2010 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

(Santa Ana, California) – Christians in the West again have the opportunity to join the largest global prayer event of its kind on Sunday, Nov. 14 2010, when the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) 2010 is observed in churches, small groups and homes. IDOP is an international day of intercession for persecuted Christians worldwide with its primary focus on intercessory prayer, awareness and action on behalf of those suffering for faith in Jesus Christ.

One year ago two Christian women appeared before an Iranian judge who asked them if they would deny their newfound faith. 

Maryam Rostampour, 28, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 31, had been held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran for months, accused of two serious charges.

Both women refused to recant their faith. The judge sent them back to their prison cells where they suffered severe illness.

Open Doors launched an advocacy campaign to put pressure on the Iranian government to release the two women. And during the 2009 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church millions of Christians prayed for their release. 

Later in November they were released pending another court appearance. Then on May 22, Maryam and Marzieh were acquitted of all charges by Iranian judicial authorities and secretly fled the country.

Maryam and Marzieh said after their escape that “we are most eager to thank Christians who have been praying for us. We have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people. The prayers encouraged and sustained us throughout this ordeal.”

As in the case of Maryam and Marzieh, prayer is the No. 1 request of over 100 million persecuted Christians around the globe.

According to IDOP in many countries in the world today there are Christians martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan are facing death threats, Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are other places in the world such as North Korea where acts of persecution take place, but of which we don’t see or hear. Its website is maintained by the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission which is monitoring the religious liberty situation in more than 100 nations. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is a network of churches in 128 nations that have each formed an evangelical alliance and over 100 international organizations joining together to give a worldwide identity, voice and platform to more than 420 million evangelical Christians.