VOM received this letter from a prisoner in the Ukraine. Even in prison, this brother is sharing Christ. He prays that we believers will learn to love and serve Muslims.

I’m your average young American. I grew up in a house with four bedrooms and plenty of food to eat every day. I worked hard in high school to get into a good college, and my parents taught me to treat others with kindness and respect. I love going to the movies, coffee is an everyday necessity and I spend way too much time on my phone.

In Richard Wurmbrand’s book Tortured for Christ he shares the story of an old carpenter whose inner turmoil led him to ask God for a reward; the prize of bringing a Jew to Christ. This carpenter not only knew how to talk to God in prayer — he had the tenacity to ask for a reward.

Yesterday marked the beginning of Lent, celebrated by many Christian traditions around the world. The Lent celebration is a reference to the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and facing temptations by Satan in the wilderness. Traditionally, it is a time which Christians devote to prayer in order to draw closer to God in the days leading up to Easter. Here are 40 ways you can pray for your persecuted brothers and sisters:

A Christian woman, “Milena,” and her family live in an area of Colombia controlled by The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

This Sunday churches around the world will be praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters as part of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Many of those churches will share the story of Suta, a story that reminds us to pray not only for persecuted Christians, but for their persecutors as well.

VOM workers met “Michael,” a Christian convert from Islam, during a recent VOM-sponsored event. He was very well known as a Muslim, and after accepting Christ and beginning to challenge other Muslims about their faith, his father repeatedly threatened him. During the event, Michael stood at the podium for about 20 minutes, “singing to God and testifying of His goodness.” On the day of the event, Michael’s wife also placed her faith in Christ. Pray for Michael and other Christian converts from Islam who face persecution for their faith.

In a stunning and controversial announcement on Aug. 5, a judge in Sudan ruled that two South Sudanese church leaders would not face execution for their crimes. Following eight months of waiting for an outcome, Pastor Yat Michael and Pastor Peter Yen were charged with less serious convictions, given credit for time served and told that they could go home.