Friday, November 29, 2019

Prayer in the name of Jesus is not a formula for a charm or an incantation to help us in a magical way. In the legal world, when someone assigns you power of attorney, you have the authority to act on behalf of that person and in his place. You can sell and buy real estate, possessions, or whatever the document states.

Praying in the name of Jesus means:

• I make my request to God for the sake of Jesus. I deserve nothing. I have no rights at the throne of God, so I am asking on the merits of Christ. He is my Maker and Redeemer. God answers, in honor of Christ (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24; Acts 16:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2).
• I approach God in the authority of Jesus, my Lord and Savior (Acts 3:6; 16:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2).
• I ask in line with his will (1 John 5:14).

Prayer

Lord Jesus, our Master and Savior, we bless you. Your name expresses your divine nature and glory, your sacrificial love, your compassionate attitude toward us, and your saving power. Thank you.

I pray for Muslim people all over the world. Open their spiritual eyes to acknowledge the greatest name, the name above all others. Open their hearts to accept you and surrender their lives to you. Set them free from old beliefs, superstitious practices, and slavery to a system that has, for centuries, abused them. Help them realize that salvation is found in no one other than you (Acts 4:12).

I pray for the churches among Muslims to be full of the Holy Spirit and strongly founded on the Word of God. Give them a vision to bring the nations to Jesus Christ.

You are worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Revelation 5:12). Amen.

Promise

The smell of your perfume is sweet, your name is like fragrant perfume…. In his name, the nations will put their hope (Song of Solomon 1:3; Matthew 12:21, SAB).

Friday, November 22, 2019

Timothy was Paul’s colleague and assistant. When he was young, his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice modeled true lives of faith for him (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5).

Nabila, Hoda, Latifa, Farah, Layla, and many others are Muslim women who have seen the light of Christ, received his grace and committed their lives to him. They have held their families together with the bond of love (Colossians 3:14), in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3), and under the banner of Christ. They have raised their children to fear the Lord and worship him.

We pray that the example of Lois and Eunice will be repeated many thousands of times, that Muslim mothers will come to Jesus and, with determination and courage, raise a generation of children who are faithful to Christ and his Kingdom.

Prayer

Lord God our Maker, you created families to be the building blocks of society. You designed and gifted mothers to carry babies, give them birth and nurture them. What genius! What brilliance!

We bring to you the millions of mothers in the Muslim world. They need you. They need to follow Jesus Christ, the only Savior and Lord. I pray that they will mirror and reflect your image of love and sacrifice, that they will do what governments and schools cannot do: bring their children to faith in Christ.

May they be like Rufus’ mother, about whom Paul says, she “has been a mother to me, too” (Romans 16:13), and like the mother and grandmother of Timothy. May they be a blessing to their husbands, to their children and to the Church of Jesus (Titus 2:4-5).

Protect their families from failure. May they be part of your divine plan to bring precious souls to freedom, joy and life in Christ. Amen.

Promise

Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table (Psalm 128:3, NLT).

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her (Proverbs 31:28, NIV).

Friday, November 15, 2019

Do we believe in miracles? Of course we do. That’s why we pray! This week we are praying for a great miracle: we want to see Muslims come to Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit, get trained in the Word and go out as missionaries to nominal Christians—Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians and so forth.

Does that mean Muslims who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will evangelize Americans and others? Exactly. God is able to do far more abundantly than all we dare to ask or imagine through his mighty power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). Yes, we claim God’s promise to expand our territories and enlarge our borders (Exodus 34:24) in a spiritual sense.

Prayer

Lord God, you created the heavens and the earth. You alone are the Master over all the universe, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. In prayer, we bring you our ambitious request, knowing that you can do great things we have never dreamed of.

We pray that you will transform Muslims into vessels of honor to serve the King of kings and Lord of lords. We want to see the day when tens of thousands of Muslim converts become evangelists, pastors, missionaries and teachers of the Word of the Lord. Indeed, we cannot accomplish such a feat. But didn’t you turn four miserable, rejected, hated lepers into proclaimers of good news? Yes, you did.^[1]

Lord, we do believe. Help us overcome any unbelief or doubts, and increase our faith (Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5).

To you be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Promise

Pray to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you important secrets you have never heard before (Jeremiah 33:3, NCV).

Footnotes

^[1] Read the story in 2 Kings 7:1-16.

Friday, November 8, 2019

During this season, Muslims around the world celebrate Muhammad’s birthday. Muhammad was born in A.D. 570 in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia, and died in A.D. 632. His tomb is in the city of Medina, north of Mecca.

At age 40, Muhammad reportedly started receiving messages from God. At first, Muhammad was persecuted by his own tribe. But as he gained followers and Islam became stronger, he fought wars to conquer people for his religion.

Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last and most important of all prophets sent from God, that he brought the final religion, Islam, and the final revelation from God to man, the Quran.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty One and the Ruler over the kings of the earth. You are enthroned above the angels and all the universe. I pray that you will manifest your glory to many Muslims this week. Show them your mighty power. Come to rescue them! Deliver them, O merciful Lord, from Satan’s tyranny. Help them pledge their loyalty and allegiance to you, the only true Savior. Make your face shine upon them. May they set their fervent affections on the One who died for their sins and rose to give them life. I pray in a special way for the Muslims I know—friends, neighbors, colleagues. In the name of Jesus, break the power of the enemy in their lives. Bring them from darkness into the light of the Gospel.

Fill many homes with the joy, singing and celebration of lives transformed by the power of the cross of Calvary. Keep believers faithful and true to you to the end.

Promise

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NIV).