Today, will you pray for persecuted Christian women? Worldwide, millions of women live in cultures where their voices are often silenced, their identities eroded and their rights stripped away. Your prayers are a lifeline!
An Afghan woman who meets with other Afghan refugees to pray and read the Bible in Central Asia.
A discipler of women in a part of Mexico where only 2% of the population is Christian and most keep their faith hidden.
A wife and mother raising her family to know Jesus and His heart for them.
1. Pray with Maryam*, a Christian woman serving the underground church in Iran. “Please pray for our people,” she says. “What they have seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears has deeply affected them.”
2. Pray with Ziba*, an Iranian Christian. She asks you pray for her country and the underground church in it. “We want to bring truth and hope to our nation … Please pray that God shows us how to love our community with the hope of Jesus.”
3. Pray with believers like Aida Najaflou—one of the estimated 48 Christians imprisoned in Iran for following Jesus. Pray that she would experience Christ’s presence in specific, unmistakable moments.
4. Your intercession is a lifeline for Beatriz*, a missionary in a highly persecuted area in Central Mexico. She has experienced persecution firsthand, including the near-death of her young daughter. Ask God to protect her and her family.
5. Carmen* met Jesus through Beatriz’ women’s group. Carmen* was fired from her job and threatened by her ex-husband who vowed to take away the children—all because of her faith. “Pray that God gives me strength,” Carmen asks.
6. April 14 marks 12 years since 275+ girls were kidnapped from Chibok in Nigeria. Praise God, many have escaped or been rescued. But 100+ are still missing. Pray for these young women, now around 30 years old. Ask God to place tangible signs in their lives, showing them they have not been forgotten.
7. Pray for Afghan women like Ariana* and Zakie* who have fled their country for neighboring nations. Pray they will find safe places to live and provision for their needs.
8. Pray with Vannida*, a widow from Southeast Asia who continues to serve the Lord despite immense suffering. When Vannida*s husband refused to stop ministering to others, he was killed. Pray that she would sense God’s daily presence.
9. Lift up Open Doors ministry partners who work alongside persecuted women of faith. Ask God to protect them as they serve God’s people and give them the words to say in especially difficult situations.
10. Pray with women who counsel traumatized victims of violence in Open Doors’ Shalom trauma care center in Nigeria and in Syria where students have studied and trained to be counselors.
11. Pray with Naira* from Central Asia. When she shared with her co-workers that she had become a Christian, one employee filed a police complaint. Yet this persecution has strengthened her faith, Naira says. Praise God for Naira’s boldness and pray for her endurance.
12. Sheila is a 17-year-old young believer in a stilt house community in the Southern Philippines. While enduring an illness, she faces persecution. Sheila’s neighbors mock and exclude her. Pray for healing and that the discipleship training she and others received from Open Doors equips them to stand firm.
Beatriz* from Mexico is one of 25 persecuted women you can pray for today.
13. Hanan*, a Syrian sister who lost seven family members in last year’s church bombing in Damascus, asks: “Pray for us to feel safe, to see our children growing up, and to be happy here. We need to live a beautiful life, not a life of fear.”
14. Our sister Josephina is grieving the loss of her husband and four children who remain missing after extremist attacks in Mozambique. She and hundreds are displaced. Pray for comfort and restoration.
15. Pray with Binta*, whose Muslim family expelled her from their home when she trusted Jesus. “Pray that the Lord will permit a reconciliation between me and my family,” she asks.
16. Pray with Lu Mei*, a church leader in northwest China. She has been arrested, interrogated and detained. After her release, she was periodically interrogated to intimidate and discourage her and others from practicing their faith.
17. Pray with Ngoc*, a 63-year-old grandmother and new believer in Vietnam. She was driven away from her home by authorities when her faith was discovered. Now, Ngoc lives with her daughter and granddaughter. Pray for her as she settles into her new home. Pray that her children would respect Ngoc’s new faith in Christ.
18. For almost a year now, Norma*, a Christian leader in Honduras, has faced a parent’s worst nightmare—the disappearance of her son. In several areas, violence from criminal groups has increased insecurity. Pray with Norma today.
19. Alheri was 12 when Boko Haram fighters attacked her village in northern Nigeria and took her captive. She spent years in captivity, forcefully married off, often beaten and grieving two miscarriages. Praise God, Alheri was able to escape and make it home. Our local partners invited her for trauma counseling at Open Doors’ Shalom trauma care center in Nigeria where she shared her prayer request: “Pray that God will strengthen my faith and take away my dreams about Boko Haram.”
20. Meet Leila, a 20-year-old believer in the southern Philippines—and the only Christian in her Muslim family. Leila faces an ultimatum by her father: “Return to your traditional roots or face being disowned forever.” Still, she continues to follow Jesus, risking her safety to attend a monthly youth fellowship supported by Open Doors.
21. The day of the police raid, Jinyi’*s world turned upside down. She and her husband’s unregistered house church in Central China was shut down. And because her husband was imprisoned for his involvement, Jinyi was alone with two children. Pray for Jinyi.
22. Kanya, has lost nearly everything for her faith in Laos, including her home. Still, she remains steadfast in her faith, worshiping in secret alongside other displaced believers. Kanya is also dealing with sickness. She asks: “Pray that whatever happens, I will stand firm and never deny Him. Pray that I will follow His Word and have strong faith in God.”
23. Pray with Ling*, an underground believer we met during a recent Open Doors discipleship training. Pray for perseverance. In Southwest China, her family’s decision to follow Jesus and return to their mountain village to share their faith ignited a miracle—and a backlash.
24. Pray with Lía*, one of 266 Christians forced to flee their homes in Chiapas, Mexico, after refusing to join a cartel war. She was also forced to leave the small shop she owned. Today, through your support, Lia was able to buy another shop. She asks us to pray for her family and those she left behind: “Pray that they will come to know God and that He will protect them from all evil.”
25. Pray with Christine*, a Christian from the East African Islands. She was born to a Muslim family and fully understood Islam by age 17. In 2015, Christine first encountered Jesus through missionaries and later had a dream about Jesus calling her. She has been jailed for her faith yet continues to teach kids about the Bible. “I am struggling because there are some parents who are not happy with my teaching,” she says. “It is not easy for us, but we surrender to God, and He manages all. We can’t listen to them and let God down for He is our Savior.” Pray for her guidance and strength.
Support persecuted women
Right now, your gift will support persecuted Christian women around the world.
Every $33 could give Bibles to two persecuted women determined to follow Jesus.
Every $52 could provide food to a woman and her family fleeing extreme persecution.
Every $96 could help train to a vulnerable woman to survive persecution.
*indicates a name changed for security reasons
