In Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan it is true that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The statistics below show just how great the need is for the light of Jesus to penetrate the darkness that veils these nations from the truth. War, terrorism, and governments keep their people from hearing the gospel. And yet, Jesus loves these people dearly and longs for them to come to right relationship with him. It is time for us, as the Church, to partner with Jesus in seeing Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans saved.
Iraq
Total Population: 41,001,000
Population Unreached: 40,180,000 (98%)
Evangelical Population: 0.40%
Iran
Total Population: 84,895,000
Population Unreached: 84,561,000 (99.6%)
Evangelical Population: .52%
Afghanistan
Population: 39,637,000
Population Unreached: 39,635,000 (99.9%)
Evangelical Population: 0.02%
Prayer Points:
Pray for believers in these three nations to be bold in their proclamation.
Pray for strength and joy as they endure persecution.
Pray for Iraqis, Iranians, and Afghans to experience dreams and visions of Jesus.
Pray for believers from nearby countries to choose to live in these three nations as missionaries.
Pray for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Pray for a church planting movement to develop in these three countries.
Pray for Jesus to be glorified in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Pray that God will Show His Mighty Power Supernaturally
1 Kings 18 (NIV)
21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
26 … Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered…
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Prayer for an Elijah Experience
Ask God to bring an encounter where the whole Muslim world is brought before God to cease in their wavering and answer to the call: “If the Lord is God, follow him.”
Ask God for a supernatural demonstration of power in which the evil powers are defeated by the power of God in front of the eyes of all the Muslim World.
Pray against the spiritual forces of evil who want to do everything to hinder such a wide revelation. Proclaim a revelation of the victory and message of Jesus on the cross!
Proclaim that God is repairing the spiritual attitude of worship in the Muslim world, so when Jesus brings the encounter the people can respond in worship of the living God.
Ask God to show the appointed time for His chosen encounter. Ask God to reveal himself as the God of the nations and that His bride is His servant working at His command.
Ask God that the Holy Spirit would turn the hearts of hundreds of millions of Muslims in all the Muslim world to Him so that they may know that He is the Lord when seeing the demonstration of God’s power.
Ask God for something to happen, that has never happened before so that the supernatural encounter would be like the fire of the Lord falling on Elijah’s sacrifice.
Ask God that this encounter would let hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the Muslim world fall prostrate before Jesus, declaring that He is the Lord – He is God!
In the words of Samuel Zwemer, known as the Apostle to Islam, “If you want to do the most difficult task in the world, but the most rewarding, work with Muslims.”
In an area spanning 22 nations from Morocco to Oman lies the home of 407 million people, 95% of whom have never heard about Jesus. Within this region is the birthplace of Islam, making its inhabitants very resistant to the gospel. The desert climates, continual wars, persecution, and other hardships make it all the more difficult for Christian workers to share the truth of Jesus in this area.
And yet, in an area that seems so hostile to the gospel, Muslims are coming to Jesus. They are having dreams and visions. They are encountering the Word of God through social media and technology. The Lord is truly moving among Arab Muslims like never before, making himself known to a people in desperate need of him.
Prayer Points
Pray for more laborers to choose to leave the comforts of home to live among Arab Muslims with to share the truth with those in their new community.
Pray for Muslims to have encounters with Jesus through dreams and visions.
Pray for whole families to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Pray for strength and joy through persecution.
Pray for healthy churches of believers from a Muslim background to be planted throughout the Arab World.
Pray that the message of Jesus would be accessible to all Muslims in the Arab World and for Christian workers to be creative and divinely inspired as they use technology to reach those who have never heard.
Pray that Jesus would be glorified in the Arab World.
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit…. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Joel 2:28-29, 32)
Peter quoted the prophet Joel in Acts 2:17-21 in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. On that day 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus resulting in the start of the Church. May we, as followers of Jesus, look to this story and say, “Do it again, Jesus!” Believing by faith that God can and will pour out his Spirit on the Muslim world around the world resulting in healthy, vibrant, reproducing churches.
Prayer Points:
Pray for the Lord to pour out his Spirit around the Muslim world.
Pray for many Muslims to see the outpouring of the Spirit and recognize the power of Jesus and their need of him.
Pray for the Lord to plant his church in the Muslim world.
Pray for Jesus to be glorified in the Muslim world.
Pray for the 500+ Million Muslims – almost one-third of the Muslim World – living in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh
“For there is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.” – 1 Corinthians 16:9
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are the second, third, and fourth largest Muslim countries in the world. Only about seventy years ago this region used to be one country. It houses the largest population with the highest concentration of Muslims, on the smallest land mass in the world. While many Muslims on the western side speak Urdu—and on the eastern side speak Bengali—there are still 75+ languages that have no scripture. While some local catalysts are sparking a few disciple-making movements, there are still less than 3 field workers per million Muslims working in this region with people groups less than 2% Christian witness.
From the snow-laden mountaintops of the Himalayas in Pakistan, reaching into India—to the rural villages, crowded cities, beaches and jungles of India—to the rural farms and rivers of Bangladesh, the diversity in these three countries are apparent. But all three countries are rich in the valuable resources of fertile land, populous labor, and a long history. In many places, the countries still deal with undercurrents of cultural tension between Muslims and Hindu’s—and each country struggles to economically sustain a massive population on a small land mass. Also, with a sliver of witness for Jesus Christ in all Muslim people groups, Judeo-Christian ethics and Biblical values have not permeated their worldview.
Opportunities
Christians represent a tiny percentage of the population. But because of the country’s large population, a sizable number of Christians exist that could be mobilized to reach out to nearby Muslim people groups. All three countries can offer business visas to entrepreneurial foreigners. Believing, intentional outsiders can bless the communities in which they live while working towards a disciple-making movement. Language schools, vocational training, and other service-based businesses may do well. In Pakistan, foreigners with degrees might teach in universities. India tends to favor businesses that hire locals. Bangladesh could also benefit from agricultural or community development specialists.
“I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19
Pray for…
50 million Muslims to come to faith in Jesus Christ in the next ten years in this region.
Spiritually mature local believers to commit to authentic, reproducible discipleship among Muslims in these countries.
Strongholds of Islamic extremism to be rendered ineffective in Pakistan.
Young people to navigate the tension between innovation and tradition, choosing Jesus with their families, in India.
For long-term transformation in the battle against extreme poverty in Bangladesh.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them; and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:44
March 22nd, 2023 marks the beginning of 30 days of prayer and fasting among Muslims. This is their holy month. It is a time to seek God and be with community. During this important religious time, we pray that many Muslims encounter the true God.
To focus our prayers, we will join with the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World initiative. Since the idea was first envisioned in 1992, believers around the world unite every year to pray for Muslims during the month of Ramadan.
The 10/10 initiative maintains focus on praying for 10% of Muslims to be saved. We also seek to partner with other prayer initiatives. Our open partnership with 30 days of Prayer for the Muslim World is one such example. All our posts during the 30 days of Ramadan are made with permission.
You may order a complete adult or children’s prayer guide through the site above. The guides are an excellent resource for families and communities.
“About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’” (Acts 10:3).
Dina, an 11 year old refugee, has an autoimmune disease causing the early onset of arthritis in her joints. She mainly lays on a cushion on the floor with her hands and knees contracted from the illness. After listening to her medical history and being assessed by a physical therapist, one of our local staff felt prompted to share: Jesus the Messiah raised up a twelve year old girl from the dead. He wasn’t sure how this would be received as Dina wasn’t dead and he didn’t want to imply anything. Immediately her mother started crying. “Last night I had a dream, my daughter had died and I went to visit her grave. There was a young man in his 30s wearing white sitting by a grave who kept looking at me. I wasn’t afraid but curious who is this man? I then walked back to my house and fainted and two neighbors helped me up. While falling I had a vision of helping my daughter button her white school shirt. I couldn’t cry at the grave, but my daughter’s shirt reminded me of this man at her grave and I started weeping.”
While Dina’s mother wasn’t sure who this man was, our local staff were able to share that it was Jesus and that He is the resurrection and the life. Our team prayed for Dina, and while there wasn’t an instantaneous healing she was able to scoot over to the wall and push herself up against the wall to stand. Her mother hadn’t seen this before. Pray for Dina and her family that they would welcome Jesus Christ into their hearts and home and that they would desire to learn more about God through discussing the Bible as a family
Every day Muslims around the world are experiencing visions and dreams. Jesus is calling Muslims to himself. Let us pray that the hearts of Muslims are open to the truth in these dreams and visions.
Prayer Points:
Pray for Jesus to reveal himself to Muslims through dreams and visions.
Pray that Muslims will be open to receiving the message of Jesus through dreams and visions.
Pray for Christian workers to be in the lives of those experiencing dreams and visions to share the gospel with them.
This month we focus on prayers that come from the hearts of those serving Muslims.
This month we focus on prayers that come from the hearts of those serving Muslims. These come from those who invest deeply in intercession for Muslims. Each day let us enter in and agree with their deepest heart cries for the lost. We begin with a prayer that resounds in the hearts of God’s people across the world:
“Lord, reveal the true crucified Jesus to Muslims.”
A new wave of workers who already speak Arabic to enter Sudan from all over the world—Egyptians and other Arabs, easterners, westerners, global southerners, and others.
Strength for the persecuted Sudanese church.
The Sudanese diaspora who have entered the Kingdom to return to their families and communities in their homeland to advance the Kingdom.
A change in the government/leadership.
“Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem (SUDAN) will be a city (COUNTRY) without walls because of the great number of people (PEOPLE) and animals (PROVIDENCE) in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire (PROTECTION) around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory (PRESENCE) within.’ Zechariah 2:4-5
Somalia/Somaliland, ask God for:
Soft, repentant hearts to receive the gift of God’s love and healing salvation.
Workers and creative access to Somalis.
For Ethiopia, ask God for:
The church to be set aflame with His love, power and presence.
A strong and revived and healed church that reaches out to neighbors and neighboring people groups and countries.
For the Sahel region, ask God for:
Workers to live among unengaged peoples.
Workers who speak French and Arabic who are able to learn tribal languages.
Workers who are able to live simply in very challenging physical and spiritual environments.
Generally for the Sahel and East Africa, ask God for:
Muslim women to come into the Kingdom—matriarchs, young women (to be wives for the young men who are believers), and young girls.
Dreams, visions and the grace to obey what God speaks to them.
Miraculous and powerful displays of Holy Spirit’s love.
Freedom from demonic strongholds and spirits-fear, pride, religious, etc.
Revelation to Muslims of the evils and deception of Islam.
“And Saul approved of his [Stephen’s] execution” (Acts 8:1 ESV).
Saul/Paul was a notorious persecutor of Christians. So much so that Ananias, when he was asked by the Lord to go to Saul answered, “Lord I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13 ESV). Ananias was frightened of this fundamentalist.
And yet, the Lord met Saul where he was and changed him into the person who would write more of the New Testament than any other person, the passionate follower of Christ who planted churches and gave us deep theology of redemption. This assassin turned into a martyr.
Today, fundamentalist Muslim groups plague the earth. They kidnap little girls, they hunt down believers, they burn down churches. They murder, torment, and cause terror around the world. They are called our enemies.
And yet, Jesus loves them deeply. He longs for a relationship with the leader of ISIS. He calls to the leader of Boko Haram. He has deep compassion for the men of the Taliban. Yes, these men have committed horrible acts AND Jesus can still redeem them!
What better way is there to fight terrorism than with the redeeming love of Christ? Terrorists are not beyond the saving grace of Jesus Christ. A friend of a middle east worker had a life goal of becoming a suicide bomber. He was full of anger and hatred. Over the course of time, he discovered the Bible and read the words of Jesus. Those words brought healing and life to his broken heart, changing the course of his life forever. Can we believe the same for all fundamentalist Muslims around the world?
Prayer Points:
Pray that Jesus would reveal himself to members of fundamentalist Muslim groups.
Pray for followers of Jesus to be like Ananias: brave in the face of potential harm knowing that Jesus has called them to the difficult places.
Pray for the Word of God to flood fundamentalist group camps and for those who read and hear the words of God to have open eyes and ears to the truth of Jesus.
Pray for Jesus to be glorified among those who have committed themselves to fundamentalist Muslim groups.
Iraq
For Sudan, ask God for:
