It’s Time

Week six: Speak up

Suggested time and date: 6.30-7am, Monday 20th October

Good morning and congratulations! You’ve made it to the sixth and final week of ‘wake up and pray’ – thank you so much for getting up and standing with the persecuted church by praying for them for these past few weeks. Although this is the final week, this is not the end – though you can have a lie in next week! But for now, it’s time to… Speak up!.

While you’re waking yourself up and getting ready to pray, why not let the world know? Tweet using #itstime2014 and get your followers praying along with you.

You know the drill… out of bed!

Grab your Wake Up and Pray Guide and spend the next half hour reading through the material, thinking about the Bible passages and praying for change.

If you haven’t managed to get hold of the ‘Wake Up and Pray’ guide, you can download the full pdf session below to help you spend 30 minutes reflecting on the Bible, praying for change and learning more about life as a secret North Korean Christian.

Wake Up Session Six…

Extra thoughts

Use the following stuff to help expand on the things that are in the Wake Up guide session.

1. Learn

There are between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians held in labour camps in North Korea. We don’t know a great deal about these labour camps as most people die while being held there, but what we do know is harrowing. A quick internet search of ‘North Korean labour camps’ will show up just some of what was revealed about these camps in a United Nations enquiry last year.

Despite all that goes on, many North Korean Christians continue to share the news of Jesus Christ in their country. Those who become Christians and choose to share this good news know that they do so at the risk of their lives, but still they persist, knowing that they have the best news in the world to share with those around them – news of forgiveness and eternal life for those who believe in the name of Jesus.

There are, however, a number of words that North Korean Christians are unable to use because they present too high a risk of arrest if they were to be overheard. So instead, they speak in code. You can find a list of them in the PDF session downloadable on this page.

In addition to sharing the gospel in code in their country, North Korean Christians have begun a prayer campaign amongst themselves to ask God for more opportunities to share the gospel. Despite the multiple risks, they pray for God to break through in their country and their government, and are completely submitted to the will of God, knowing that ‘if we perish, we perish’. Such courage and faith shows true disciples of Jesus, and present a challenge to us not only to be praying for our brother and sisters in Christ, but also to be practising true discipleship ourselves in our everyday lives.

2. Pray

• Praise God for the vision, perseverance, courage and faith of Christians in North Korea. Pray for continued protection over their work, and an outpouring of faith and blessings on them. Pray also for openings to speak of the gospel to those around them, and for boldness as they do so.
• Pray for Christians held in prison camps across North Korea. Ask God to draw close to them by his spirit, to comfort and protect them, and to give them strength. Pray for chances to speak of Jesus to their fellow prisoners, and even to those holding them captive. Pray for their release, and ultimately for God’s will to be done in the prison camps and across the country.
• Ask God to bless North Korean Christians with a courage, wisdom and discernment for whatever the future holds. Praise Him once again for their perseverance and their faith, and for Open Doors workers who facilitate all that goes on from China. Pray that many would come to know Jesus, and that God would make the impossible possible in building His kingdom more in North Korea.

3. Act

As we’ve seen, North Koreans cannot identify themselves publicly as Christians. Why not take advantage of the privilege that you have in being able to proclaim your faith freely, and wear something that identifies you as a Christian? Wearing a cross necklace, a wristband, or even an Open Doors t-shirt will remind you how blessed you are to be able to openly declare your faith in Jesus.

4. Keep going

We’ve reached the end of ‘wake up and pray’, but for persecuted Christians across the world, and particularly those in North Korea, this is not the end. Using all that you’ve learnt and prayed about these past six weeks, keep yourself updated on what is happening in North Korea, and continue to pray for those persecuted for their faith. It might not mean getting up early again, but use the reminders suggested over the past few weeks to stay alert, aware, and praying for the persecuted Church. Also, be sure to keep tweeting #itstime2014 to remind your followers to pray as well.

Back to It’s Time page…