100 People Network

[from Desiring God]

[from 30-days.net]

Muslims do not think of communion with God, knowing God or hearing from God, as being part of their normal prayer experience. In Islam normal daily prayer is a focused ritual exercise which is an expression of worship and honour toward Allah. Personal requests are possible in Islam but the formal ritual prayers are definitely the most important prayer activity for Muslims.

One Way Communication

Prayer in Islam is generally not meant to bring one’s self into direct personal contact or communion with Allah. Even when Muslims speak of prayer as communication with Allah they are never thinking that Allah will actually speak back to them. The communication is always one way. In the very small Sufi Muslim minority one can speak of meeting God. However, beliefs and practices among Sufis place the emphasis more on being submerged in the divine than knowing God in a communication oriented and relational sense. Among believers in the Messiah, knowing God in a relational sense is a key aspect of the faith (John 17:3). According to orthodox Islam God never speaks to humans directly and actually he has not even spoken to anyone indirectly (through angels) since the time of Mohammed. Muslims universally believe that Mohammed was the last and the greatest of the prophets. According to them Mohammed brought the final spoken revelation from God which eventually became the book we know as the Qur’an.

Prayer is encouraged as a means of restraining Muslims from social wrongs and moral deviancy. According to a traditional saying, Mohammed when asked, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To offer prayers at their fixed times.” When asked again, “What is next in goodness?” He replied, “To be good and dutiful to your parents.” When asked again, “What is next in goodness?” He replied, “To participate in Jihad in Allah’s Cause.” Prayer is often seen as a meritorious activity in Islam.

The Kho People

Toward noon today thousands of Kho in the high mountainous region of Northern Pakistan will be praying in their local mosques. Almost none of them will have even ever asked the question “Does God ever speak to man today?” Many will think that their prayer will earn them merit before God.

This people group numbers about 320,000 people. There are no known believers in this people group. No one is seeking specifically to reach them at the present time. The Kho appear to be very resistant to the Gospel. Most of them live in the upper valleys, where farming is very difficult due to the dry, rugged mountain terrain.

The heart language of the Kho is Khowar. It is spoken in homes and villages, and through it, children receive their informal education about the customs, traditions, values and beliefs of Kho society. Khowar’s oral tradition is full of well-loved poems and songs, passed down from generation to generation.

See The Kho people of Pakistan on YouTube.com

Prayer Starters:

• Prayer is seen as a meritorious activity in Islam. As Muslims gather today and pray “show us the straight” path, may their prayers be answered. (Jer 29:13)

• Ask the Lord specifically for breakthroughs among the Kho people, and that they will ponder questions like ‘Does God still speak today?’

• Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of these people who are very resistant to the Gospel.

• Pray that the Lord will raise up believers who are willing to invest long-term service for the tribes of northern Pakistan.

• Pray that the Kho people will receive dreams and visions of Jesus.

• Remember that Pakistan is going through a VERY difficult time just now, our prayers will make a difference.

[from 30-days.net]

Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day at specific times while facing the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim prayer is formal and ritualistic yet many Muslims do make every effort to be sincere and upright in performing their prayers. Muslim prayer is characterised by rules of respect and attitudes of politeness toward Allah. (Please note that all Arab speakers use this word for God – whether Christian or Muslim, though their ideas of God are significantly different.

“Praying correctly and at the appropriate time is one of the greatest indications of (Muslim) faith and a great sign of true religion”. Prayer is to be done with heart and body cleanliness, with cleanness of clothing and in a ceremonially clean place. The washing of the hands, nose, face, forearms, ears, and feet in preparation for Muslim prayer is important.

The Words

Muslims place very strong emphasis on the exact postures and the words of their prayers (which are always in Arabic). Almost all Muslim prayer is concerned with reciting specific phrases from memory. In the course of the five regular prayer times a Muslim will prostrate himself before Allah a total of 34 times and he will repeat the following phrases:

“Allah is greater”

“Praised be my mighty Lord”

“Allah hears the one who praises him”

He will also recite the “Al-Fatiha” or another text from the Qur’an 17 times, the “Shadada” (Islamic creed), and the greeting of peace to all Muslims.

Answered Prayer

Muslims can make requests to God privately after they finish their ritual prayers. However, this is not done as often as Christians typically make requests. Muslims do not believe that God binds himself to his people through covenants. This is a key concept for understanding their attitudes toward answers to prayer and their lack assurance of God’s steadfast love towards them. In addition, because of the fatalism of Islam, Muslims generally have little faith that their requests will alter their circumstances. They generally believe that Allah’s desires (for good or ill) will always be done despite their activities or requests. Trusting in God for specific responses to prayer in the Christian sense is not practised among Muslims. This is a huge difference between Muslim and Christian religious experience.

When Christians speak of prayer they mean direct two-way communication with God. Muslims never expect God to speak back to them directly at any moment and certainly not during prayer. The vast majority of Muslims will say that God only speaks through the Qur’an. Even Mohammed is said only to have heard from God indirectly through an angel. Christian prayer, on the other hand, is a combination of requests, thanksgiving and praise. The Bible says that we should “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and bless (praise) his name” (Psalm 100:4).

Let us Pray…

* Muslims need to come to know the Christ of Christian prayer. Pray that Muslims would come to believe that God Himself wants to communicate directly with them. Pray this specifically for any Muslims that you may know personally. Pray for the Muslims in your city, region and nation.

* Pray for newly-converted Muslims, that they may develop real confidence in God as one who keeps His covenants, makes promises and who hears and answers prayer.

* Christians need to share their prayer experience with Muslims in humility. Pray that God will give us wisdom when describing our Christian prayer experience so that God would be glorified and Muslims could understand Him better.

Prayer Intro from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.

[from gmi.org]

You can also download this article here:

 Four Reasons I Don't Pray

Reason 1—I'm Overwhelmed:

With so much pain and suffering in the world, I have trouble thinking about the challenges that people are facing. It is easier not to think about it and definitely easier not to pray about it.

God's Response:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Reason 2—I'm too Busy:

Praying for the world always seems to get left out of my day. I pray once or twice a day and those times are usually focused on my immediate situation, family, friends and church. I tend to think about global issues during the day when I see the news or am interacting with coworkers. But I struggle to stop and pray at those moments.

God's Response:

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

Reason 3—I Struggle to Believe God Will Answer:

Praying for places that are so far away from my everyday life seems pointless. I know I need to invest the time, but sometimes I wonder if those prayers do any good. I can't see the people in those countries and so how will I know if my prayers are being answered?

God's Response:

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

Reason 4—I Don't Know Enough:

The problems and opportunities that the people of the world face are so complex. I don't even know where to start many times. I feel that my prayers are just platitudes without any real substance.

God's Response:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26).

[from 30-days.net]

Every Muslim is unique and wonderful in God’s eyes and we should be careful not to generalise or presume that all Muslims are the same. Still, there are some issues regarding praying for Muslims to help us pray more effectively.

Every Muslim is someone whom God loves. Some Christians do not pray for Muslims because of prejudices or fears. Let us pray by asking God to give us a heart filled with love and compassion towards Muslims. We also need to pray in faith and confidence that God will hear us and will move powerfully in answer to our prayers of love and compassion. (John 14: 12-14)

Praying for Muslims: God’s Character

Muslims believe in the uniqueness of an all powerful and supreme Allah. Similar to Christians and Jews, Muslims believe that Allah is creative and eternal. Muslims also believe that Allah is unknowable and that it is impossible to ever really know him or have a relationship with him as a personal saviour. According to Islam, Allah holds himself apart from mankind. When praying for Muslims, pray that they will have a full revelation of the true God and His loving character. (Hebrews 8:8-9)

Praying for Muslims: Against Fear

The Muslim worldview is strongly influenced by an awareness of the supernatural and the presence of good and evil spirits known as jinn. Jinn are greatly feared and are often thought to be responsible for illnesses and misfortune. Superstitions control many aspects of a Muslim’s everyday life and often result in them living in constant fear. This fear reveals a heart cry and desperate need that can only be met in the person and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray against the fear that influences many Muslims. (1 John 4:18)

Praying for Muslims: The Relationship with God

Galatians 4:22-25 tells us that Ishmael was born as a result of works resulting in slavery. Islam means submission and a Muslim understands that he is a servant of Allah. While this is also a Biblical aspect of our relationship with God, it is incomplete. As Christians, through Jesus, we know that we move from being servants to becoming sons and daughters. Pray that Muslims will also understand that God desires for everyone to know Him as children and not as slaves. (Galatians 4:7) (Matthew 18:3)

Praying for Muslims: Assurance of Salvation

Islam teaches that a person must do enough good deeds to outweigh the bad deeds in order to make it to paradise. Even then, there is no guarantee for a Muslim of salvation. As a result of this belief, it is difficult for many Muslims to fully understand the basis of forgiveness of sins. It is also difficult for Muslims to understand repentance. When we pray for Muslim’s to get saved, we are really praying that they will be convicted of sin and know true repentance. We are also praying that they would experience God’s total forgiveness and thus be able to forgive others. And, we are also praying that they would know the assurance of salvation through Jesus, something Islam can never offer them. (Ephesians 2:8-9.) (1 Peter 5:6) (Matthew 6:14-15)

Praying for Muslims: The Work of the Holy Spirit

Never underestimate the work of the Holy Spirit as you pray for Muslims. Allow God to teach you how to pray and to share His heart with you concerning them. Vast numbers of Muslims have come to Christ as a result of supernatural encounters. Many have dreams and visions of Jesus. It is only God who can open blind eyes and soften hearts. Only God can bring true conviction of sin and create new life. (Romans 8:26) (John 16:8)

[from desiringGod]

In some recent reading I have found C.S. Lewis and John Piper especially illuminating on the necessity of risk and courage.

C.S. Lewis wrote on courage in The Screwtape Letters:

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality.

A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions.

Pilate was merciful till it became risky. (137-8)

And John Piper wrote on risk in Don’t Waste Your Life:

Risk is right. And the reason is not because God promises success to all our ventures in his cause. There is no promise that every effort for the cause of God will succeed, at least not in the short run. John the Baptist risked calling King Herod an adulterer when he divorced his own wife in order to take his brother’s wife. For this John got his head chopped off. And he had done right to risk his life for the cause of God and truth. Jesus had no criticism for him, only the highest praise (Matthew 11:11).

Paul risked going up to Jerusalem to complete his ministry to the poor. He was beaten and thrown in prison for two years and then shipped off to Rome and executed there two years later. And he did right to risk his life for the cause of Christ. How many graves are there in Africa and Asia because thousands of young missionaries were freed by the power of the Holy Spirit from the enchantment of security and then risked their lives to make much of Christ among the unreached peoples of the world!

And now what about you? Are you caught in the enchantment of security, paralyzed from taking any risks for the cause of God? Or have you been freed by the power of the Holy Spirit from the mirage of Egyptian safety and comfort? Do you men ever say with Joab, “For the sake of the name, I’ll try it! And may the Lord do what seems good to him”? Do you women ever say with Esther, “For the sake of Christ, I’ll try it! And if I perish, I perish”? (89-90)

We also do not have to go far to know the mind of God on risk and courage. One example of many is Hebrews 10:35-39:

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,

Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Would you join me in praying for those in your family, friends, church, and brothers and sisters around the world who have need of courage today in the face of much risk?

On April 18, 2007, five young Muslim men tortured and killed three leaders of the small church of Malatya, Turkey inside their Bible distribution office. Turkey is the land of the Early Church – the land of Abraham, Ephesus and the Seven Churches of Revelation. Now it is a land of modern martyrs.

The murders sent shockwaves throughout Turkey, devastating a remnant of Turkish Christians who live among millions who oppose their very existence. And yet, in the midst of all this chaos, the martyred men’s widows made a brave decision that revealed the mercy of God as never before to an awestruck nation.

The result of their journey is now a feature-length documentary called Malatya.

Re-releasing this week on the fourth anniversary of the martyrs' deaths, the film is a powerful picture of the advance of the Gospel in the face of persecution. 

Sharing reflections of his journey into these stories, producer Steve Hussman writes about the film's creation on the official Malatya blog. Be sure to check it out this week as we approach the Global Day of Prayer for Turkey.

To purchase the film, please go to www.malatyafilm.com.

Malatya Excerpt: State of Relations from Nolan Dean on Vimeo.

April 18th will mark the 4th anniversary of the deaths of three martyrs in Malatya, Turkey.

Our Turkish brothers and sisters have invited us to honor this day with a Global Day of Prayer for Turkey. Austin churches will gather at Hope Chapel on Monday evening. There will not be childcare, but children are welcome to join the service.

Come take your place in finishing the story by praying!

Where: Hope Chapel (6701 Arroyo Seco)

When: Monday, April 18 from 7 - 8:30 pm

More Info: www.prayforturkey.com

From a partner of the 100 People Network and Turkey Advocate:

From the early churches in Paul’s letters to Constantinople, Turkey has a rich Christian history. Most of what is left of that thriving community of believers is ancient, ruined buildings covered in graffiti. But I have spent a good deal of time in Turkey, and it’s not the broken down buildings that bother me, but what they symbolize—a broken people.

I love Turks. They are some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. If you travel to Turkey, you’ll quickly notice how different it is from America’s individualistic culture. We love to get things done, to achieve our goals; they love to interact with each other, whether they achieve a task or not. Turks love meeting new people and discussing everything under the sun. If a Turk invites you to dinner, make sure to show up a little late, and be prepared to stay ‘til the early morning. The idiom, “Don’t overstay your welcome” doesn’t apply in Turkey—in my experience, that would be impossible to do.

Turkey is a Muslim country. The government is secular, but if you are a Turk, you are born a Muslim. Just as most Americans claim Christianity, most Turks claim Islam. But ask either group to outline the basic principles of their faith, and a regular Joe (or Ahmet) might have some trouble.

Fifty-two million Turks live in Turkey. The Turkish church is made up of around 4,000 believers. God is working, slowly. Two decades ago there were few, if any, workers in Turkey and the numbers have been slowly growing. In the States, you can turn on the radio and hear the Gospel. Chances are, you know some Christians and interact with them every day. For people in Turkey, access to the Gospel is extremely limited and the presence of Christians is small.

My hope is that God would raise up workers to go into His harvest. Pray earnestly for this! May He compel us to leave the good things we enjoy—friends, family, jobs, church bodies—to go and proclaim the gospel to the dying. Jesus left the comfort of heaven to come to us, and He is our example. He says, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). The good news that Jesus absorbed our wrath, gave us His perfect life, rose from the grave in victory, and is the King! This compels us to pray and to go.

He is worthy of every Turk’s praise. 

With every hour that passes, new and challenging events are unfolding in Libya, causing great fear and uncertainty. The global community of faith seeks to immediately respond to this crisis by mobilizing prayer and opportunities to help.

Prayer: www.Pray4Libya.net displays real time Tweets and Facebook prayers about this crisis. Sign up for daily emails with prayer points.

Post and follow prayer requests on Twitter @pray4libya and Facebook pray4libya.

Each day, dynamic information will be added to these sites, where you will find ways to:

•      Give: Provide funding for Medical Relief and other tangible initiatives.
•      Serve: Submit and find opportunities to serve those affected by this crisis.

The Pray4Libya Crisis Response is open to everyone who wants to see the people of Libya experience the love and grace of God.