Pray for the persecuted Church

A quick blog:

The other night I had a dream that certain Christians were being persecuted in the United States. In my dream there were certain people that you knew if they came to visit you, you'd either be killed by them or they would send someone to kill you soon after the visit. At the end of my dream, although I didn't see it, I knew that some Christians who didn't convert were tortured to literal death by being cut with pizza cutters (I realize it sounds silly, but in my dream it was scary).
It took me a while after the dream to apply this to real life. I think God sent this dream to me because of my previous lack of concern and empathy for the persecuted church. I now realize that there are Christians out there today who have to fear for their lives every day. The Holy Spirit gives them strength, but I'm sure the spirit of fear can still be overwhelming at times!

Please remember with me to pray for those who are living each day not knowing whether they'll live or die for Christ. Pray that they may have Paul's mentality of "to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21) and to remember Jesus' blessing: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mat. 5:10-12)
Pray that they will be bold for Christ and that I will do the same.

-Anna-