Pray for a Church restored
Under the Khmer Rouge, from 1975 to 1979, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people died, and Cambodia’s small Church was almost wiped out. Since then, the Church has been rebuilt and has grown. Pray for Cambodian Christian Believers to keep growing in faith, unity, and love.
Father, You have restored what was lost. Keep building Your Church in Cambodia, and let it be a living testimony to Your faithfulness.
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
Joel 2:25
Pray for pastors and disciple-makers
Many Cambodian churches are young and their leaders have had little training. Pray for pastors, Bible teachers, and disciple-makers rooted in Scripture, able to help new Christian Believers grow to maturity.
Lord Jesus, raise up faithful leaders who will teach Your Word with wisdom and help every Christian Believer grow to maturity in You.
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:28
Pray for families on the border
Fighting along the border with Thailand in 2025 forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. At its height in December, about 640,000 Cambodians were displaced. A ceasefire took effect on 27 December, and most have returned, but in early 2026 nearly 98,000 were still displaced and many returned to damaged homes, closed schools, and closed health centers.
Father, give border families safety, shelter, and the peace to rest again, and let local churches serve them with practical love.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8
Pray for those trapped by trafficking
Many people, Cambodians and others trafficked from abroad, have been held and forced to work in online scam compounds. Pray for their rescue and recovery, and for Christians who serve survivors of trafficking and exploitation.
Lord, set captives free, bring the exploited out of darkness, and give Your people courage to stand with them.
To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
Isaiah 42:7
Capital: Phnom Penh
Primary language: Khmer
People groups: 38
Unreached people groups: 16
Unreached frontier people groups: 3
Cambodia lies along the Mekong River, with the great Tonlé Sap lake at its heart, rice fields across its plains, and forested hills in the north and east. The temples of Angkor recall a mighty Khmer empire, while Phnom Penh is now a fast-growing city of young people, markets, and new construction.
Cambodia still lives with the memory of the Khmer Rouge years, when families were torn apart, cities were emptied, and those with education or faith were often killed. Many who survived carry wounds that were rarely spoken about, and the trauma has passed quietly from one generation to the next.
Khmer
The great majority, about 15.8 million people. For most Khmer, Buddhism is bound up with national identity, family, and community life, often mixed with practices aimed at spirits and ancestors.
Khmer Krom
About 303,000 people with roots in the Mekong Delta, also largely Buddhist.
Cham
About 272,000 Muslims, living mainly along the rivers, with their own language and history. They also suffered greatly under the Khmer Rouge.
Chinese and Vietnamese communities
Long-established communities in the cities and along the rivers, many following Chinese folk religion or Buddhism.
Highland peoples
The Jarai, Krung, Kui, Tampuan, and other peoples of the northeast, many following traditional religions shaped by fear of spirits.
Of Cambodia’s 38 people groups, 16 are unreached and 3 are frontier. Because the Khmer majority is counted as unreached, more than 98% of Cambodians live in unreached groups.
For many Khmer, to be Khmer is to be Buddhist. Following Jesus Christ can be seen as turning away from family, ancestors, and nation, and new Christian Believers may face misunderstanding and pressure at home, especially in rural areas.
Fear of spirits and ancestral obligations shape daily decisions for many families, and freedom in Jesus Christ needs to be understood within that world.
The Cham, as a Muslim minority, have had very little contact with the Gospel, and many highland peoples remain beyond the reach of established churches.
Yet Cambodia is open. Churches can meet, Christian Believers can serve, and many Cambodians are hearing of Jesus Christ for the first time. The need is for Cambodian Christian Believers who can share the Gospel within their own culture, and for churches that disciple new Christian Believers deeply.
Pray for the Khmer people
Pray for the 15.8 million Khmer, that they would discover in Jesus Christ the life and freedom they have been searching for.
Father, draw Khmer families to Jesus Christ, and let them find in Him a life stronger than fear.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
Pray for the Cham
Pray for Cham Muslim families, who have had very little opportunity to hear the Gospel, and for Christian Believers who will share it with patience and respect.
Lord, show the Cham Your everlasting love, and draw them to Yourself.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
Jeremiah 31:3
Pray for the Khmer Krom, Chinese, and Vietnamese communities
Pray for these communities in Cambodia’s cities and along its rivers, and for Christian Believers who can reach them in their own languages.
Father, let every family and community in Cambodia give You glory.
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength.
Psalm 96:7
Pray for the highland peoples
Pray for the Jarai, Krung, Kui, Tampuan, and other peoples of the northeast, many living in fear of spirits, and for Scripture and Christian witness in their languages.
Lord Jesus, free those who live in fear of spirits, and let them know that You have triumphed over every power.
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:15
Pray for healing across generations
Pray for older Cambodians who survived the Khmer Rouge and still carry unspoken grief, and for younger generations who have inherited that trauma.
Father, bring Your comfort into the deepest wounds of Cambodia’s history, and give beauty for ashes.
To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning,
Isaiah 61:3
Heavenly Father,
We bring Cambodia before You. You know the Mekong and the Tonlé Sap, the rice fields and the highlands, Phnom Penh and every village. You know the Khmer, the Khmer Krom, the Cham, the Chinese and Vietnamese communities, and the peoples of the northeast. You know the grief that older generations still carry and the hopes of the young.
Thank You for restoring Your Church after years of loss. Strengthen pastors and disciple-makers, and keep Cambodian Christian Believers faithful and growing. Protect families on the border, set free those trapped by trafficking, and heal wounds that have passed from one generation to the next.
Draw the Khmer to Jesus Christ, free those who live in fear of spirits, and let the Cham and every unreached people hear the Gospel. May Cambodia become a land where the life of Jesus Christ is known in every home.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
