June 10th

Deuteronomy 15     Isaiah 42     Psalms 102     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

This Psalm is headed “a prayer for an afflicted man”. Whilst reading it, I immediately started thinking about persecuted Christians around the world – in particular about the plight of Christians in labour camps in North Korea and the great difficulty of living the Christian life in that highly authoritarian state. In the second part of the psalm, the afflicted man sees that God is omnipotent and unchanging and that he does hear and answer prayers. Verse 17 says “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute” and in verse 20, He “hears the groans of the prisoners”. May I suggest that we make praying for persecuted Christian a regular part of our prayer life – in particular praying for specific people and issues within particular countries. Of course, there are times when all of us feel downhearted and lonely (and perhaps persecuted). We can take heart that God hears our prayers and, in His own time and in His own way, He will answer them. 

 (written by member of a homegroup)