Pray For God To Bring Down North Korea

Out of all the horrors that I hear about going on in the world, nothing captures more of my attention than that which occurs in North Korea. Led by a megalomaniac and deeply rooted in communistic-ruler worship, North Korea is very likely the most brutal regime on the planet; not just to Christians but to all of its people. Although I have blogged about the brutality of the North Korean regime before, after my recent interview with a servant of the persecuted Church who described North Korea as "...the most violent and relentless at this time" and "...North Korea is the most aggressive to its people" it was confirmed to me that Christians worldwide must begin to pray for God to bring down this unbelievably oppressive regime.

Why just North Korea and not other oppressive states?

Although Christians should seek to uphold and pray for justice worldwide, the urgency for and the scale of justice needed in North Korea far surpasses any other state in the world right now. It is a country that is systematically starving its people. It is no better than the Russian "Gulags" of the early 20th century, and possibly far worse. The entire country itself is a Gulag. I heard a story on NPR the other day about a young girl from North Korea who defected to China. She said that she considered herself quite privelaged by North Korean standards because she was able to eat an egg every so often. As people who come from free countries, it is hard to relate to stories such as this and we probably have little idea just what the North Korean people deal with on a daily basis. But a close look at what resources we do have about this country will reveal some hard facts to face.

So why just North Korea? Why not pray for the corruption in the United States? What about African countries? What about Haiti? What about...? It is not my intention to neglect other people groups around the world, but the level at which North Korea operates with such impunity and haughtiness is uparalleled. And a work of God there is urgent.

Who is the real enemy here?

Ephesians 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (ESV). There is no question that there is a great darkness over North Korea right now, and it is Satan himself who is holding so many people hostage there. Despite what many people may believe, Satan is real and highly active in the world today. We must also remember the depth of man's sin. It is the sin we inherited from Adam that still continues to bring about such abuses of power and restless immorality. Satan is not the only enemy, man is accountable for his actions.

How then should we pray?

To pray for the downfall of something or someone is an extremely difficult task. The Bible, specifically the Book of Psalms, is full of imprecatory prayers, so such a method of praying is not unbiblical. But trying to balance mercy with justice, grace with law, and a host of other biblical concepts can be tricky in our dealings with the world. We first must recognize that we all have the potential of becoming much like or far worse than the monsters inside North Korea's government.

We must also remember that God is the avenger, NOT us. That is why I am calling on Christians just to pray. We should not have violence or bloodshed in mind when we pray, but the hope laid out in the gospel. Peaceful justice is what should be in our minds. In the book of Daniel we see God humbling Nebuchadnezzar to the piont that he eventually composed a song of praise to the Lord. Likewise, in Genesis, we see God using Joseph to work in the heart of Pharaoh. The Bible is replete with accounts of Yahweh contending with rulers and changing their hearts for the good of mankind and especially his people.

This entire month of August I am calling on Christians everywhere to remember North Korea. To pray God's Kingdom would come on earth (in this case North Korea) as it is in heaven. To ask that God would bring down the oppression in North Korea by HIS means and not ours. And to hope for true mercy, justice, and peace to reign in such a battered and isolated country.We must pray that the light of God's gospel would so infiltrate and infect the North Korean people and government that they would fall on their faces in repentance toward God. And hope for the government to be humbled and change the way it treats its people.

God is good, and may his goodness flow like the most raging river through North Korea.