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August 25, 2006
Praying for Islam
A few weeks ago, I got a note from one of our former Harvest Time guests, Ali Regeaian. Ali is orginally from Iran. He's a former Muslim believer who is now a Christian pastor here in Japan. At the time he contacted me, he and over 120 other church leaders were in the final week of a 40-day prayer and fasting campaign to intercede for Iran. Although the special prayer campaign is finished, Iran is still very much in the news and prayer for this important nation and her people is very much needed. With that in mind, I'd like to share the following information with you in hopes that it would encourage many of you to continue in intercession.
Why Pray for Iran?
Iran holds a leadership position in the Islamic world, but is presently in a period of crisis. The Church in Iran is quite small but has been recently been growing like never before. Consequently, the danger of persecution has also greatly increased. Large numbers of people have come to faith in Christ as the result of dreams or visions. For this, we should give thanks to God.
What to Pray For
Pray for the persecuted Church of Islam. Ever since the beginning of the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Church has experienced brutal persecution and severe restrictions, and there's every reason to believe that things will get worse for individual Christians.
In the midst of this situation, pray that protection, wisdom, boldness and courage would be given Iranian believers in order to proclaim the Gospel. Pray also that a spiritual revival would break out. The 70 million people of Iran currently have no opportunity to hear the Gospel preached. Pray that each Iranian Christian might share the Gospel with one other person until all the people of Iran have had a chance to hear and understand the Good News, with the result that repentance and salvation would come to the nation. Pray also that God would decisively intervene in the political situation, as well. Ask Him to give the Iranian people leaders who, with true humility, would love justice and mercy.
Five Minutes a Day
Ali suggested that those who would pray for Iran should pick any three of the requests above and spend at least five minutes a day in prayer, joining with others who are also praying. Just as God had mercy on the people of Ninevah when He sent Jonah to preach to them, He also loves the Iranian people and will show to us, as well, how important they are to Him. Ali added that how we pray for Iran is also important. Don't focus only on Iran's government, he said, but try to focus on the Iranian people themselves. Purging your heart of any fear on prejudice, pray for them with faith and love.
Islam itself was born during the first half of the 7th century on the Arabian Peninsula. Basically, it's a religion of "salvation by works." There is what's called the "Five Pillars of Islam" and those who passionately pursue these objectives are promised entrance into Paradise. They are:
Ever since the end of World War I, Muslims have typically used a "shift the blame" type of mindset in both foreign and domestic policy. In other words, the basis for policy decisions has been a "we're in this mess because so-and-so did something wrong" mentality. Consequently, Muslim self-perception has come to be characterized by the following:
- Confess that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is his prophet.
- Attend worship five times a day.
- Give to the poor.
- Fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month on the Islamic calendar).
- Go on a pilgrimage to Mecca once during a lifetime.
We definitely should be praying for Iran and Muslims whether there's a concerted prayer campaign going on or not. We know that God loves Muslims. According to the prophecy in Isaiah 19:23-25, Muslim people will eventually come to worship the God of the Bible. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have the same roots in Abraham. That fact alone brings hope. God's richest "shalom" upon each of you in Y'shua's precious name.
- The decline in ascendancy of Islamic nations around the world is due to American Imperialism and Zionism.
- Democracy is a blasphemous concept. To defend against this, the Islamic Fundamentalist Movement must be expanded.
- Secularized Islamic societies must be reformed.
- Lands taken from Muslims by non-Islamic people must be reclaimed. This is the purpose of jihad ("holy war").
Kenichi Nakagawa
Posted by HarvestTV at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)