Listening in secret—praying for North Korean believers
January 24, 2019
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You’ve likely heard about North Korea on the news. About the current political antics of a tyrannical dictator. About a country split in half by a civil war sixty years ago.
To be truthful, we don’t know that much about North Korea by their own choice. Nicknamed “the hermit kingdom,” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has chosen to isolate its people from the outside world. They rigidly control the information coming into and going out of the country. Missionaries are unheard of.
Because of this, a new generation has grown up never hearing the name “Jesus” and never imagining His gift of salvation.
But their grandparents knew a different North Korea. Before the Korean War (1950-53), their capital of Pyongyang had a different nickname: The “Jerusalem of the East.” But in the face of intense persecution of a new dark regime, thousands of its Christians fled to South Korea during the Korean War.
Today Christians can only live in secret. Underground churches worship in remote clandestine places, knowing if they are caught or betrayed by their countrymen certain imprisonment or “disappearing” will be the consequence.
Our prayer today is calling out to God for His power to reign over earthly despots. Pray for His protection over North Korean believers. Pray for the effectiveness of Thru the Bible programs that we know are secretly being listened to by followers of Jesus in a most inhospitable land.
Tomorrow on World Prayer Today we’ll visit the tiny island of Taiwan—a surprisingly difficult place to share the gospel.