Pray for Iran & The Church
A Brief History
Persia in the Old Testament was our modern-day Iran. Here, Daniel received visions, Esther risked her life to save her people, King Cyrus ended 70 years of exile and allowed Jews to rebuild the temple, and King Artaxerxes commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
At Pentecost, “Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia” (modern Iran) were among the first to hear the gospel (Acts 2:9). By the 5th century, the Church of the East flourished near present-day Baghdad, which was part of Persia. Their missionaries took the gospel to Central Asia, India, China, and Mongolia.
Valued for its contribution to education and medicine, the church in Persia survived the 7th-century Arab conquest but declined in the 1500s when Shia Islam became the dominant state religion. Assyrian and Armenian Christians persisted as minorities in Iran, numbering 300,000 by 1979, though many had left over the last four decades, partly for economic reasons.
At the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there were only 500 Muslim-background believers in Iran. Today, Iran’s Christian movement is thriving. Like the church in China that was purified and strengthened through persecution, the underground church in Iran is seeing a resurgence as the Lord of history is advancing His plan of redemption in Muslim world (Matthew 24:14).
Our Prayer
Lord, O Sovereign One over the nations, loosen the grip of systems that have chained people for too long. Let men and women, young and old, disillusioned with failed promises--not fall into despair, but encounter the living Jesus. Protect them from nihilism or extremism. Send your people to bring the faith, hope, and love that they have never known.
Lord, we pray for Iranians enduring this war. Protect the innocent, comfort the grieving, strengthen believers and underground church leaders in unity and witness. Let many Iranians discover that Jesus is not a mere prophet but the Son of God who lived, died and rose to save a world aflame.
Lord, empower the Iranian church in diaspora—in Los Angeles, London, Toronto, and beyond to reach their people via satellite and internet. Move the global Body of Christ to prayer as we battle principalities and spiritual forces. Grant wisdom to world leaders to bring justice and peace. May Your glory cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. In Jesus’ name. Amen.