Pray for Persecution?

I watched a clip of Jim Daly, Pres of Focus on the Family, on Fox news a few days ago, and he made a comment that stuck.  He said that in 1996, he was leaving China, and the Christian nationals who took him to the airport said they were praying for more persecution of the church in the U.S.

Why would they do that?  I can offer some speculation.  For one thing, the church (mostly underground) in China is getting HUGE (I heard 70 million a few years ago), praise God.  Are we noticing any lessons from history?  Persecution has a powerful purging, purifying effect.  The lukewarm are out of there as soon as it sets in, in effect "weeding the garden".  And then the church grows like a weed.  The very young Christian church was persecuted by the Jews, then the Romans, and it has persisted in various places it seems, with little or no interruption on the globe.

I also heard about an incident, where it was claimed (I believe by Hal Lindsey in "Combat Faith"), that armed gunmen entered a secret assembly of Christians, implying they were going to kill any believers, but those who did not claim Christ could leave.  After the less courageous had gone, the intruders put down the guns and said, "Sorry to put you through that, but we have to be cautious - now let's worship."

Will things ever reach such a point in the U.S. ?  If the "cycle of nations" before God in history is any indication, then eventually; yes.  Perhaps we SHOULD pray for it.  Although the early Christians didn't seek martyrdom, if they were accused, many bravely admitted it and considered it an HONOR to go to their death for the Lord, singing hymns on the way to the arena.  If it happens in our time, how will we respond?  Are we loyal to Jesus to the death?  Can we love and forgive those who hate our guts, even as they kill us?  Clearly, there's no stronger way to shine the light of Jesus on a dark world.