A revolution of prayer

In 1982 Open Doors decided to prioritise work in the Soviet Union, focusing on two major projects: reaching out to the tens of millions of Russian Orthodox believers who did not have a Bible and strengthening the church in the Muslim republics of the Soviet Union, giving them a vision to reach out to their Muslim neighbours. And this was backed by a seven-year prayer campaign.

Slowly but surely things began to change – and the impact was seen in the wider political world as well as within Open Doors. From 1987 large numbers of religious prisoners were released from prisons and labour camps. There were 340 imprisoned Christian believers in 1985; just 17 by March 1990.

By 1988 the Soviet economy was in crisis. President Gorbachev, looking for support for a restructuring programme, promised that from this point on Christians would be recognised as 'Soviet people, working people, patriots'. Churches began to be reopened.

In the same year, changed postal regulations allowed tens of thousands of New Testaments to be sent to believers and churches across the Soviet Union.

Brother Andrew took advantage of the new openness to get an agreement that in this year of the millennium celebrations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Open Doors would officially present them with one million New Testaments: he handed over the one millionth copy in person in Moscow to the Patriarch Alexy II.

The Nikolai Church in Leipzig, East Germany, had been holding prayers for peace every Monday evening since 1982. From a handful, the numbers had grown, and the prayer meetings became a focus for people longing for change. In October 1989 around 70,000 gathered outside the church: it was the revolution of 'candles and prayers'.

So by November 1989 it was clear that change was sweeping through the communist bloc. But the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, while the border guards looked on, was a dramatic sign that things would not be the same again.

Peter K, an Open Doors team member, recalls that day: "My colleague and I got straight in the car and drove to Berlin to be part of that historic occasion. What a joy, what an answer to prayer!"

On another visit to Berlin, he told his taxi driver that people in the West had prayed for years for this. The driver stopped the car and said with tears in his eyes: "On behalf of the Germans of Berlin, I want to thank you for your prayers; God answered your prayers!" 

Peter continues, "Now I am praying for North Korea. There are two Koreas, but God can make it one. I pray that He will open prison doors! He did it in Berlin and the wall came down. He can do it also in Korea!"