Hormoz Shariat, who leads Iran Alive Ministries, told Baptist Press that 14 people connected with his ministry are in jail in Iran, and that three of them are on death row. "So, please pray for all Christian prisoners, especially these 14 who are connected with Iran Alive," he said. He asked believers to pray specifically for the Christians held in Iranian jails.
Shariat's appeal came in an October 30 Baptist Press report ahead of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Baptist Press reported that Southern Baptists planned to join others on November 1 in praying for the estimated 388 million believers who suffer extreme persecution because of their faith in Jesus. The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the International Mission Board are urging churches to observe the day, and Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors U.S. and Iran Alive Ministries are also pleading for prayer. Shariat described one persecuted Iranian Christian who asked God what had happened and sensed in his heart that he had received the power of people's prayers.
ERLC President Evan Lenow told Baptist Press that Baptists have long defended religious liberty for all people, because genuine faith cannot be compelled by governments or institutions. Even as Americans give thanks for their freedoms, he said, they must remember believers around the world who face opposition, imprisonment and persecution for following Christ. He asked Southern Baptists to pray that persecuted Christians would remain faithful, bold and unwavering in sharing the Gospel.
IMB President Paul Chitwood remembered persecuted Christians along with the nearly 3,500 missionaries Southern Baptists supported in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which he said allowed more than 2 million people to hear the Gospel. "Prayer is the work we can do as fellow believers to lift them to the Lord, to ask Him to sustain them, comfort them, and bring them justice," Chitwood said. The IMB offers free downloadable resources to help churches observe the day.
Whatever the circumstances of their persecution, persecuted Christians ask for prayer more than anything else, Voice of the Martyrs Vice President Todd Nettleton has long told Baptist Press. He called the observance a practical response to their number one request and said he hoped every church would remember those in prison, pointing to Hebrews 13:3. Open Doors, which publishes the annual World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians suffer the most persecution, is focusing this year on the Middle East. It is inviting believers to pray for the church in Syria, where Christians were left with physical and emotional wounds after a deadly church bombing and are rebuilding as salt and light in their communities.
Whether or not your church marked the day, this Sunday, November 8, put Iran on your list. Pray for the 14 believers connected with Iran Alive, for the three facing death sentences, and for every Christian prisoner whose name only God knows.
Read Hebrews 13:3
