Quick Note: Prayers for the Persecuted
Acts 12:5 – “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
It is a little unusual for me to put in a quick note as well as an endorsement to do something here as a blog post, but while reading my Bible today, I was struck by a verse that really pushed me to do this, which is our passage today. For the past few months, while I drive to work, I listen to a radio show called Jay Sekulow Live! The show talks a lot about American politics and what is going on here and now, but one topic they have continued to address is the current imprisonment of Pastor Saeed Abedini. This American pastor who moved from Iran went back to start an orphanage as a missionary last year when he was arrested. He has been held in captivity now for a little over a year and was recently moved from a horrible Evin Prison to the dangerous Rajai Shahr Prison. This current prison is home to many criminals who are serving life sentences for murder and rape and the like. Additionally, the prison is overcrowded beyond comparison. Pastor Saeed is serving this time in prison all because of his Christian faith.
This situation that Pastor Saeed is currently in parallels our passage today in which Peter was thrown into prison for his Christian faith. Like Pastor Saeed, Peter was also being used a political tool of Herod to gain favor with the Jews after he saw how killing James the brother of John pleased them. In our verse, we are reminded of how the church prayed for Peter as he was locked up in prison, and on the night before he was to be delivered over to Herod, the Lord miraculously set him free. It was through the powerful prayer of the saints. Like Peter and Pastor Saeed, there are tons of Christians today who are experiencing persecution around the world – they can be in prison, they can be beaten, they can be killed, ostracized, or punished in various ways, all because they have put their faith and trust in Christ. We as disciples of Jesus Christ must pray for them. We must ask the Lord for protection for them, for provisions for them, for health for them, and for encouragement. We must also pray that the Lord takes each and every opportunity even the ones that look bleakest to bring Him more honor and glory as Paul’s time in prison did for salvation of the Philippian jailer (Acts 16) or Peter’s time did for the encouragement of the church. Let us add Pastor Saeed and any other people you know of to our daily prayer list.
For Pastor Saeed specifically, I encourage you to do the following:
1. Go to BeHeardProject.org and sign the petition to urge the President of the US to take diplomatic action for his freedom.
2. If you have a Twitter Feed, post the following “To @JZarif & @HassanRouhani: Free American #PastorSaeed Abedini. He is no threat to Iran’s national security #SaveSaeed” This will flood the Iranian president’s twitter feed with reminders to free Pastor Saeed.
3. Keep him, his family, and his ministry in your prayers.
becomingadisciple 
Leave a comment