Pray with 25 women following the Great Commission

Christian 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. A youth leader serving in a house church in Iran.

They are just a few of the millions of women around the world who are pursuing the Great Commission in some of the most difficult and even dangerous places for Christians.

"Pray that Afghan women not only survive, but that they would be like Esther, with boldness and courage."

Ariana*, Afghan believer

Where they live, Christian women can be doubly persecuted for their gender and their faith. They survive in cultures where their voices are often silenced, their identities eroded and their rights stripped away.

Today, will you pray with your sisters, asking God to restore and empower them? Let them know they're not alone as they follow Jesus and build His Kingdom. We're sharing 39 prayers and introducing you to 25 women to help you connect with your persecuted sisters and pray alongside 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 to 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 20-something Setareh*, who leads small discipleship groups in Iran. "Pray that God brings a partner into my life—someone who shares His vision and calling."

4. Sogol*, a Christian mother from Iran, recently asked the worldwide Church to pray with her for parents and children. "Parents are now afraid to send their children to school in case the conflict escalates. There are no online options for continuing education, and many parents are exhausted and overwhelmed, unable to fully support learning at home.

"Please pray for our next generation that God will protect them, grant them peace, provide safe access to education, strengthen parents and secure a hopeful and stable future for them."

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Beatriz disciples a group of women who are discovering their true identity in God. Ask God to instill confidence in these women as they learn to study His Word.

8. Carmen* met Jesus through Beatriz's 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.

9. Intercede for mothers who are raising their children to love Jesus where faith is rejected. As Carmen says, "Pray that my children never grow weary of following Christ."

10. Pray with women displaced from their homes. Ask God to fill them with peace when fear or doubt arises.

11. 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.

12. Pray for Christian women living in Afghanistan. If an Afghan woman's faith is discovered, her life and her family can be in grave danger.

13. 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.

14. Ariana, an Afghan Christian woman who lives outside the country, asks: "Pray that Afghan women not only survive, but that they would be like Esther, with boldness and courage."

15. Pray for the safety of people in Afghanistan, especially women. "Pray they will be able to leave and go to another country, because they don't have a safe place," Ariana says. "If they are found out, their persecutors will not have mercy even on their children; they will kill them."

16. Pray with Zakie from Afghanistan. From facing rejection by her community and family to fleeing the Taliban to Central Asia with a newborn baby and a wounded husband, Zakie's journey is a stark reminder of the high cost of choosing to follow Christ—and an unrelenting hope that never abandons. Today, Zakie ministers to other women just like her, building God's Kingdom one woman at a time.

17. Open Doors partners are supporting Zakie to continue her ministry among Afghan refugee women through training and literature. Zakie asks you to pray for the practical needs of her ministry. She shares: "We need a place where we can all gather together to worship and to praise, and we also need Bibles."

18. Although Zakie's family is safe in Central Asia, life is still difficult for her and other Afghan refugees. She prays every day for her children: "When they go to school, sometimes they are separated from [the other kids] because they know that they are Christians," she explains. "I pray for my children that they will be strong in their faith, steadfast."

19. The latest laws in Afghanistan legitimize violence against women and children, allowing men to beat their wives, "so long as they don't break their bones or leave visible lasting wounds."

For Christian women who secretly left Islam, the law makes an already horrific situation unbearable. Pray with us for our Afghan sisters.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. Ask God to comfort and encourage wives of Christian prisoners. Pray for protection, provision and the strength to care for her family in her husband's absence.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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."

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. Pray for women who lead and serve in local ministries, that God will strengthen their faith as they face both external opposition and internal challenges. Many are watched closely by hostile forces; some are criticized by their own communities. Ask the Lord to shield them from harm, give them discernment and continue to use them as voices of encouragement and healing.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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. When Open Doors met Norma, they provided counseling that became critical, life-saving support. Pray with Norma today.

33. 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."

34. 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. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guard Leila's mind during her forced Islamic studies, keeping the Word of God alive in her heart.

35. 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. Ask God to strengthen and comfort her and provide for her family. Give her wisdom and guidance to continue serving student groups.

36. 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."

37. 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.

38. 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."

39. 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. A year later, she began to read the Bible and surrendered her life to Jesus. 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.

*Names changed for security reasons.