Pray for More Love

I have a passion for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) organization and the persecuted church they support all over the world. I downloaded their app onto my phone, which invites me to pray for brothers and sisters in a different country every day. You can find it in your app store. It’s called VOM Pray Today. I am praying believers in Nepal today. According to Christian leaders in Nepal the government is taking a stronger stand against religious conversion. The Nepalese Parliament passed a bill in 2017 criminalizing conversion to Christianity. Imagine breaking the law for accepting Jesus as your Savior. In 2018, the prime minister and other government officials publicly said anyone found changing their religion would be expelled from the country. In addition, any charity organizations engaged in preaching would be shut down.

We are so blessed to live in the United States. Our freedom to speak and to worship is guaranteed by the first amendment to our constitution. Nonetheless, although we have the freedom to share our faith, we simply do not do so. Studies have shown that only 2% of Christians here in the US, have ever shared the gospel with anyone. That means 98% of us do not. It’s not that we cannot. It’s not that we are at risk of arrest or imprisonment. We choose not to. Why is that? 

I know, we feel uncomfortable speaking to strangers. I understand. I do too. We are scared of what their reaction might be if we possibly breach some potentially offensive issues. So, we don’t do it.

In my devotional reading a couple of days ago, I am using My Comfort is Jesus by Ray Comfort, the author offers an analogy. If there were an icy pond that was so cold that falling into it would mean death within minutes, none of us would want to jump into that water. But, if a little child fell in and began to drown, we would not hesitate to jump in and save him or her. You see, love overcomes fear. The waters of personal evangelism are icy indeed but love for the lost will overcome fear and inspire us to jump into those cold waters. Actually, if we struggle with sharing the gospel because of fear, we shouldn’t be praying for less fear. We should be praying for more love. That’s the answer, because love overcomes fear. 

Today, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Nepal and all over the world, that they would be safe from those who would try to silence their witness. I also pray for those of us who remain silent by choice. Jesus told us to, “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). That was not a suggestion. Go! Here in the US, we have the freedom to try. We should try. Please think about sharing the life-giving truth of the gospel with someone today, tomorrow, and the next day. Pray for Nepal, the persecuted church all over the world, VOM, and for more love.           

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