Saving my Assassin

The man pulls a gun from his jacket and says, “I’m not a client, I’m here to kill you. We have done everything possible to stop you, but you will not listen.”

Across the desk is lawyer Virginia Prodan. She has already suffered beatings, interrogation and constant surveillance at the hands of Ceaușescu’s secret police, all for representing human rights cases against the government. Is this the end of the road for her…? But then she hears a still, small voice in her heart, ‘Share the gospel with him.’’

My latest podcast with Virginia was SO encouraging and inspiring (watch or listen here to find out what happened next), but it also brought a fresh reminder of the persecution people endure for their faith. Hers was at the hands of a now-defunct Communist dictatorship in Romania, but similar regimes still exist throughout the world.

Every day, Christians like you and I suffer violence, abuse, and rejection for simply following Jesus. We don’t hear much about it on the news, and it may be hard to imagine for those of us in the West with the freedoms we enjoy, but I’m desperate not to be(come) complacent.

I wonder what would happen if everybody who reads this took a few minutes now to pray for the hidden sufferings of the persecuted church? I’ll share some podcasts with people from the suffering church below so you can better understand how to pray – I’m confident you’ll be positively blown away and encouraged by them. Could also spread the word and share these amazing stories with two, three, five people?

As you pray, please remember precious Burundi. Religious persecution is thankfully limited, but there is still deep suffering. The region has dropped out of the news cycle (thankfully, the recent M23 rebel conflict has died down for now), but economic ruin and extreme poverty remain. Furthermore, campaigns were launched last week for parliamentary elections in June. It’s a critical time when underlying tensions are more likely to rise.

If you’re free, do join our weekly Saturday morning meetings to hear directly from our leaders on the ground in Burundi and pray for them.

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT). Be empowered today, knowing that your prayers do make a difference.