Pray for Christians in Prison Camps
We continue to remember Kenneth Jun-Ho Bae who is under arrest and sentenced to death in North Korea. Here is a FaceBook page dedicated to him.
www.facebook.com/RememberKenBaePrisonerInNorthKorea?ref=bf
As we think of Ken Bae, we also remember the growing number of Christians in North Korea, many of whom are in prison camps. Estimates vary as to the number of underground believers in North Korea and the number suffering in prison camps. Sources such as Radio Free Asia (http://www.rfa.org/english/), Cornerstone USA (http://cornerstoneusa.org/), and Open Doors (http://www.opendoorsuk.org/) indicate that there may be between 200,000 and 400,000 secret believers with perhaps 20,000 or so meeting together in small groups of 3 to 5 people for regular prayer and worship. There may be some 70,000 Christians suffering in the labor camps with others suffering severe persecution and death outside the camps. An Open Doors spokesman stated that they believe two Christians were executed earlier this year. In spite of the persecution, it does appear that the number of believers in the country is increasing as defectors who came to faith while in China are returning and sharing the Gospel with family, friends, and others. Some North Koreans travel back and forth to China as traders so that they are able to bring in Bibles and other resources to share the Gospel inside. This is a great peril to their lives.
Life for the ordinary North Korean is not easy either especially as controls under Kim Jong Un increase as does inflation while heavier burdens are being imposed on people to celebrate the great accomplishments like the recent rocket launch and nuclear tests about which more and more people express confusion or complaints. All of this increases the level of tension both domestically and internationally. At the same time, the government is giving out so many awards to people for their participation in the tests that being a "Hero of the Republic" is no longer anything special. There are also reports that North Korean generals and other high officers are getting US dollar cash cards every month to be used any way they want.
While all of this is going on, the central government has issued a series of contradictory orders concerning private farm plots that have farmers confused and fearful.
All of this adds up to a lot of things to pray for. Please keep our longsuffering North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ in frequent prayer. Let’s agree that the powers of darkness that are controlling Kim Jong-un and his government be bound and driven to the feet of Jesus so the nation can be set free from both its human and spiritual oppression.
We continue to remember Kenneth Jun-Ho Bae who is under arrest and sentenced to death in North Korea. Here is a FaceBook page dedicated to him.
Www.facebook.com/RememberKenBaePrisonerInNorthKorea?ref=bf
As we think of Ken Bae, we also remember the growing number of Christians in North Korea, many of whom are in prison camps. Estimates vary as to the number of underground believers in North Korea and the number suffering in prison camps. Sources such as Radio Free Asia (http://www.rfa.org/english/), Cornerstone USA (http://cornerstoneusa.org/), and Open Doors (http://www.opendoorsuk.org/) indicate that there may be between 200,000 and 400,000 secret believers with perhaps 20,000 or so meeting together in small groups of 3 to 5 people for regular prayer and worship. There may be some 70,000 Christians suffering in the labor camps with others suffering severe persecution and death outside the camps. An Open Doors spokesman stated that they believe two Christians were executed earlier this year. In spite of the persecution, it does appear that the number of believers in the country is increasing as defectors who came to faith while in China are returning and sharing the Gospel with family, friends, and others. Some North Koreans travel back and forth to China as traders so that they are able to bring in Bibles and other resources to share the Gospel inside. This is a great peril to their lives.
Life for the ordinary North Korean is not easy either especially as controls under Kim Jong Un increase as does inflation while heavier burdens are being imposed on people to celebrate the great accomplishments like the recent rocket launch and nuclear tests about which more and more people express confusion or complaints. All of this increases the level of tension both domestically and internationally. At the same time, the government is giving out so many awards to people for their participation in the tests that being a "Hero of the Republic" is no longer anything special. There are also reports that North Korean generals and other high officers are getting US dollar cash cards every month to be used any way they want.
While all of this is going on, the central government has issued a series of contradictory orders concerning private farm plots that have farmers confused and fearful.
All of this adds up to a lot of things to pray for. Please keep our longsuffering North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ in frequent prayer. Let’s agree that the powers of darkness that are controlling Kim Jong-un and his government be bound and driven to the feet of Jesus so the nation can be set free from both its human and spiritual oppression.
