BLOG/A Call to Prayer: Standing with Persecuted Christians Around the World
A Call to Prayer: Standing with Persecuted Christians Around the World
Join us in prayer and advocacy for persecuted Christians in Nigeria and around the world. Learn how you can stand up and make a difference.
Standing with Persecuted Christians in Nigeria and Beyond
As believers across the globe celebrated Lent and Easter, seasons of hope, sacrifice, and resurrection:
news emerged of devastating violence against Christians in Nigeria. More than 170 lives were brutally taken in a series of targeted attacks on predominantly Christian villages in the Middle Belt region. What was once a landscape of vibrant communities and agricultural abundance has become a ground soaked with grief.
This violence is not random. It is calculated, strategic, and heartbreakingly ignored by much of the world’s media. But as the Body of Christ, we are not called to look away. We are called to stand, to intercede, and to act.
Prayer for the Persecuted Christians in Nigeria
Nigeria, the “Giant of Africa”, boasts a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and faiths. Yet, deep religious and ethnic tensions have fueled a long history of conflict.
In the Middle Belt, where Christianity is deeply rooted, heavily armed militants have unleashed waves of terror by burning homes, destroying crops, abducting families, and targeting worshippers. Groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP have intensified their assaults, aiming to instill fear and disrupt the vibrant faith communities.
The timing of these attacks during Lent and Easter is no coincidence. It strikes at the heart of our faith, challenging our hope. Yet, even in the face of unimaginable suffering, the spirit of the Nigerian Church remains unbroken.
“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” -John 15:20
How We Can Respond as the Global Church
The injustice feels outrageous but we are never powerless as Christians! Here are tangible ways we can rise up for the persecuted:
1. Pray Without Ceasing
Prayer is our most powerful weapon. Intercede for protection, healing, and comfort for persecuted families. Pray for the softening of hardened hearts. Pray for justice to roll like a river.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” — James 5:16
2. Raise Awareness
Many remain unaware of the severity of persecution. Use your platforms—social media, small groups, churches—to amplify these stories. Shine light where the world has cast shadows.
3. Support Relief Efforts
Organizations like Open Doors and International Christian Concern are providing critical aid—food, shelter, medical care, and trauma support. Your financial gifts make an eternal impact.
4. Advocate for Change
Contact government officials. Push for international attention and policy change to protect religious freedoms. Advocacy can shift atmospheres and policies.
5. Stand United as the Body of Christ
We are one Church, one family. We all suffer when one part suffers (1 Corinthians 12:26). Build bridges. Form prayer groups. Let persecuted believers know they are not forgotten.
A Message of Hope
These stories from Nigeria and around the world are heartbreaking but they are also radiant with faith. Survivors continue to gather, to worship and to sing. Their resilience bears witness to a Gospel that even death cannot silence.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” — Romans 8:35-37
Their courage calls us higher—to pray more fervently, to love more deeply, and to stand more boldly.
Together, as the global Church, we can be a light that pierces the darkness. Let us rise to the call to pray, advocate, and stand with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Nigeria—and around the world.
