Prayers regarding the persecuted church

Glenn Penner has an excellent post at The Persecuted Church. He asks how we react when we hear stories of Christians being persecuted in other countries. Do we simply say, "Thank God we don't have to live like that"?

Let me state it plainly. If your first and primary response to the Persecuted Church is to feel grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country then, like me, you have probably missed the whole point of what God wants to say to you through the testimony of His Suffering Church. Simply put, the Persecuted Church does not exist so that we can feel grateful, and they deserve to be more than a prayer item or sermon illustration designed primarily to elicit thanksgiving.

I have to admit that my first reaction is to be thankful for being able to live in the U.S. But when I hear specific stories of brothers and sisters in Christ suffering for Him, I do try to lift them up with my prayers, asking Him to give them strength and courage during their trials.

May I continue to have more of the mind of Christ...