Lama, a former prisoner, sent this letter from prison to a Filipino sister who had written him:

"I was accused and convicted as a preacher, promoting Christianity. God knows what I am doing. I have not done anything wrong. We are suffering from being tortured in our communications with our family and friends.

I mean that I have no contact with them at all, unless someone is released from here and deported to the Philippines. The guards are very strict. I hope and pray that God will hear our prayers and release me and my other inmates from this jail where I’ve been suffering for more than a year now without knowing when I will be released.

I am sharing to some degree the suffering of Christ."

In 1991 Mark began preaching in Sudan, with only 8 people in his congregation. The Christians received much opposition from the local people and were beaten. However, the congregation grew to 100 members by 1992. In 1993 the congregation was scattered by the fighting. Mark returned to the village in 1994, only to experience more opposition from the military, who questioned his motives.

He was captured and beaten. His possessions were taken away.

In 1995 the whole congregation was captured and forced by the army to carry weapons. Mark is still ministering to the people of that village, and reports that the situation has improved, but his health is suffering.

PRAYERS FOR VIETNAM

In the summer of 1999 Nguyen Huu Cau organized a summer bible school for children in his home. There are no Protestant churches in his district even though there are many Christians.

The security police came to his house and imprisoned him. He says, "Although we experienced this treatment, the 3 of us continue to praise the Lord out loud to encourage one another. And we also recited the bible portion that we had committed to memory."

He spent 9 days in prison living on only 2 bowls of rice per day.

After he was released, Nguyen was heavily fined and had his camera equipment confiscated.

He pleads:

"I ask my Christian brothers and sisters to pray that the Lord will intervene for me. My family is really in dire straits, my wife has just given birth, and I usually take pictures to supplement our meagre income so that I can invest it in serving the Lord."