Read
‘All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.’ Hebrews 11:39–40 and Hebrews 12:1–2
Reflect
In our last Midweek Musing from Sanctuary, we reflected on God’s desire for us to know we are loved by Him. ‘The dynamic of the verse describes how we have been moved by an external force. The result is simple and clear. God wants us to be certain we are his.’ And this is true of his Church globally, all those saints around the world you have read about, past, present and future. The living stones, as Dorothy referred to them, that together are built into one Church. There is a tension to hold in the complexities of the Kingdom of God that we are loved the same and are having very different experiences of living out the freedom and grace we have received in Christ.
It can be difficult to know how to respond to this tension and feel like you are making a difference in the lives of others around the world. However, as we heard on Sunday, our prayers really do make a difference. One Church leader in Nigeria said this: “Those who are praying: don’t think your prayers are not being felt – they are. Through them, I have understood the love of believers. Prayers reach anywhere. There is power in prayer. I am pleading and praying that you keep on supporting through your prayers and help.”
Watch
Respond
If you want to continue to pray and support the work of Open Doors, there are a few ways you can do this. The Open Doors website has lots of resources for you to explore and aid you in praying particularly into these issues. Similarly, as Dorothy mentioned, she runs an Open Doors prayer group on the 2nd Monday of the month where you can meet with others who share your passion, pray and hear good news stories of what God is doing to intervene in these situations around the world.
Dig Deeper
If you’re still left questioning the frustrations of the unanswered prayers or difficulties these Christians are facing and want to dig deeper, Pete Greig has a short video with Open Doors that gives us a few different perspectives to consider. If you’ve watched this, I would encourage you to talk with someone to share your thoughts and discuss this together.
