Dear Friend of the Persecuted Church—

            “Pray with faith, act with courage.”

            As I was looking through the news of the persecuted church this morning, I saw this slogan on the website of the Free Burma Rangers.  It is a fitting slogan for a group like FBR; they are engaged on the frontlines of persecution, putting their lives in danger to serve.  Faith and courage are both necessary parts of their daily lives.

            This slogan reminds me of God’s commands to Joshua, as he was taking over for Moses to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  God starts by asking for faith, and then commands courage: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  Be strong and of a good courage...”  (Joshua 1:5-6)  Those two things were essential as the Israelites faced down the Canaanite giants and claimed their inheritance.

            It would be easy to think that faith and courage are only necessary for people facing daily danger, but that isn’t the Biblical mandate.  Every one of us has a calling, and following it requires faith and courage.  We may not face the bullets and land mines of the Burmese Army, or the giants of Canaan, but if we do not pray with faith and act with courage we will not achieve our calling.

            In a way, your prayers for the persecuted church meet both of those requirements.  You are praying in faith for needs you cannot see or meet yourself, trusting our Father to meet them.  And it takes courage, in our busy lives, to turn away from all of the “things” that need to be done, and that clamor for our attention, and spend time praying for our brothers and sisters.

            But in doing so, we meet the calling to minister to our own, to do good unto the household of faith, to meet the needs of the widow and orphan in our midst.  That is worth all of the faith and courage that we can give it!

Yours for the Body of Christ,

Gabriel J. Waddell
Executive Director

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