Week of PRAYER for North Korea (Summer 2003)

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, together with South Korean churches and a number of other agencies including AsiaLink, is orchestrating a Week of Prayer for North Korea. The week is designed to heighten awareness of the desperate plight of the North Korean people and to galvanise much needed prayer for North Korea and for the persecuted church there.

The Silence must be Broken

Little has been known about North Korea over the last decades due to its extreme isolationist policies. The communist regime has sought to decimate the church and repression of Christianity has been ruthless and thorough. As a result of the lack of information, the situation of the church has remained a mystery and the church worldwide, outside Korea, has forgotten the need to pray for these most persecuted of our brothers and sisters.

However, CSW have now been able to conduct research that gives a much clearer picture of the situation in the country. The information uncovered is deeply sinister and unveils the need for fervent prayer for those persecuted and imprisoned in this most repressive of nations.

State Enforced Idolatry

The isolation of North Korea has enabled the leaders to brainwash the population and teach them unquestioning obedience to their authority. Kim Il Sung (the 'Great Leader') and his son, Kim Jong Il (the 'Dear Leader') have instituted a personality cult in which they are worshipped.
No belief in a higher authority is tolerated and being a Christian is viewed as one of the most serious crimes. Even the word for God has been abolished in North Korea.

Horrific Persecution of Christians

Before the communist regime was installed, the north was a centre of revival and Pyongyang was known as the Jerusalem of the East. Most Christians fled to the South during the Korean War, or were martyred. A few believers have managed to hold on to their faith despite the horrific persecution.

Many Christians have been publicly executed and others have been taken away to camps where they are subject to brutal treatment and treated as sub-human. They will never be allowed out of the camps, alive or dead, and are worked to death in brutal conditions and terrible deprivation.

Christians suffer especially cruel treatment in these death camps as they are under ongoing pressure to renounce their faith. They are subject to frequent torture and abuse and are also forced to do the most gruelling and dangerous work, both by guards, as punishment, and by fellow prisoners, who despise their faith as insanity.

Spiritual Breakthrough

In this we join with many South Koreans who have been praying earnestly for their brothers and sisters in the North for many years.

Pastor Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the largest church in the world, endorses our call to prayer, stating: "We have been praying fervently for North Korea for many decades now, specifically praying for the peaceful unification of the two Koreas. We have many young pastors preparing for the ministry who are planning to enter North Korea when this door is open. It would be deeply appreciated if you would join us in prayer for North Korea. God is not willing that any should perish without Him.”

Many of the South Korean churches which are known throughout the world for their phenomenal growth were in fact planted by North Koreans. We pray that this tremendous blessing will flow back into North Korea and that the country will once again be known as a centre for revival.

North Koreans are immensely open to the gospel. Those who flee the country very often accept Jesus with open hearts. They have been trained to such a level of obedience in North Korea that they quickly become devoted disciples, even ready to face death for their faith. It is our duty to stand by our brothers and sisters who are ready to pay the ultimate price for their love for God.

More information and resources are available from the Christian Solidarity Worldwide website at www.csw.org.uk or the AsiaLink office.

Pray for North Korea

Sunday 22nd June

On the eve of the Week of Prayer for North Korea please pray that a great anthem of prayer for our suffering North Korean brothers and sisters would be lifted to God throughout this week. Please pray for every meeting focused on the situation.

Monday 23rd June

Please pray against the statewide enforced idolatry and the complete repression of religious freedom. Pray that the name of God would not only be allowed to be spoken again in North Korea, but that it would be mightily glorified.

Tuesday 24th June

Please pray that the conditions will change so that the gospel can be preached. Pray for a great harvest of souls. Pray that the earlier revival would be known once again and that the shed blood of the saints will be the seed for a great harvest in the land.

Wednesday 25th June

Pray for those who have managed to hold onto their faith through the gravest of trials, unable to meet, speak or read about their faith. Pray that they would be strengthened and encouraged and that God would supernaturally provide for all their spiritual and physical needs.

Thursday 26th June

Pray for all those suffering horrific persecution in prison camps, that they would be strong in their faith and would not give in to the unrelenting pressure to abandon their faith. Pray for great courage and power to resist all the evil attacks upon them and pray for divine provision, grace and encouragement in their time of trial.

Friday 27th June

Please pray for those who have escaped from North Korea and heard the gospel. Pray that those returning to the country will not be detected. Pray for those who have been caught and are undergoing incredibly barbaric torture, facing execution or forced labour.

Saturday 28th June

Please pray for those who work with North Korean escapees, that they would be wise and successful in all they do and that God will protect them and their work from detection by the authorities. Please pray for missionaries detained in China for helping North Koreans.

Sunday 29th June

Please pray for missionaries who have been abducted by agents into North Korea, including South Koreans Reverend Dong Shik Kim and Reverend Ahn. Pray for them as they suffer in North Korea and for their families who suffer great heartbreak and desolation.