A few years later we went through one of those periods of teenage rebellion. I discovered that one of my sons had violated a family rule in a major way. I was angry. When I confronted him, he confessed and apologized. He could tell he had wounded me, and he broke down and wept. His tears broke my heart. I put my arms around him and held him like I did when he was a little child. He sobbed, "Dad, could we pray or something?" We knelt by the couch and prayed. It was a heartwarming, cleansing moment that bound us together. But it would have never happened — it would never have been so natural for my son to want to pray with me — if many years earlier we hadn't developed the sometimes perfunctory habit of praying every night together.

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When you are daily going to God for strength and wisdom, you will more naturally turn to him when tragedy strikes.

DO YOU PRAY FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS IN TROUBLE?

The Bible commands us to "always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). You might go to God when you're in trouble, and you might pray for those close to you when they are in trouble. But those of us in American often overlook a large group of saints facing daily trouble: the persecuted Christians. The Hebrew writer urged, "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

Paul Marshall, in his book Their Blood Cries Out, exposed the tragic injustices being meted out against Christians in many different countries today. A summary of the book reads,

In Sudan Christians are enslaved. In Iran they are assassinated. In Cuba they are imprisoned. In China they are beaten to death. In more than 60 countries worldwide, Christians are harassed, abused, arrested, tortured or executed specifically because of their faith. 200,000,000 Christians throughout the world live in daily fear of secret police, vigilantes, or state repression or discrimination. These are not wild rumors. Nor are they simply Christians who, like many others, suffer from war or tyranny. Hundreds of millions of Christians are suffering simply because of what they believe.1

More than 150,000 Christians are killed every year for their faith.2 That's more than were being killed by the Roman empire in the first three centuries when we picture persecution being at its worst. The fact is that more Christians died for their faith in the last century that in the first 19 centuries combined.3

Christian musicians D.C. Talk recently published a revised version of the old Fox's Book of Martyrs. The book contains several modern-day accounts of the persecution and martyrdom many Christians have courageously endured in countries dominated by communists and Muslims. The book recounts the courageous story of Pastor Kim and his flock of 27 Christians in North Korea. They literally lived in hand-dug tunnels for a number of years, hiding from the hostile communist government. But as government officials built a road through the area, the underground community was discovered. The officials brought them out before a crowd of 30,000 in the village of Gok San for a public trial and execution. The Christians were told, "Deny Christ or die." When they refused, four children were seized from the group and prepared for hanging. With ropes tied around their tiny necks, the merciless officer again commanded the parents of the children to deny Christ. They told their children, "We will see you in heaven," and the children died quietly.