We cannot really blame them, can we? If most of us lived in the same circumstances as our Dong brothers and sisters, we would be tempted to react out of fear as well.

We do not have anybody coming into our houses and confiscating our Bibles and Christian materials. We are not faced with the decision to signing a confession denying Christ. Though it is tempting to do so, the purpose of this call to prayer is not to compare political systems or cast our stones at China; the purpose is to pray for our Dong Christian brothers and sisters and the trials they face.

Though simple, the psalmist's response to fear can be difficult to apply:

When I am afraid, I will trust in you (Psalm 56:3)

Our earthly lives will always provide us with something to fear, and no less for the Dong people: though they live in remote villages tucked away in the mountains of Southwest China, they are human like us. They will face challenges of faith. Their trust in Jesus Christ will be tested. And this process of trusting in Christ is never a one step program; it is a cycle.

• Let us pray that when the Dong people fear, when a brother or sister of ours fears the future, their saftey, provision of food or money, or the cost of following Christ, they will respond to Christ just as we see David do in this psalm. Let us pray they will continually, repeatedly, and consistently turn to Christ and say, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you".