Prayer for the Persecuted

His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21

The number of secret followers of Jesus worldwide is likely in the millions. The total number is humanly impossible to track, but the Master knows every single one. The persecuted meet in secret because where they live, it is forbidden to follow Jesus. What governments, communities, and families fail to realize is that one cannot stop the redeemed from following their Redeemer.

When persecution comes, some rise stronger. Others hide. It is easy to believe from a comfortable distance that those people “over there” are different somehow—holier. However, they would say to you, “We are like you. Jars of clay. Weak, yet strong. Afraid, yet courageous. Bold, yet cowering. Sinful, yet forgiven.”

Matthew relates Jesus’ story of the Parable of the Talents in Chapter 25:14-30. The master calls his three servants together and entrusts his wealth to them. Then he goes away. 

All who follow Jesus are His servants. He has called us to Himself and entrusted us with His wealth. The call and gifts of the Master are His wealth on earth. What we have received from Him belongs to Him. As Matthew Henry says, “Christ’s servants have nothing they can call their own but sin.” This parable is about what we do with those gifts until He returns.

Jesus’ tale of the three servants gives insight into how to pray for the persecuted today.

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more (v. 16).

Servant number one was self-motivated and confident. He acted immediately and astutely, demonstrating integrity and respect for his master. He did not allow His master’s wealth to tarry in his hands, but took swift action to invest it in the best way he knew. 

So also he who had the two talents made two talents more (v. 17).

Although servant number two is not described as taking immediate action, in the end, he did invest wisely and pleased his master. How kind of God to include the slow to act, the cautious, the imperfect, and perhaps fearful, yet faithful.

But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money (v. 18).

Servant number three did not do anything against his master, but neither did he do anything for him. He allowed fear to decide his actions, or lack thereof. 

In the end, the slothful servant is sentenced to be deprived of his talent (Matthew Henry).

God is raising up apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers among His persecuted servants in the world today. He has called them and entrusted them with His wealth, which is the gifts He will use to equip the Church. 

Some, when facing the threat of death, the loss of home, expulsion from family, act immediately with faith and invest His gift. The chief desire of this servant’s heart is to please his Master.

Others hesitate, fearful and cautious. Yet in the end, they choose Jesus. They persist through the fear and devote the gifts He gave them to multiplication in house churches, prisons, and secret places away from prying eyes. 

But others freeze in fear and hide the gifts the Master gave. They shove them far out of sight.  In the early church, some pleaded that they had enough struggle with their own souls and were afraid of losing them in the attempt to save others. They withdrew into caves and wildernesses to preserve themselves, missing the beautiful opportunity to trust the Master and multiply faith on earth. Some servants walk away completely instead of hiding from the Master, believing persecution to be evidence of His harshness and unlove.

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability (v. 15).

The Master gives each one of His servants talents and varying abilities. Servants one and two honored the master identically in the end, despite their diversity. They invested what he entrusted to them, and saw it multiply. The Master rewarded them equally.

Servant three chose not to honor the master, instead believing him to be harsh and demanding. He missed the great blessing of knowing his master’s joy and lost the opportunity to do more for the master. He acted out of fear, and fear blinded his heart to the generosity and kindness of the master.

Pray for the persecuted today. Ask the Lord to reveal to them the wealth He has entrusted to them. Ask Him to show our persecuted brothers and sisters how to invest His gifts right where they are. Pray for those immobilized by fear, that the Lord will encourage them to press through and devote the gifts He has given, even in suffering. Pray for the ones who are very close to giving up, to hiding His wealth, to believing untruth about the Master’s character in the crucible of persecution. Pray that the Messiah will strengthen them wherever they are and give them hope and courage to persevere, knowing He is coming soon indeed, and His reward is with Him.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Samuel McGarrigle on Unsplash