Pray for Fundamentalist Muslim Groups

by | Feb 1, 2024 | Monthly Prayer Theme

!!

 “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.

Pray for Central Asia

by | Jan 1, 2024 | Monthly Prayer Theme

The breakup of the Soviet Union flung the doors open to the lands of 50 million Muslims. Workers flooded into Soviet Central Asia in the nineties, eager to engage those who had been isolated so long from the Good News.

Their initiative was rewarded.  By the early 2000s, thousands of Central Asian Muslims had become followers of Jesus in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. One Kazakh pastor remembered, “In those days, we’d get together Saturday evening to pray and prepare Bible studies. The next day, anywhere from three to 20 Muslims would repent from their sins and become saved.  This happened every week – month after month!  We just thought it was normal.” Dreams, healings and miracles occurred regularly.

In other Central Asian countries, China included, the breakthroughs among Muslims were just as real, even if the numbers were less dramatic than in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

But leaner times followed.  Persecution, materialism, and disillusionment thinned the ranks by as much as 50% in some countries.  Though all of the major Central Asian Muslim people groups – Uighurs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Turkmen – experienced breakthroughs, on average less that one half of one percent of the populations are Christ followers.

With the mass exodus of foreign workers, local leaders have been challenged to take initiative and ownership of God’s work in Central Asia.  Growth has been slow and incremental, but encouraging.  Additionally, fledgling initiatives have sprung up to take the Good News to Muslims further afield with remarkable early success.

Pray For:

  • Boldness for Central Asian believers to share their faith.  New religious laws and persecution have caused many to succumb to fear.
  • Encouragement and spiritual vitality for Christian leaders, personally, in their families and in their communities
  • Holy Spirit inspired faith and creativity for followers of Jesus to see their financial needs met.  Most of the early work was driven by foreign funds that have since dried up.
  • Divine blessing on the mission initiatives coming out of China and Soviet Central Asia. These sending efforts have the potential to advance the Gospel in the remaining task in unprecedented ways.