Today on the radio program Faith 2 Action with Janet Folger, William Murray from the Religious Freedom Coalition shared about the intense persecution of Christians in Iraq.

At 5:00 A.M. they heard pounding on the door and immediately knew it was a police raid. Sabina’s husband was already in prison, and she worried about the fate of her young son if she were taken away, too. So when the Romanian police burst in early that morning, shouting and intimidating her house guests, Sabina quietly prayed and committed herself and her family to God’s care.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to share with my church about the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church that many churches have participated in this month, and all I can say is it was amazing!

The website Christian Today published this article on Tuesday concerning the arrest of some North Korean Christians. Here's the beginning for you.

The following prayer request comes from this weeks VOM-USA prayer email. If you haven't signed up to receive this important email, please visit Persecution.com and also don't forget to get your free subscription to the Voice of the Martyrs magazine by signing up right here on this blog. Look to your right and sign up today!

CAIRO, November 15 (Compass Direct News) – Sick of hiding in a secret apartment in Cairo, Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy risked his life to shop for groceries late one night last week, a cap pulled low over his face. The Egyptian convert from Islam to Christianity does not normally chance being recognized in public by running errands for himself. Death threats forced Hegazy into hiding in August after he made an unprecedented legal bid to have his national ID card changed to note his conversion. The Christian acknowledged that he was finding his life in hiding extremely difficult. He said it was impossible to hold a job because he couldn’t leave his apartment regularly for fear of being attacked by Islamists or state security police. On a rare occasion that Hegazy took the chance of shopping in public, he said, a Christian recognized his face from a newspaper photograph. “If you are who I think you are, then God help you,” the Christian told Hegazy.

This week as I have been reading through literature and some books on Christian persecution, because I will be presenting this information on Sunday, as my church observes the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, I found this wonderful song in a book called China's Christian Martyrs by Paul Hattaway. Read this song and compare it to the songs you sing in church.

Today radio talkshow host, Janet Parshall, will host Todd Nettleton from The Voice of the Martyrs in her first hour - 2:30 Eastern, 11:30 Pacific time

Maybe you feel, as I have, that being involved with the persecuted church only through prayer is the easy way of standing with our persecuted family. Is it? Is it too easy to say a prayer for Pauline Ayyad, whose 27-year-old husband was killed in Gaza, as she now struggles to raise their children alone? I recently met with a couple from Oklahoma who offered me some new insight into prayer for the persecuted church. Amanda had read VOM’s newsletter and knew something about persecution. But until she began regularly praying for the persecuted, “It didn’t make a difference in my life. Praying puts a face on the people you are praying for,” she says.Amanda’s husband, Jay, agrees. Their relationship has been strengthened by the times they have spent praying for the persecuted church. He says giving through prayer is sometimes harder than giving financially, because in prayer you are giving of your time. “Sometimes it is easier to write a check than to really pray,” he says. “Sacrificial giving must be accompanied by prayer.” It’s hard for giving to be out of a right spirit if it is not supplemented by prayer. True intercession is not easy, he added. “Prayer is humbling work, because you never see the fruit of your labor. You never get any credit for your work, and your name is never mentioned.”But, as believers know and persecuted believers attest, prayer for those being persecuted is vital. Though it is now a mystery to us exactly how God uses prayer, throughout Scripture we are commanded to pray without ceasing on behalf of our brothers and sisters. Jay and Amanda suggest getting together in a group to pray with others. The group provides accountability to keep praying as well as encouragement and new energy as participants persevere in prayer. “God will develop your heart for Him though prayer.”It is a challenge for me, and I hope it is a challenge for you, too. Together we can reach out sacrificially through prayer and touch our suffering brothers and sisters.

One of the things I love about The Voice of the Martyrs is that there is always something we can do to help minister to those less fortunate than we are. VOM Action Packs are one such thing you can participate in, and I have to tell you, on a very personal note, that I have enjoyed using the Action Pack program myself. About five years ago my mom died and I took a lot of her clothes and instead of giving them to my local Salvation Army or Goodwill, I decided to ship them overseas using VOM's Action Pack program.