IDOP
In the modern church calendar, the first two Sundays of November is set apart to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).
Today’s greatest untold story is that more than 100 million Christians worldwide face persecution for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Daily Christians in countries such as Eritrea, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Sri Lanka face imprisonment, violence and even death.
IDOP is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
We invite you to explore the variety of resources on this website and hope you will join Christians worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians this November.
The IDOP.org website and resources are brought to you by the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance.
Please note that while Sunday, November 9, 2014, is the designated date for IDOP, you are free to choose to pray on November 2, 2014 as well.
General prayer:
Almighty God:
our world is filled with corruption;
power disguises itself as truth;
violence is used to settle differences;
tribal identity can be a death sentence.
We confess our complicity in the world’s sin.
We neither proclaim your truth nor live it.
By the power of your Spirit, save us from our lethargy
and free us for obedience and service to brothers and sisters
that we may see the joy of Jesus’ resurrection
in the eyes and lives of the least and the last.
Through Jesus Christ your Son, Amen.
Prayer of the day:
Dear God, you have made us for yourself. You have put us in this world to be attentive – attentive to our world but at the same time attentive to you.
Forgive us that too often we become so immersed in attention to ourselves that we forget and ignore our brothers and sisters and in that self-centeredness we ignore you.
We pray for the people of South Sudan and Darfur as they
seek to heal from violence brought them by their own people.
May they come to know your presence in your Son and your Spirit
and turn from the old ways of being and embark upon your Way.
May we stand alongside them with prayer and advocacy
that the great promise of their young nation may come into being.
Through the One who showed us self-giving love and presence. Amen.