Deliver them from evil

Muslims worldwide are often afraid of evil coming from the spirit world. This fear is a source of profound unspoken anxiety for many. Islam has a complex and multifaceted set of beliefs about the invisible forces at work around us. Theses beliefs also vary greatly from one region and one people to another. Muslims not only believe in the existence of angels but also in Jinn (Djinn), who also populate this world. Jinn, Muslims believe, are very similar to humans: they have their own social organisation and activities, yet they can also change their appearance and become visible or invisible at will. Most Muslim theologians believe that Shaitan (Satan, also called Iblis) belongs to the Jinn. These beings were supposedly created just before the creation of mankind. They do both good and evil. The term “Jinn” is related to the English word “genie” known through Arabian folk stories.

Prayer Starters:

• Jesus is the true Lord of the world. All authority has been given to Him. Pray that Muslims would experience Jesus’ saving ability to deliver them from the powers of darkness. May believers be more able to help Muslims in this realm.
• Pray for Muslims you know and others using the following texts: Matthew 8:16, 10:1 and Acts 5:16, 8:17.

Special Prayer for the Gayo Peoples of Indonesia

The Gayo people (pop. 300,000) live in the remote central highlands of the Aceh Province on the island of Sumatra. Their homeland reaches heights of over 2,000 metres, extending over hundreds of kilometres. The Gayo speak in two dialects but do not have a written language. They pass down folk tales and oral stories in the form of poetry. Their main source of income is farming, coffee, fishing and forest products. Their embroidery has colourful gold designs. They need medical workers to improve health conditions. Predominantly Muslim, most Gayo also worship and make offerings to spirits, saints, and ancestors. There are no known Gayo believers ands no one is specifically taking the Gospel to them. See Acts 26:18.

See our special section: Pray for Indonesia …>>

Most Muslims do not believe that Jesus died on the cross

They said boasting, “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them …. for surely they killed him not. No, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (Qur’an, Chapter “The Women” 4.157-158)

There are a variety of Muslim opinions concerning the last days of Jesus and His crucifixion and resurrection. Early Islamic scholarship appears to be largely silent about the subject. Indeed the vast Hadith collections (traditions about Mohammed) of the Islamic scholars Burkhari and Muslim say nothing about the crucifixion.

Most Muslims believe that death by crucifixion was not a worthy death for a good prophet like Jesus. Based on the Qur’anic passage cited above, the majority of Muslims in our day say that Jesus never went to the cross. It is commonly thought that He was taken up into heaven without dying and that someone else died on the cross in His place. There are several variations on this theory, but many Muslims say that Judas, the disciple, was actually crucified instead of Jesus. Supposedly he was made to look like Jesus and was crucified as a punishment from God because of his betrayal. Other Muslims believe that Jesus was crucified but He survived and died later or that He survived, then was elevated to heaven and did not die at all.

Prayer Starters:

• Believers in Jesus need to explain Christ’s death and resurrection simply and with much care. Muslims need to understand why the Messiah needed to die and how His resurrection brings us new life.
• Pray especially that Jesus would be increasingly revealed to Muslims as the victorious one who has overcome our sin and guilt, bondage to evil spirits and the horrors of death to bring us salvation. Pray for Muslims in your region, country and elsewhere according to Luke 24:19-26 and Acts 3:13-16.

Special Prayer Emphasis – Pakistan’s Western Baluch people

The 1.2 million Western Baluch of Pakistan are part of a larger Baluch community of more than 8 million people whose homeland straddles the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

The Baluch have overcome the obstacles of living in an extremely harsh, arid climate. They make their living as farmers (their chief crop is wheat) and as semi-nomadic sheperds (raising sheep, cattle and goats). Basically self sufficient, they rely on their own skills to build homes and develop the tools necessary for daily life.

Prior to the coming of Islam, the Baluch were probably followers of Zoroaster, but today they are Sunni Muslims. Their societies are organized into clans and tribes ruled by male elders and ultimately chiefs.

• Pray for the heads of clans and families to come to Jesus.
• Ask for teams / workers doing relief and development.
• Pray for other Baluch believers to share their faith with these Western Baluch.
• Pray for the Scriptures to soon be available in Western Baluchi.
• We have a number of articles about Pakistan beginning here …>>

Muslims believe that Allah’s moral character is ultimately unknowable, and Allah’s ways are beyond all understanding. One result of this is that even practising Muslims lack assurance of Allah’s forgiveness simply because they are not certain about God’s ultimate attitude or will towards them.

If God wills

Spend even a short time around Muslims and you will become aware that they continually use the Arabic phrase “In sha Allah”, which means “if God wills”. This phrase is used in a multitude of circumstances. In practice, it often means “whatever happens is God’s will”.

Muslims worldwide often live in a cloud of fatalism and uncertainty about their future. Muslims affirm with the Qur’an that Allah leads astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills (Qur’an, Surat 35:8). While the Qur’an also lays great emphasis on the free choice and moral conduct of individuals and communities, popular Islamic thinking and practice are often very fatalistic. For example, several years ago a Muslim woman in Paris told some Christians about the death of her son. Even though she knew that her son actually died of a drug overdose, she insisted that this was Allah’s destiny for him. She was deeply grieved by the loss of her son, despite affirming her conviction that her son died according to God’s will. This event affected her entire vision of God.

The Love of God

We can see similar manifestations of fatalism even in events which have international importance. In July 1990, a total of 1,426 Muslim pilgrims in Mecca died when a tunnel collapsed during the Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) at the end of the Muslim pilgrimage or Hajj. Many of the pilgrims died as a result of suffocation or were trampled to death in a frantic effort to escape as thousands of other pilgrims poured into the tunnel area. King Fahd of Saudi Arabia caused additional news coverage of the disaster by his remark that it was “God’s will” and “had the victims not died in the tunnel they would have died elsewhere at the same predestined moment.” (From the report of a debate in the UK Parliament.)

All Christians around the world agree that God’s will has been supremely manifested in Jesus. The death and resurrection of Christ are God’s means for dealing with sin, death and the devil. “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38). While our sovereign Lord’s will may be mysterious, it is also very clear in many respects.

Prayer Guide

* Pray that Muslims will be set free from ideas which cause them to think of God in a fatalistic and manipulative way.

* Pray for God to give Christians understanding in helping Muslims to come out of fatalism. New converts especially need to see God in a new light and understand the consequences about God’s ultimate attitude or will and love for them.

* Fatalism has an impact in all aspects of Muslim society. From healthcare to economics, all is governed by the “In sha Allah” mentality, which often means simply to submit oneself to whatever happens. Pray for a healthy change of perspective.

The West has been made painfully aware that Muslim nations are in conflict with the world at large. At the forefront are the hostilities between Muslim ethnic groups and their surrounding Christian neighbours. Eighteen years of ethnic and religious conflict in Sudan have left 2 million dead. Tensions are high in other nations, such as Nigeria and Indonesia, and have escalated into violence.

One look beyond Muslim / Christian tensions reveals another level: conflicts within Muslim nations and people groups. Kurds versus Turks, Arabs, and Iranians; Berbers versus Arab Moroccans, Algerians, and Tunisians.

In the Middle East, society is fragmented. There are vast and often irreconcilable differences between city dwellers, villagers and nomadic tribes. Middle-Eastern society might seem a cohesive block of shared ideologies, lifestyles, religions, and attitudes, but that is far from reality. Conflicts in Arab society are frequent and require a means for resolution.

Reconciliation

A structure for resolving conflict has existed in the Arab culture for centuries. In the harsh environments of the desert, a beautiful pearl of reconciliation was forged. At the heart of Arab society, conflict resolution has been practised for centuries in the form of the sulha (settlement). Even before Islam, sulha came about as a means for settling disputes in the absence of a legal system. Musalaha (reconciliation) is reached in the step-by-step process of sulha, practised by both Muslim and Christian Arabs. According to Islamic law (sharia), “the purpose of the Sulha is to end conflict and hostility among the Muslims so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity.” In Jordan sulha is integrated in the judicial system; in Lebanon and the Palestinian areas it is not, yet it is widely practised.

Forgiveness

Given the severity of living conditions in the desert, competing tribes long ago realized that sulha is a better alternative to endless cycles of vengeance. Each tribe initiates the process of taking stock of its losses in human and material terms. Tradition has it that stringent conditions are set, to settle the tribal conflict definitively. The process is built on relationships, and forgiveness is required, but the penalties can be severe. One main condition is that the parties in conflict pledge to forget everything that has happened and to initiate new and friendly relations. The ritual process of sulha usually ends in a public ceremony of musalaha performed in the village square.

Musalaha might be a sought-after key to unlocking the Muslim mind for the Gospel. The Muslim understanding of reconciliation is a powerful illustration of what Christ did for humanity on the cross. As our sin separates us from God, He could demand justice from us: the wages of sin is death, and our death is the rightful sulha (settlement). Instead, Jesus is God’s provision of that sulha and we can live because in our place Jesus redeems humanity, and restores our relationship with the Father.

Prayer Points

* Pray that the ministers of the Gospel know how to use the keys to Islamic culture to unlock the hearts of those captured by bitterness and hate.

* Pray also for the West, that xenophobia will vanish and instead forgiveness, love, compassion and grace will flow through the hearts of those who believe in Christ the Saviour, especially to those from a Muslim background.

* Pray especially for those from a Muslim background who do not yet believe in Jesus as their “sulha” to the Father.

* Pray that the believers from a Muslim background will share the good news of Jesus to all their next of kin and their friends, to the glory of God our Father.

Muslim societies and culture around the world are very group-orientated. The individualism of Western nations is in stark contrast to the Muslim group mentality. One can sense this easily in conversation, in family relationships and in religious activities.

Ummah

The ultimate corporate expression of Muslim community is called “Ummah”, an Arabic word meaning “people, generation, or community”. The Qur’an uses this word primarily to describe groups of people and especially those who were faithful to Mohammed and his teaching. Muslims around the world use this word to designate the worldwide Muslim community (nation). This community transcends nationality, race and status. Many Muslims have idealised the Ummah as an expression of God’s will for all humanity. However, Muslims are often aware of their worldwide lack of unity and infighting, leading some to be disappointed and disillusioned with the Ummah. According to some Muslims, “Much of the suffering, fighting, confusion, and dissension that exists in the Muslim Ummah (nation, community) is the result of our ignorance about Islam and about each other.”

For Muslims, the reality of the Ummah is especially experienced during the Muslim pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca. Each year, this event, which lasts for 70 days and culminates with the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha), brings together people from around the world.

Qibla

While those who actually experience the pilgrimage are relatively few on a daily basis, the entire Muslim community worldwide turns toward Mecca to accomplish its prayer ritual. Many Muslims also sense their unity with the greater Muslim community through this daily ritual and Friday prayers at their local mosque. Around the world at designated times, the entire Ummah focuses its prayers in the direction of Mecca. Mosques even have a special indicator (the Qibla), which shows the direction of Mecca. Some individual prayer rugs include a compass to help establish the direction of Mecca.

During today’s time of intercession for Muslims, we encourage all Christians using this material to pray in the direction of Mecca. You can determine the general direction of Mecca by placing a string on a globe with one end at your location and the other at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, working out the direction, and then using a compass to ascertain which direction this is. Alternatively, you can establish the direction of Mecca using the following website: http://prayer.al-islam.com. You can also look at an atlas and try to determine the general direction of Mecca. If possible Muslims try to determine the right direction to Mecca with great precision: however, this is not necessary for our intercession.

Prayer Guide

* Worship the Lord with song.

* Be open for God to inspire you in prayer.

* Proclaim the Lordship of Jesus over all the heavens and the earth (including Mecca and the whole Muslim community Ummah) (see Matt 28:18, Rev 5:12-14).

* Remember that there are literally millions of Muslims around the world praying towards Mecca (Qibla). Identify yourself with them. You might pray something like: “Lord, you who know the heart and the mind of each Muslim person around the world, may you touch those who are kneeling in prayer at this time that they might turn to you and receive salvation through your Son.”

Is Islam a peace-loving religion, or does it tend towards violence? Both! Islam has a whole spectrum of positions. Some Muslims are liberally-minded and adapt themselves to democratic and pluralistic values, others are fundamentalists who struggle actively for a reformation of society, and still others are militant extremists prone to violence. Among the dedicated Muslim activists are peace-loving conservatives as well as the terrorist jihad supporters. It is important not to lump all Muslims and Islamic fundamentalists together.

What has contributed to the rise of militant Islam?

For a start, there are a number of events that have been traumatic for Muslims. Thinking of the past, they mourn the loss of the “Golden Age” of the beginnings of Islam and the Islamic cultural and military predominance from the seventh to 17th centuries. In addition, they have suffered under Western colonialism until recent times. Worldwide, they constantly experience the political, economical and military predominance of the “Christian” West. They have a sense of being under attack through events in Israel, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. They hate the repressive regimes in the Muslim world, which are often supported by the “Christian” West. They see their young people in danger from the immoral Western (“so-called Christian”) global culture. Many feel powerless and despised, leading them to be full of anger.

For militant Islamists, the example of Mohammad and the verses in the Qur’an that call for war against the “unbelievers” (Surat 2:190f, 9:5 and others) seem to be the only answer to this crisis. According to the Qur’an, violence is allowed if Muslims see themselves burdened or attacked. Petrodollars have helped many in the process of promoting militant Islam. They are inspired by the historic examples of commitment even to death of well-known Islamic personalities (eg Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taimiyya, and Sayyid M Outb, the founder of modern jihad who was executed by the Egyptian government in 1966). It is probable that nearly every Muslim is convinced that one day all peoples will have to submit to Islam.

How can we pray for Islamists and for extremists?

1. Islamic fundamentalism, which is prone to violence, has evoked two types of reaction among Muslims: on the one hand, a stronger hatred of the West and stronger opposition to the gospel; on the other, a disillusionment with Islam and greater openness for the mercy and peace of God. Many Muslims are appalled by the acts of violence which are done in the name of Islam. This is verbalised in some internet chat room contributions as well as by testimonies of former Muslims in Algeria, Iran and Afghanistan who have turned their backs on Islam.

2. Some Islamic militants have come to understand something of God’s mercy and love from reading the Bible and observing the life of Christians. Interviews with more than 600 converts from a Muslim background have shown that these factors play crucial roles in about half of the decisions for Christ.

3. Some Islamic fundamentalists have experienced God’s direct intervention, ie through dreams, visions, healings or encounters with the risen Christ. Jesus encountered Saul, the persecutor of Christians (Acts 9); He can also reveal Himself to Muslim fighters and those involved in jihad in our day. Testimonies of converts from Islam make it clear that this is happening again and again.

4. Christians who work in the Islamic world and the Churches in the West need God’s help and a heart full of mercy to build up deep relationships with Muslims.

5. Churches worldwide need friendliness, love and creativity to express the love of God to Muslims. Only the Holy Spirit can open the eyes of Islamic militants to the truth. (This is no small matter. In Germany alone the National Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimates that there are about 30,000 Muslim militants who, under the right circumstances, could be prone to violence.)

6. We should also pray for God to frustrate the destructive plans of Islamic terrorists. Governments around the world need wisdom and the political will to counter these extremists in an appropriate way and protect the world from harm. We should also pray for the many victims of extremist Islam.

7. Let us pray for ourselves that we may be free from nationalistic and cultural attitudes concerned with defending the West. May we be free from fear (not seeing everything from a friend-enemy perspective) so that we can see militant Muslims through God’s eyes. Above all, may God give us His love for Islamic militants. Jesus also died and rose again for them, to bring them true peace.

(Written from an Indian perspective.)

Initiated Into Sufism

Anwar was filled with excitement, anticipation, and a bit of fear. After completing nearly a year of exercises to be accepted into his father’s order of Sufism, he was to be initiated at last and would become a Murid, or a disciple in mystical communion with Allah, through the power of his spiritual guide, his Murshid.

He arrived at the appointed hour and found the room already filled with disciples, those to be initiated, listening to a younger man in the front of the room singing a devotional song. Then the Murshid himself, a middle-aged man with a long beard and the long hair of a mystic, appeared and led the rapidly growing group in hypnotic chanting of the phrase, “There is no god but God”. The guide prayed a prayer of blessing and forgiveness for them. Each responded in a vow of complete obedience to their Murshid.

About Sufism

Sufism goes back to the founding of Islam; as Islam spread from Arabia to other parts of the world, it interacted with new cultures and philosophies. Islam encountered Christian monks in the desert, Gnostics of various sorts, Neoplatonic philosophy, and Buddhism and Hinduism from India. Some Muslims came under these influences and began to develop a mystical version of Islam that was centered less on shari’a, or law, and more on an expression of hunger for God and longing for union with Him. It adopted the emphasis on God’s love from the Christian mystics, an emphasis on ascending spiritually through secret, esoteric knowledge from the Gnostics, and a pantheistic interpretation of “union” with God from both Neo-Platonism and the Indian religions.

Early on, Muslims persecuted the Sufis, even crucifying an early Persian Sufi leader. However, largely through the efforts of 12th century Islamic theologian Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, Muslims eventually brought Sufism within the mainstream of acceptable Islamic thought.

The Sufi Path

The Sufi path is generally marked by an increasing union with and eventual absorption or annihilation of one’s personal identity, first into one’s spiritual guide, and eventually into God. At the core of most Sufi belief is a deep yearning for intimacy with God, which can only be fulfilled in Christ. In spite of the pantheism that is mixed in with the Sufi understanding of God’s nature, often Sufis have a more Biblical understanding of God’s character and love for humankind than the stern understanding often emphasized in more orthodox expressions of Islam.

Prayer requests:

* Pray that God would reveal Himself directly to Sufis who are truly “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” (c.f., Matthew 5:6).

* Pray for the Lord to raise up more people with a desire to reach Sufis with discernment and boldness in their witness to the reality of Jesus.

* Pray against the powers of darkness who would want to keep Sufis from grasping, “…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV).