Friday, December 27, 2019

We have come to the end of the year. How have we used the fleeting time? What does the coming year hold for us and how will it unfold? It is true that some of us will reach the end of our pilgrimage on earth and be called home. Others, however, will continue to have duties and responsibilities ahead of them.

Whether we finish our journey sooner or later, we need God’s grace to do well and end our pilgrimage worshipping at the throne of Christ.

Prayer

Glory and honor be to you, Almighty God, my loving Father! Blessed be your holy name. You have called me to follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior. What joy! What grace and mercy! What a privilege to finish this year as a child of the King, a servant of Christ—at peace with God, with people and with my conscience! You have carried me in your arms all along the way! Thank you.

When I finish my earthly pilgrimage, when the time comes for me to sign off and go to my eternal rest, I have one more request: Please, Lord, bring millions of people who still do not know you into your Kingdom. Through the power of the cross, free those oppressed by sin (Luke 4:18), rescue those who are perishing, and bring home the ones who are lost and wandering (Proverbs 24:11; Psalm 82:4). Open their spiritual eyes to see Jesus in his love and compassion. Help them put their trust in Christ, the Lord.

Equip your Church and give her the power to see the fulfillment of your plan of salvation for all people, including Muslims.

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13, NIV).

Amen.

Promise

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with your likeness when I awake. … God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Psalm 17:15; Revelation 7:17, SAB).

Friday, December 20, 2019

One of the major cornerstones of biblical Christianity is the doctrine of the incarnation, that is, God became man. This is the miracle of miracles, the most majestic of all events! Yet Muslims absolutely reject it. They totally oppose the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ.

When Christians declare that Christ is God, Muslims misunderstand it to mean that Christians worship more than one God. To them, Jesus was only human and was a prophet like all other prophets.

Further, when followers of Christ say that Jesus is the Son of God, Muslims misunderstand that to mean that God, like humans, had relations with a woman and that Jesus is their son!

Prayer

Amazing love! How can it be, that the majestic God, Maker of heavens and earth and King of all the universe, should come in the form of a man, a servant, to be “Immanuel—God with us” to redeem us!

Father in heaven, grant Muslims a special measure of your grace to accept the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ is God become man. Help them realize that this does not degrade or humiliate you; rather, this is the pinnacle of majesty. It is ultimate love and compassion. It is utmost sacrifice.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Lord of all, you are rich, but you became poor for our sake. May this truth shine forth into the souls of many Muslims this week. May they embrace you in their hearts with joy and gladness. May the Child who was born in a manger, the Lion of Judah, be crowned King and Master over the House of Islam! In his precious name I pray. Amen.

Promise

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 1:14; 3:16, NIV).

Friday, December 13, 2019

He was from the royal family in Judah. When the Babylonian king defeated Jerusalem, Daniel was taken to Babylon as a captive (Daniel 1:1-6)^[1]. There, he served in the royal court (2:49). When the Persians took over that kingdom, he was promoted to a very high position, second only to the king (6:3).

Even in his high position, he continued to be faithful to the Lord. His courageous testimony about his God to various kings indicates his commitment and determination. As he studied the Scriptures carefully (9:2), he realized his need to humble himself and seek God’s face in prayer and fasting. He pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his people and country (9:3ff).

This week we pray that the Lord will give his Church in Muslim lands men and women of God like Daniel—courageous, committed to the Lord, and ready to shoulder their responsibility.

Prayer

Lord of all the universe, Master of history, God of the impossible, we dare to come into your throne room, because Jesus died and opened up the way for us.

O God of measureless grace, grant leaders like Daniel to your Church among Muslims. Teach them knowledge and good judgment as they learn your commands. Guide their steps by your Word. Keep them from being intimidated by the enemy or giving in to evil. Give them discernment and courage to challenge kings and rulers and bring honor to your name.

Fulfill your promise to them. Reveal your gracious plans to them.

Father, I stand in your holy presence and ask by faith, because Jesus my Lord sacrificed his blood for me. Amen.

Promise

The Lord… will grant you the desire of your heart, and fulfill all your purposes. We will shout, for you are victorious, and in the name of our God, we will raise our banner. God will grant you your every request (Psalm 20:4-5, SAB).

Footnotes

^[1] All the references in this section are from the Book of Daniel.

Friday, December 6, 2019

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus instructed his followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). The call has been issued. The harvest is ready. Some Muslims are even searching for the truth. There is an air of expectation.

At the same time, I feel like the Lord is taking hold of the Church, shaking her and saying: Wake up, Church! You have a mission to carry out among Muslims, and you seem to be asleep. You need to rethink your responsibility toward Muslims. You need to reconsider your prayer life and your intercession for them. I am ready to do something unheard of, but you have a role to play… wake up!

Prayer

Glorious Father, give the Church the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that she may know you better. 1.18 NIV Ephesians 1.May the eyes of her heart be enlightened so that she may know the hope to which you have called her (Ephesians 1:17-18).

May she take to heart the responsibility you entrusted to her to go to the whole world and preach the Gospel to all people (Mark 16:15). Give her love for Muslims. Help her know your purpose and will for them—that you so loved them that you gave your only Son to die for them. You do not want them to perish without Christ.

May she hear your voice saying, “wake up, wake up… put on your strength… put on your splendid garments!” (Isaiah 52:1).

Help the Church be willing to pay the price in prayer, fasting, giving and going! The harvest is white and ready to be gathered in.

Blessed be your holy name from everlasting to everlasting, O God, the only true God. By your Spirit I pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Promise

Don’t say you are too young, for you must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I tell you. Don’t be afraid of the people, for I am with you and will protect you (Jeremiah 1:7-8, SAB).

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).

Friday, November 1, 2019

The Bible tells us clearly that the greatest blessing God plans for people is to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believe in him and follow him. The presence of mosques in communities around the world is a reality today. A mosque is a Muslim place of worship. Are we open to ask the Lord to pour out his ultimate blessing on the individuals who worship in those mosques?

That means we ask God to bring people who pray in mosques to put their faith in Jesus Christ: yes, those who do the call to prayer, who lead the prayers, who preach, who serve as janitors and guards, and all who go there to pray. Is that possible? For Almighty God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Prayer

O Lord, our God, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have incredible things in store for us—great things we have never dreamed of. I believe that you, Lord, will help some of us to preach in mosques in Muslim capitals: in Mecca (Saudi Arabia), in Cairo (Egypt), in Najaf (Iraq), in Kum (Iran), in Fes (Morocco), in Islamabad (Pakistan), and on and on.

Though you do not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48), we pray that you will manifest your divine power and majesty to the children of Ishmael in such buildings. May tens of thousands of mosques become solemn places for the worship of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. May all who worship there sense your presence among them and realize that their mosque has become truly the house of God. May they say, “Surely, the Lord is in this place…. Surely, this is the house of God” (Genesis 28:16-17).

I pray because I believe you are able to cause rivers to flow in “barren lands, and springs in valleys.” You can turn the “desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (Isaiah 41:18). I thank you for answering my prayers. Amen.

Promise

Go in peace, and the God of Israel will give what you have asked of him (1 Samuel 1:17, SAB).

Friday, October 25, 2019

She was a widow. We do not know her name. Her husband, who was a prophet, had died and left her with a debt she had to pay. The creditor demanded that she give him her two sons as slaves since she couldn’t pay the debt. She panicked at the thought of losing her two sons and cried out to the prophet Elisha for help. He told her to borrow a lot of pots and pans from her neighbors, and start pouring the little oil she had into those pots.

She acted out of a strong faith and obeyed Elisha’s advice. She borrowed all the pots she could find, went into her house with her sons, and shut the door behind herself and her children. She then began to pour out the oil she had into the pots, but the flow of oil never stopped until she ran out of containers! She was able to sell the oil and pay off the debt. I call her the “Oil Seller.” When she borrowed pots from her neighbors, she was in fact announcing her faith publicly! But as she filled the pots with oil, she was receiving the blessing privately. (Read the story in 2 Kings 4:1-7.)

We need women like her in the Muslim world—women of faith, who hear from God and do his will.

Prayer

Almighty God in heaven, thank you for this courageous woman. She cried out, she stated her case, she obeyed, she acted, she received and she was delivered from the grip of the debtor. How merciful and compassionate you are, Lord! I ask you to give your Church women who have come out of Islam and put their faith in Jesus—women of faith and action, just like the “Oil Seller.”

Help them overcome fear, intimidation and uncertainty through faith. May they overcome the world because they believe that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5). Empower them to become examples and models for their children, families and others “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

I pray for other prayer warriors. It is possible that you are about to do a miracle in their lives. Help all of us to bring you our empty pots. May your unending flow of oil fill us. For the sake of Jesus, my Lord, amen.

Promise

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).