Persecuted For God's Glory

I did some studying and wrote some notes yesterday for a Bible study I will be participating in tomorrow night. I was struck by how limited my own perceptions and awareness of persecutions within the body of Christ are. They get limited by my reluctance to give attention to prayer for those who may be suffering persecution because I am not always aware of it.

I have not always known how to pray when I have been informed of details, because these persecutions often serve to glorify God by presenting amazing opportunities to witness, sharing the gospel of Christ in the presence and aftermath of suffering and often, death. So, should I pray that the persecuted souls involved be taken out of their situation, that such persecutions should never take place? How do I know how God's will should be served in this matter? So, I ask that God's will, will be served among my brothers and sisters in foreign countries, and in the mission fields, and that they may be given the wisdom and strength, the faith to endure what may come.

Look at Paul. His imprisonments, for example had, I believe, a huge impact upon his ministry. In his epistle to the church in Philippi we can read the account of the jailor and his family, and how they were saved. We know from that same letter that many of the saints were emboldened to proclaim their faith in Jesus. Paul was all locked up, so he couldn't go out to teach, to do ministry and visit the churches that the Lord planted through him. That didn't stop God from using the man. On the contrary, Paul sent out others in his stead. Because of this, his ministry for God was multiplied through the efforts of other servants like Timothy.

The fact that Paul was "reduced" to having to write to the churches from his imprisonment was a blessing for those churches and for us today. Several of the letters he wrote are in our Bible, and were the direct result of his persecution by corrupt men. One has to wonder too, just how much time Paul spent in prayer for those churches he could not visit because of his stays in different jails and house arrest. He spoke often of praying for the saints. Neither the man, nor his ministry suffered for his imprisonments.

In addition, Paul was “forced” to communicate with these saints and churches in writing. If Paul had not been in prison, the “Prison Epistles” (for example) would not have been written. Many of the books we read in the New Testament are the result of Paul’s imprisonment. God told Paul after he was saved, how he must suffer for the sake of the gospel. It was for God's marvelous purposes that the promise of his sufferings were realized. To God be the glory.