On November 1^st and November 8^th (in Canada), Christians all over the world are being encouraged to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus, as well as those who persecute them.  It’s an  International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

I want to urge you, followers of Jesus, to join a global Christian prayer movement that is stopping to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters everyday at 3pm in our local time zones.

You may be wondering, “why at 3pm?”

Because 3pm is the time Jesus died for us on the Cross; 3pm is the Hour of Mercy, the time Jesus opened the gates of Paradise to His people.

It is difficult for those of us who have never faced Christian persecution to try to imagine what it must be like to be imprisoned for your faith, to lose your civil rights because of what you believe in and even to lose your life! After thousands of years following the death of Jesus I wonder how can it be that Christians are still being persecuted for believing in the ONE TRUE GOD!

It is estimated that over 100 million Christians worldwide are being persecuted for their faith in Our Lord Jesus. (Source: Open Doors) I can only imagine how much Jesus must suffer to see His believers being persecuted and even tortured and murdered for their faith!

What can we do to help them?

We MUST UNITE IN ONE BODY OF CHRIST AND PRAY!..but not just on one international day of prayer but everyday!

Today I am going to extend to you an invitation to be part of a movement that will change the world, one soul at a time, by believing in the omnipotence of Our Lord to hear us and answer us!

God’s promises to His people are everlasting and He will hear our prayers if we turn away from sin and come to Him with trust in prayer.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11-12

God wants us to help one another to prosper. We all have ONE God, Jesus Christ and Our God does not want brother killing brother, but moreover God wants brother to be reconciled to His brother, to find ways to live in peace, respecting one another irrespective of our ideological differences and religious beliefs.

Anyone that believes that religious conversion should come by force and violence is deceived about God’s will and we need to pray for them!

We need to pray as much for those that are persecuting as we do for those that are persecuted!

One day we will all come before the ONE TRUE GOD JESUS CHRIST and on that day we will have to account for what we have done and what we have failed to do. Let’s not fail to pray for one another everyday and I encourage you to never let a day go by without contemplating the Passion of Christ. Our salvation was won at a very high price! Jesus was brutally tortured and killed so that we could be cleansed of our sins and live eternally with Him and now we have a role to fulfill as Christians towards the SUFFERING BODY OF CHRIST.

We are at war with the powers of darkness!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have reached a time in the history of the world where we can no longer stand by idly. Faithful people it is time to unite as a UNITED PRAYER ARMY!

Let us pray together as ONE UNITED BODY OF CHRIST at the FOOT OF THE CROSS OF JESUS EVERYDAY AT THE TIME OUR LORD DIED FOR US 3pm (in our local time zones).

Let us boldly approach the throne of God’s grace calling upon God’s Holy Spirit to be poured out upon our broken, sinful, suffering world. Let us pray for the mercy of Our Redeemer Jesus Christ upon all souls, especially those most in need of His mercy. Let us pray for our enemies that are killing our brothers and sisters in Christ remembering the instructions of Our Lord Jesus:

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” Matthew 5:45

If we were imprisoned for our faith in God, what would we want? We would want someone to fight for our freedom and rescue us!

If our communities were at risk of being invaded, our women raped, our families tortured and killed, what would we want? We would want someone to save us!

Friends of God, Jesus is our Saviour! His very name Jesus means “God saves”. It’s time to prove our love and our faith and our unity as Christians is critical and urgent!

Let us unite in prayer at 3pm (in our local time zones) remembering Jesus dying on the Cross for us and let us remember the suffering Body of Christ that is counting on us to pray for them. Let us bring all of our needs to the throne of God’s grace and pray that Our Holy Lord will send His Holy Spirit upon those that are being persecuted and upon those that are persecuting. May Jesus help the persecutors to know the truth!

THIS IS THE TRUTH!

God wants peace and reconciliation, not war and violence. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans 16:20

Spiritual conversion comes through the power of the Holy Spirit, not the point of a sword. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 1 Peter 3:15-16

Prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapon we have in spiritual warfare and THIS IS WAR!

It is war against the holy character of God. It is war against God’s people. To stand idly is to stand in a place of unbelief. Do not do that. It’s time to unite in a prayer that will change the world! It’s time to pray for the persecuted Church everyday!

At 3pm, come to Calvary and remember Jesus Christ being brutally tortured and killed so that you can be saved, so that your neighbour can be saved, so that men and women who are today committing atrocities can be saved through the infinite merits of His sacrifice as they repent of their sins.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

We cannot be effective in spiritual warfare if we have not first been purified of our sins. It would be like a soldier going to battle defenceless.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6: 11-18

Let’s be clear about what St. Paul is telling us to do.

What’s the truth? Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Everyone will have to answer to Jesus Christ for their sins.

Putting on the breastplate of righteousness requires that we confess our sins and work daily to do God’s will to love as He has loved us, to be peacemakers, to forgive and be forgiven, and to pray for God’s mercy and peace upon all.

And we must pray, pray, pray for all of God’s people, especially for those most in need of His mercy. We must pray for those that are killing, for those that are deceiving others to commit crimes against humanity.

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13: 20-21

Learn more about The Mercy Movement here: https://passionofchrist.ca/the-hour-of-mercy/ Our mission is peace. Our law is love. Our weapon is prayer and our leader is Jesus Christ, true God, true Man.