30 Ways to Pray for Sub-Saharan Africa
I ask for your prayers—because that is what sustains me.” —Pastor Benjamin Barnabas*, in northern Nigeria
Across sub-Saharan Africa, Christians live under unprecedented pressure as Islamic extremists target believers. Pastor Barnabas knows this firsthand.
While working on their farm, Pastor Barnabas lost his brother and sister-in-law in an extremist attack. He was severely injured.
Seeking safety, he left the area and for the last four years, he and his family have lived in a camp for people displaced from their homes due to violence and the insecurity in their area. On any given day, they could be attacked by extremists.
The violence is increasing insecurity at an alarming rate. At least 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa are displaced from their homes—many of them because they follow Jesus.
The world isn’t paying attention.
That’s why Open Doors has launched the Arise Africa campaign, a multi-year effort asking all of us to pray and take action—to stop the violence, and start the healing.
Our church family in sub-Saharan Africa are calling us to pray for them and with them. We hope you’ll use this prayer guide to help inform your prayers. We’ve included 30 prayers—one for each day of the month.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
Pray for survivors of extremist attacks
1. Our family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo asks us to pray after a violent killing spree that claimed at least 80 Christians. Several were killed working in their fields. “This is a persecution of a great level,” a local DRC pastor shared. “We ask all Christians to intercede.”
2. Pray with families who have lost loved ones to extremist violence. Pray for widowed mothers, specifically for encouragement and provision as they care for their children and home without their husband.
3. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Christians are victims of attacks on their lives and villages. Pray that God would raise up desperately needed, qualified trauma care workers to work with survivors.
4. Pray with Maluful, a Nigerian believer who lost his wife in an extremist attack. His experience at Open Doors’ trauma center in Nigeria underscores the need for more workers: “In the few days that I have spent here, I am healing inside,” he says.
5. After a brutal attack in Nigeria, Pastor Elisha learned to forgive his enemies in Open Doors trauma care. “Honestly, when I forgave, I felt happy,” he shared. “I also started praying for their repentance.” Pray for our trauma centre.
6. Against a backdrop of fear and insecurity, Christian families often find it difficult to work their farms. Please pray for the Lord’s provision. Pray for alternative, sustainable ways to provide for their families.
Arise Africa is a four year campaign with the goal of strengthening the church in Sub-Saharan Africa. Learn how you can be part of it.
Pray for Christians displaced from their homes
7. By the end of 2022, a staggering 16.2 million Christians across sub-Saharan Africa had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to attacks and insecurity. Please pray for the Lord’s strength, provision and hope.
8. Often, IDP displacement camps are overcrowded, with poor hygiene conditions and little access to food. Pray the camps would be places of safety and unity. Ask God to protect His people from sickness.
9. Pray with our brother Jerome* who lives with his family in an IDP camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They fled when extremists killed his son. “The situation is very bad,” he says. “If life goes on like this … it’s hard to live.”
10. Pastor Barnabas pastors thousands of Christians in one of northern Nigeria’s many IDP camps. Pray for his ministry and perseverance.
11. Believers face danger every day in the camp he lives in—but Pastor Barnabas remains confident in God’s goodness and His provision. “We believe He is great and will do more than what we have expected,” he says. Ask God to answer Barnabas’ prayer for restoration.
12. Abraham is chairman of a displacement camp in northern Nigeria. His family of five has been there for three years, ever since Fulani militants devastated their village. Ask the Holy Spirit to sustain Abraham as he leads with purpose.
13. “I do believe that we are displaced, but Jesus is not and will never be displaced from our lives. He is always with us,” says Pastor Soré. His family fled their homes in Burkina Faso. He asks us to pray for all Burkinabe believers to stand firm.
14. Pray for churches to multiply in IDP camps. Pray that more people would be drawn to the inner peace and joy that Christians in these camps exude. Ask God to bring forth a river of hope that flows through these churches.
15. Pray for the children in IDP camps. Pray they will grow in their faith. And pray that God would provide resources to return to school. God, we ask You to protect the innocence and dreams of persecution’s youngest victims.
16. Pray with Senou* and Combary*, two 13-year-old girls in Burkina Faso who fled with their families when extremists attacked their villages. Both had to drop out of school, but thanks to your support, they received the funds to return.
17. Pray for all those caring for the displaced … that they would find the physical and emotional strength to continue this work.
18. Pray for Open Doors’ local partners as they come alongside persecuted believers, even as they, too, face the same conditions and risks. Ask God to strengthen their faith and emotional health, equipping and guiding them.
19. Pray that national and local authorities in each region’s IDP camps will be provoked and equipped to improve living conditions in the camps and provide for those who are displaced.
20. Praise God today for every church leader in Africa who has faithfully discipled the local church. Pastors ask us to pray for wisdom and perseverance and that their work will bear fruit.
21. Pray that our persecuted family in IDP camps would be able to safely return to their homes and rebuild their lives and communities. Pray for protection from further attacks and an end to the violence.
Pray for the captives
22. Pray for all those in captivity for their faith. Ask God to provide daily and that they would feel His peace: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
23. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Christian women and girls face high risks of abduction during extremist raids. Pray that God would cover them with His wings (Psalm 91:4).
24. Christian boys in Africa can be targeted for killing by extremists. The recruitment of child soldiers—often forcibly—is a common issue. Boys can also be abducted for forced labor, or trafficked. Ask the Lord to intervene.
25. Pray for families awaiting the return of captured loved ones. As they continue to trust God, pray they would be salt and light to their community.
26. Pray that Christian communities will proactively care for released captives, especially our sisters. Pray that each survivor will know they are seen by God and deeply loved.
27. Pray that the world will wake up, pray and act. Pray that national government leaders and other global decision-makers would recognize and address the worsening crisis of violence across sub-Saharan Africa. Pray for leaders’ compassion and conviction to respond urgently.
28. Pray that God would stop the threat of Islamic extremism in sub-Saharan Africa. Pray Psalm 12:5’s promise: “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
29. Pray that extremists will have encounters with Jesus. Pray for Saul-to-Paul experiences. Lord, as Jesus commanded us to do, we pray for those who persecute (Matt. 5:44).
30. Pray that the worldwide Church would be ever-vigilant in prayer. God’s help is on the way—and the church in Africa is rising to meet Him: Father, awaken us! Just as our African family are so resilient and expectant in their faith, may we be as equally committed to pray with them.
