Pray for North Korea
“I will drive the northern army far from you… Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. surely the LORD has done great things.” Joel 2:20a, 21
Population: 23,990,730
Capital: Pyongyang
People: Korean 99.8%, Chinese 0.2%
Per Capita GDP: $6,410 (14% of USA)
Official Language: Korean
Religious: Non-religious 69.3%, Ethnoreligionist 15.5%, Other 13.2%, Christian1.48%
Pray:
-According to news sources, Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s dictator since 1994, died of a heart attack this past weekend. He led one of the world’s most repressive and secretive regimes based on the ideology of ’Juche,’ or ‘self-reliance.’ His son Kim Jong Un, the appointed heir, is in his late 20s and regarded as having little experience. Pray for the salvation of Kim Jong Un and other political leaders who will be influencing decisions in North Korea. Ask that they would seek good, not evil, and that God would bring a new wave of justice and freedom to a country where people are starving both physically and spiritually.
-The only acceptable religion in North Korea is Cheondogyo, worship of Kim Jong Il’s father Kim Il-Sung, who was declared North Korea’s ‘Eternal President.’ During the past decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have died due to religious persecution while others are imprisoned or put in work camps. Possessing a Bible or even saying “Jesus” is punishable by death. The capital, Pyongyang, was once the birthplace of the Korean revival and known as the “Jerusalem of the East.” Pray that the Holy Spirit would come again in power to this country. Ask that God would reach the spiritually hungry with His Word through radio, smuggled Bibles, and the presence of believers there. Pray that the North Korean underground church would not be afraid, but rejoice in the LORD and grow in strength and number.
-Use the following video to help guide your prayers. This was made before Kim Jong-Il’s death, but much of the video’s prayer points are quite relevant to the present circumstance:
Information provided by Operation World and Joshua Project. For more information, go to http://www.operationworld.org/korn.