Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: May 22, 2012
‘And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us.’ (2 Corinthians 1:10-11a NLT)
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us that praying is far from empty words or wishful thinking. Our prayers are valuable because we pray to a God who is able to rescue people from all sorts of darkness and danger. Use this verse to inspire you as we start our China Week of Prayer tomorrow.
As the leader of an unregistered church, Pastor Wang Yi knew he was in danger. Yet he still spoke out against government restrictions and made an amazingly courageous declaration of faith:
‘Ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith.’
Pastor Wang Yi has been in prison since 2019, where he is serving a nine-year sentence for ‘inciting to subvert state power’ and ‘illegal business operations’. In reality, all he did was speak out against the government’s treatment of unregistered churches. His church continues to face harassment from Chinese authorities.
This is just one part in a pattern of human rights violations happening across the country.
From 23-30 May, we’ll also be remembering the ongoing suffering of the Uyghurs, prisoners of conscience, Tibetan Buddhists, and many others living in fearful situations because of their beliefs.
Just like Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, we believe that God can rescue these faith communities from danger and cause a breakthrough of justice in China. You can help by praying alongside us this week!
Download your China Week of Prayer resources and join us on 23-30 May.
In summary, please pray:
- That thousands of Christians will join our China Week of Prayer to pray protection over faith communities in China and for true freedom of religion or belief for every citizen.
- That God will protect and bless Christians in China, giving them everything they need to keep standing strong through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Give thanks that UN Member States have recently called for further action to end the human rights violations in the Uyghur region.
- Pray for more nations to boldly take a stand and put increasing pressure on the Chinese government to change.
- Pray for a breakthrough of justice.