31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Acts 9:31

This was a unique time in church history. There was peace.

We in the West enjoy peace today, but many Christians throughout the world aren’t so fortunate. In fact, it is rare that we have peace because many nations around the world have had much conflict since Christ was on earth.

Two prayer requests today. First, thank God for the peace we have. We take it for granted too much. If we’re not careful, though, that peace can be stripped away.

In contrast to that, pray for the persecuted church. What’s it like to live in a constant state of fear? Our brothers and sisters around the world are being persecuted greater than the last few years. Pastors and laypersons are being thrown into jail and beaten. Why? Because they bear the name Christian, and will not back down when they are told to recant.

I don’t think we quite understand the amount of emotional and financial stress that families are under because of this persecution. We pretend it doesn’t exist because “out of sight, out of mind”, but it is real and it exists around the world.