The Martyr's Prayer

In this episode of the PRESS Movement Podcast, we journey into Revelation 6 and encounter one of the most sobering prayers in all of Scripture—the cry of the martyrs beneath the altar. These believers were not suffering because of poor choices or unfortunate circumstances. They gave their lives because they refused to deny Jesus Christ. Their prayer is simple but profound: "How long, O Lord?"

The episode challenges the Western perspective of hardship by contrasting everyday inconveniences with the reality that millions of Christians around the world still face persecution, imprisonment, and even death because of their faith. Drawing from biblical history, the book of Acts, and modern examples of persecution, listeners are reminded that following Christ has always carried a cost. 

Rather than leaving us discouraged, Revelation 6 redirects our focus toward prayer. We may never face martyrdom ourselves, but we can faithfully intercede for those who do. Their faithfulness should inspire our obedience, our gratitude, and our commitment to stand boldly for the name of Jesus.

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Transcript

Press means to apply force. When God said press, prayer reaches every single situation. He gave us permission to apply force to every situation that we will go through.

And in this podcast, we are going to learn to apply force to what's applying pressure to us. Greetings, everybody. Welcome to the Press Movement Podcast.

Thank you for joining me today. We are going to the book of Revelation for the second to last prayer in our prayer journey through every prayer in this Bible. If you've not already been a part of the podcast, definitely listen today, but stay tuned, sign up on our website.

We have some really neat ideals moving forward, and I just believe it's going to be a blessing. So go to PressToPray.com, make sure you sign up, and you're kept in the loop of what's coming next. Today, however, we're going to the book of Revelation.

Chapter six is where our prayer is, but I do want to pit stop in chapter one. The book starts with the revelation of Jesus Christ, who God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant, John, will be a record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. And then in Revelation six, where our prayer actually is, the Bible says in verse nine, and when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on earth? And white ropes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.

Coming to the book of Revelation, one thing we know is that this was given to John to write, and it was of things that were yet to come. He got a preview into the inner workings, the behind the scenes of what's happening in heaven, even before it would be seen on earth. And one of the things he saw is here in Revelation six, is the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony that they held.

Now, mind you, these are not just people who, they messed up, made mistakes, and they're suffering their consequences now. That's not what this is saying. Because sometimes when we define ourselves as going through, it's really just consequences of things that we did, you know how it goes.

And it's things we have to work through now because we made the wrong decision. That is not what this is saying. This is saying somebody chose Jesus.

And for that testimony, or for his word, the consequence was death. This really made me think because this is actually something I've looked into before. And I believe I've stated on this podcast, Christians are the most discriminated believers in all the world.

Of all the religions everywhere, Christianity is the most persecuted. According to Open Doors Watchlist, and Open Doors is a group that monitors how Christianity is being perceived and handled around the world and monitors persecution around the world and supports Christian organizations and Christian people who are enduring significant persecution. According to them, around 388 million Christians face high levels of discrimination and abuse worldwide.

That is not biblical times. That is not 50 years ago. That is today.

For many of you, you are listening in the United States, and you don't really think about Christian persecution. Again, how we define going through is often dictated by whether or not we have what we want now, or we feel the way we want to feel now. And then we want God to help us.

And I'm not saying that's wrong, but I am saying that is very sheltered as a perspective of what it means to have to go through. Because there are millions upon millions of people who are martyrs, and that means that they die for a cause, and they experience Christian persecution, which is a hostility or an aggression simply because of your belief. And that is who is praying in this chapter.

I've seen some Christian persecution. I can't even say I've seen it to the extent that I know it exists, but I've seen it more systematically. And in some places, it is harder to be Christian than others, especially those who believe in Jesus' name.

What I'm finding is that many people don't fight you on the doctrine of speaking in tongues or the act of speaking in tongues. Even if they think you're crazy, they'll pretty much leave you alone on that because there's so many people now speaking in tongues. It really is being poured out as the Bible stated on all flesh, and there are different religions that are speaking in tongues, and it is very easy to explain the tongues for the most part.

That's not always true, but for the most part around the world. What you do find a lot of friction concerning is the name of Jesus. And that in and of itself is just biblical.

We see that starting in Acts 3. Again, the irony of it starting in Acts 3 is that in Acts 2, the Holy Ghost fell, and the people heard it in the streets, and they actually heard tongues for the first time. And Peter stood up and explained what was happening, that this is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel. And it was new to everyone.

Even the people who received the Holy Ghost didn't know exactly what to expect. They just knew the promise of the Father was coming. But never once in the book of Acts do you see a fight over tongues.

What you do see is an immediate fight in Acts 3 that carries over into Acts 4 over the name. When a man is healed, they're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't do that. And because they couldn't really find anything wrong with the way Peter and John were used to heal this man through the name of Jesus, they just told him, look, just don't preach or teach in that name.

And because Peter and John could not agree and would not agree, you find them in Acts 4 asking God for more boldness, asking God to not let them back down, but rather keep them, sustain them, and strengthen them to do more than they'd ever done. But it was because of the name that that prayer even came about. And so what I found is that, for example, being in Japan as Christians, when we were looking for a space to do a service or something like that, it was actually very challenging because some spaces, as soon as they found out we were Christian, they literally canceled us or just ghosted us.

They wouldn't call us back. And then in the Dominican, what we found in looking for a space again for a church, they were okay with the ideal of you having church until they found out you were of the name. And then it was a real issue.

It is a real issue concerning the name. There's some businessmen, some people who flat out say, I'm not renting to you because you're of the name. Kenya was a little worse.

And that was my first stop. It was on this Christian watch list. And at that time they had been kidnapping young girls, and I believe they had committed an act of terrorism in a local mall targeting Christians.

And there are some people who will get violent when you start to teach Jesus Christ. I'm saying this because I know that in the States, we're not always aware of the cost of Christianity. Again, many times we define the cost by just what we're going through, a lot of it of our own making, but sometimes of the separation of feeling distant from friends and families, the cost of being alone, the cost of having to make decisions to be holy.

And there are other costs there, the cost of sacrificing. Maybe I can't play on this team because I need to be at church. There's other things there, but our costs very, very, very rarely involve us giving up our lives.

And yet that was the case for the people we see in Revelation chapter six. And that is the case for many, many people around the world. Even today, North Korea is number one on the watch list in the last 30 years for Christian terrorism or acts of violence against Christians.

It is so bad in North Korea to be a Christian that you can literally be killed on sight over Christianity. And yet Open Door estimates, and yet it is estimated that 400,000 Christians live in North Korea. Somebody has decided that they have found something worth dying for, that they have found something bigger than themselves, that they will follow Jesus all the way, no matter what.

While we're deciding here in the States if we're going to make it to church Sunday or second service, or can we skip Bible class? Can we stream it? We don't really need to go to prayer meeting. I can pray at home. While we're deciding these things, somebody's deciding today, am I willing to die for this? And I say these things not to put us in a mindset of our sacrifice means nothing because God knows each of our sacrifices.

And I believe He honors our sacrifices. And no, they're not supposed to be identical, though they're supposed to be a sacrifice. But rather I say these things to say there are people out here who are following the God we love, who have decided to follow Him with everything they have.

The least we can do is pray for them. Now I get that this prayer is actually them praying. They're praying for vengeance.

They're praying to God, judge this situation. They're asking how long. These people never lost their faith in God, not in death nor in life.

But they still want God to handle the situation even after they're gone. And the scriptures let you know that He will, but that the others have to join them until Jesus calls time and says this is over. Somebody else is going to have to sacrifice their life for the testimony that they carry.

And for many of us, it will not be us. But what we can do is carry them in prayer. Let's pray for those who remain in danger.

Let's pray for those who daily don't know if they can trust their own families because it is often their families who turn them in. Let's pray for those who are living in substandard conditions because they can't live amongst the people anymore because they have to live with the people or they can have Jesus and they've chosen Jesus. Let's pray for those whose churches are burned, whose daughters are raped, whose children are killed.

Why? Because they chose Jesus. Today I'm asking you to pray for the ones who will join those under the altar in Revelation 6. I'm asking you to pray that their faith fell not. I'm asking you to carry them in your hearts to God.

I'm asking you to pray that the Lord be with them, that He comfort them, that He guide them, that He give them wisdom, even as they still complete their own assignments. God, remember my brother. Remember my sister.

Remember those going through. Help, Lord. Today let's pray for every martyr that is to come, every person going through persecution for the sake of their testimony or their belief, and let's believe God for them because although they may suffer and they may die, and although we may suffer and we may die, we don't know what this time holds for us.

We still know. Declare and stand on. Prayer reaches every single situation.

Be blessed. Join the movement. Join the community.

Like, share, and subscribe to this podcast. Visit us at PressToPray.com or find us on Instagram or Facebook. Did you know that when you are quiet, your voice is missing to God's ears? I know some of us have prayed and were wondering, how long should I pray about this? Why should I pray if God already knows? How will I know God is answering? And what do I do when I feel like God's not listening? But God is listening for your voice.

It's too quiet in this world for the troubles we have. You have to raise your voice and God wants to hear from you. It's Too Quiet, a book about prayer, is designed to answer your prayer questions and build your faith.

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