But yesterday, people not just in Canada but all over the world were also remembering something. Like Remembrance Day (and Veteran's Day for my US friends), this day was set to remember many brave soldiers. But not government soldiers. No, soldiers of the faith. Soldiers who are advancing the kingdom of God in many countries, but who are being beaten, imprisoned, brutally ridiculed, ostracized from society, and killed. But we didn't just remember them briefly, say a quick prayer, and move on. The entire focus of the day was to pray for these people. Yesterday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).
This is what the IDOP website says about this day and its purpose:
"Every year, churches and groups around the world the world take time to remember and pray for Christians who are suffering persecution globally. We, as partners, monitor occurrences of the persecution of Christians and are allarmed at the increase in incident. How much more do our brothers and sisters in Christ need our prayers?
The traditional church calendar marks “All Saints Day” and “All Souls Day” in the month of November. It is a season of remembering saints of the church and the souls of those who departed this world. It is an appropriate time for the modern day church to also pray for persecuted believers world-wide, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). Today around the world over 200 million are suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ. At this very moment, a genocide of Christians in Sudan is taking place; persecution in China is intensifying; the Nigerian army is assisting in the slaughter of Christians; church buildings are bombed in Iraq, leaving more than 70 dead. Believers all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death. More than ever, Christian believers all around the world who suffer for their faith need our prayer. We ... hope you will join Christians worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians this November."But something Dad really pressed yesterday was that we must not pray for the persecuted Christians just one day a year. No, he said. Let us not forget, he prayed. We should be praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters every day of the year, not just one.
I pray that this would be a good reminder for those of you who've heard of IDOP and/or the persecuted church, and an eye-opening moment for those of you who haven't. So let's get on those knees and petition our Father for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
Lest we forget ...