Jeremy Lin of the Charlotte Hornets recently led his team to a victory against the Houston Rockets, managing 16 points. However, the famous player had more to say than just sports, and according to a report from Charisma News, Lin is requesting his fans to pray in response to ongoing Christian persecution.
The report cites recent events in China where a Chinese pastor and his family were sentenced to prison after refusing to remove the crucifix they were wearing. Instances such as these are reported to be the center of Lin's new prayer request, which has been sent out to his prayer request subscription.
"Please pray for global Christian revival," stated the NBA player. "Specific areas that I feel God has put on my heart are Asian-Americans in the U.S. who are lukewarm in their faith, the billions in China who don't know Christ and Taiwan/Hong Kong. I obviously care about many other places, but these are very near and dear to my heart."
According to the report, Christian persecution is going on in more than just one area and has grown to a scale large enough for both the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox leaders, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, to meet in order to address the issue.
The two leaders stated that attention must be brought over to areas such as the Middle East and in African nations where Christians are being persecuted, even to the extent of extermination through radical laws and religious conflicts.
Lin's prayer request doesn't just address the persecuted, however, as his statement also asks for fellow Christians to pray for enlightenment for those who have yet to turn over to Christianity and for those whom many can consider as Christian only by name.
This also isn't the first time Lin's statements directly addressed real world issues. In a post on Twitter, the player also brought into the spotlight the issue of diversity in the Academy Awards.
