Continuous 24-Hour Prayer Vigil Brings Together People Around the World to Pray For and With Persecuted Christians
WASHINGTON—Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC), which advocates on behalf of hundreds of millions of Christians facing heavy persecution worldwide, is leading an effort to bring together people around the world to pray for, and with, persecuted Christians from Good Friday to Holy Saturday.
WHO: Save the Persecuted Christians and prayer leaders in the U.S., Sweden, U.K., China, Pakistan, India, Ghana, Kuwait, Nigeria and elsewhere
WHAT: Good Friday Passion Prayer 2020: A global, virtual, 24-hour vigil for persecuted Christians
WHERE: Online at savethepersecutedchristians.org/passion-prayer
WHEN: Beginning at sunrise (6 a.m. local time) in Jerusalem on Friday, April 10, and continuing for 24 hours through sunrise (6 a.m.) in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, April 11
WHY: To lift up brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted worldwide for their beliefs this Easter season, especially those impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and rationing
HOW: Those interested in leading a prayer hour or participating in prayer may sign up at savethepersecutedchristians.org/passion-prayer, where they can also receive prayer prompts and updates. Participants can join the Zoom webcast and re-join multiple times as they are able.
“The 2020 Passion season is unique,” said Passion Prayer facilitator Dr. Oluwasayo Ajiboye, a leader for Mission Africa International and Save the Persecuted Christians. “Our world seems to have followed our Lord to Gethsemane. Many are already nailed to the death at Golgotha with Him. Our Lord is making the same plea he made 2,000-plus years back: ‘Will you not watch with me an hour?’ This is all we dare ask, too—an hour of your time praying for and with the persecuted saints of our world.”
The online presence for STPC’s second annual Passion Prayer contains many resources, such as global time zone clocks; suggested Scriptures to pray through, including passages from Exodus Chapter 1:1-12; and specific suggestions on how to spend one hour in prayer for persecuted Christians, such as focusing on persecuted Christians in one of 50 nations on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List, worshipping God in song, reading Bible passages out loud and ending prayer time with thanksgiving, especially for the freedom to worship without fear in your own life.
“In a spirit of solidarity, Save the Persecuted Christians is honored and humbled to join with prayer leaders and hosts from all over the world who will be leading prayer at different times throughout this crucial prayer campaign,” said STPC Executive Director Dede Laugesen. “All are invited to join the virtual prayer meeting as often as they are able over the 24-hour period. Now more than ever, our world needs prayer! We must go to God with our many concerns and petitions in a time that seems so uncertain.”
The mission of Save the Persecuted Christians is to save lives and save souls by disseminating actionable information about the magnitude of the persecution taking place globally and by mobilizing concerned Americans for the purpose of disincentivizing further attacks on those who follow Jesus.
With so much of the world’s Christian population being imprisoned and/or harassed for their beliefs, the need has never been greater for the sort of grassroots campaign STPC’s SaveUs Movement is working to foster. Its efforts are modeled after a miraculously successful one that helped free another population suffering from heavy persecution—Soviet Jews—by penalizing those in the Kremlin responsible for such repression. Through this movement, Save the Persecuted Christians endeavors to provide American policymakers with the popular support they need to effect real change worldwide and alleviate systemically the suffering being experienced by so many of those following Christ.