An (un) American Prayer

One of our workers in a turmoil-stricken country recently overheard the following words at a prayer meeting of young Arab believers: 

“Give us a government through which people will wake up and notice that only in You can we truly find salvation, even if it means that we will be persecuted even more. Lord, we are prepared to suffer, if only through our pain, more people will find the way to You.”

When was the last time you heard someone pray like that at your church prayer meeting?

For that matter, when was the last time I prayed like that myself?  I'm not sure I ever have. 

What troubles me even more is that I'm not sure I even want to.

I recall many years ago when the German theologian, Helmut Thielicke, was traveling in America, he remarked that American churches have very little understanding of the purpose of suffering. I guess he didn't have to be a great theologian to observe that; he was a pastor in Germany during the Second World War, and ministered daily to the dying. I suspect that we, on the other hand, are so steeped in the so-called 'Prosperity Gospel', that we don't even notice it has affected us, even when we reject it in theory.

As David Platt remarked at URBANA 12, 'we come to Jesus to get stuff.' If the stuff keeps coming, then God is blessing us; if it doesn't, then either I am messing up on my end, or possibly He isn't keeping His end of the bargain.

Most Christians in the majority world don't have the 'luxury' of adding other things to Jesus. In his book, Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships (well worth the read, by the way), author Carl Medearis, who lived many years in the Middle East, tells about speaking at a city-wide discussion in his home state of Colorado. Two imams (Muslim teachers), two rabbis, and a Catholic priest, responded to the question, 'How does your religion get you to heaven?'

After the other speakers had articulated various views on what their religion teaches about the subject, Carl stood up. I'll let him tell it in his own words (pp. 175-176):

"I was praying for something significant to say. This is what came out: 'Actually, my religion doesn't get you to heaven.' The other panelists shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, and the host asked if I would like to explain more.

'Sure,' I said, 'I've just never seen a religion save anyone. All religions are great at laying out some basic rules–dos and don'ts–that are good for our lives, but they don't really provide hope or any kind of eternal security. It seems religions end up causing more trouble than solving anything.'

'So then,' said the host,'how do you get to heaven?'

This all seemed so basic, but I thought I might as well go ahead and say the obvious. 'Well, it's Jesus. He didn't start a new religion . . . . He takes us to heaven, not a religion.'"

When I wrote that 'Christians in the majority world don't have the luxury of adding other things to Jesus'– well that's not quite true, either. As one of our leaders recently wrote concerning the Arab Spring, 'the dream of more liberty has not come true for most people, and the hope of economic betterment has been fulfilled, either. Most citizens still suffer under unemployment and poverty."

The difference though may be what my Arab brother knows. Once any of us, American or otherwise, discover Jesus is all we need, then we can really learn to pray. And live. And love.

US Director

Is Prayer Work?

I’ve often heard it said—and today I read it again—that we shouldn’t pray for the work of the Gospel, because prayer is the work. That sort of statement has never convinced me, because no matter how much I pray, my work won’t get done on its own. When I stop praying, it’s still there. (I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but it’s still bugging me.) And my neighbors, Muslim or otherwise, still don't know Christ, even though  I pray for them diligently.

What is prayer, anyway?  Is it primarily worshiping God? Or making intercession for others? Or confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness? How about expressing our wishes and wants to the Father?  Maybe some portion of all of those things. The guidelines for prayer that Jesus gave us (commonly called ‘the Lord’s Prayer’) contain adoration, but also lead us to pray that His Kingdom come to the ends of the earth. And they also demand that we seek for forgiveness from God, and give it to those who have wronged us.

Should we pray for non-Christians to be saved? It has been pointed out that Jesus said (John 17:9), “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.’ But perhaps Jesus did not mean that as prescriptive as much as He wanted to emphasize the fact that a unified, caring church is the greatest attraction to the Good News.

In the end I’m faced with the fact that:

a)      I need to pray for Muslims, and usually I need to pray a long time before there will be results. Sure, significant numbers of Muslims are coming to Christ, for example in Iran.. No one knows how many house churches have been formed there in the last decade, but the number probably lies in the thousands; even the central government has taken notice. But I distinctly remember my parents praying for, and engaging with Iranian college students and military cadets in the 1950s and 1960s. That says to me that the foundation for today’s harvest goes back to decades of labor by many consistent people of prayer.

b)      I need to pray for every aspect of the work, and often, that really means, well, work. I mean, it takes energy to concentrate on intercession. It means reading about what it going on, as well as what it not going on (that should be) in our world today. And it means starting with worship—meditating on Scripture and realizing what God plans to do in our world. This morning I got to Psalm 9 in my daily reading:

The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

The wicked shall return to Sheol,

    all the nations that forget God.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. (v. 15-18).

‘Yeah, right,’ is what I expect some people will say—I know, because I’ve thought that myself. How often does it really happen that evil people, governments, etc., get put down, so that God’s Word can go forward?  Perhaps more often than we realize. In any case, I believe that these words are meant to be prophetic.  What is happening only sporadically right now might one day become a tremendous movement (and in some places, it is already a movement).

c)       My work does tend to go better and even at times, more smoothly, when I take time for extended prayer.  Not that 'smooth' is a goal--'rough' days may be just as much a sign of God's enabling as the time when one seems to be making good progress, but I think maybe that time spent with the Lord does help us with our priorities, and even energize our bodies and minds.

So maybe Luther was right after all. I have so much to do, I need to spend more time in prayer.

US Director

The God who Answers when We Call

The skeptic won’t necessarily be convinced by answered prayer, but it’s a lot different for the person who prays to Jesus in the middle of anguish, and experiences His rescue. In their context, it is normal for Muslims to turn to ‘pirs,’ or ‘holy men’ in times of pressure. Shamans are thought to possess divine powers, and sometimes they are able to ‘accomplish’ some kind of short-term ‘good.’ More often than not, however, a person pays a fee and isn’t really helped. The Bible, however, tells us to come to God ‘without money and without price’ (Isaiah 55:1). One of our workers in South Asia sent in this report: 

An old friend of mine from our years in another part of South Asia rang me a couple of days ago. Her name is ‘Priscilla’, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy a week ago. She knows this is a miracle made possible through Jesus. This is how she knows - this is her story: Married as a teenager to a heroin addict/pusher, had two sons, victim of violence, rescued, divorced, sons taken from her, destitute, then married to an old man whose children are older than she is. She lost her first baby with this new husband last year due to high blood pressure in the early months, but she survived. 

The doctor gave Priscilla a very strict warning to never get pregnant again or her life would be in terrible danger and the baby would die. Priscilla rang me about six months ago to tell me that nevertheless she was pregnant again and had high blood pressure once more. I prayed for her over the phone. When we talked a week later she said she felt better after our prayer. Well, she has stayed ‘better’ for the next six months and went to hospital about ten days ago. 

Priscilla was told that she would need an operation due to her blood pressure, but she refused because she was certain Jesus had answered our prayers. She went through normal labor and everything went well. She seems very happy with her new little son and rang me up to say my prayers did it. I said my prayers were nothing. It was Jesus who was the healer.  

She is doing well and I think the Lord is good to show His mercy to her and give her joy in her bleak life. I pray that the little boy will realize that Jesus gave Him life and come to know Jesus and tell his people his story. 

‘In the day of my trouble I will call to you,  for you will  answer  me’ (Psalm 86:7).

U.S. Director

Goal Zero

I was sitting with my friends on a local bus, waiting (as we do in Africa) for the driver to appear, when a truck stopped nearby. On the rear window was the bumper sticker, “Goal Zero.”

I like random questions, so I asked what situation would make achieving ‘zero’ a goal? There were six of us on the bus and answers started coming.

“Zero babies and mothers dying in childbirth, zero women and children being beaten; zero hunger; zero girls being circumcised; zero war; zero refugees; zero malnutrition; zero corruption; zero girls dropping out of school; zero child marriages; zero girls being sent to the Middle East and Asia and abused; zero malaria, zero TB, zero poverty, zero AIDS, zero rape, zero persecution...”

The answers stopped and there was a profound silence in the air. This is the world we live in. What started as a joke, challenged us all. In reality, none of these statistics are even close to zero. Can I even imagine a world where these zeros really exist? No. I lost my idealism a long time ago. It’s somewhere in another part of Africa.

After a prolonged silence, I contributed the shallow statement of “Zero mistakes in my language ability,” at which the others laughed politely and the pressure lifted. But I can’t let it go. Why shouldn’t we live in a world like this?

There’s a couple I know who have recently decided to follow Jesus. They were Muslim. Their family took away their children because of their change in faith. They say their main prayer is that their children also find Jesus. They say this new faith is worth this momentary trial and they know God is taking care of their children, even though they can’t be with them. I can’t stop thinking about this either. 

Last summer a group of people were praying and fasting for unreached people groups in the Horn of Africa. They were challenged to ask God to do something that only He could do. A woman prayed and said: “Wouldn’t it be amazing if there could be one million people praying for the Horn at the same time?”

Could you be one of these people committed to praying for the 100 million people in the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti?  The goal is not the numbers. The goal is more prayer. So pray and be one in a million.

By a worker on the Horn

Prayer Requests for Our Church Planters

Our Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) who participated in our church planting seminar as they have arrived back in their home villages and put into practice what they learned at the training weeks. On the last day, we asked them to step over a line in the sand, symbolizing their commitment to follow Jesus anew. Some of the things they mentioned:

1) Many expressed that they harbored doubts about the veracity of the Bible before they came, but the teaching of the Scripture helped them a lot.

2) Some had to deal with moral issues from their past and get those cleared up.

3) Some still have to deal with the fear of man  (not surprising!—none of us Westerners can lift a candle to their courage!) and persecution.

We laid hands on and prayed for each one, and gave them a promise of Scripture in line with the name they had chosen for themselves.

Here’s some personal info on each one, from my perspective, please support these brave believers by praying for them:

• ‘Philemon’ is one of two participants still single. Pray for him and also for ‘Samson’, that God will provide the right marriage partner for them. This is very difficult in a Muslim environment, especially for Philemon. He would like to marry his girl friend (a Christian), but this is very complicated.
• ‘Samuel’ is a ‘grandfather’ in the faith, and leads 15 different house groups! He really wants to develop leaders and give responsibility to others. That will be a tremendous blessing to many!
• ‘Pontus’ (yes, he chose a name representing an area of the NT world instead of a person, but why not!) is a quiet guy who hugged us about ten times when saying good-bye. A very loving guy and a faithful trooper!
• ‘Titus’ asks for prayer because he and his wife are still childless after 3 years—a shame in their society. It would undergird his spiritual authority to be a father, if the Lord wills.
• ‘John’ is from the high class in society and has a lot of potential and a loving disposition.
• ‘Barnabas’ lives up to his name—a young guy, but a sunny disposition, and full of energy.
• ‘Timothy’ is quiet and reflective, with a lot of potential.
• ‘Nehemiah’ is older—also quiet, but a very hard worker. He stayed up until 2:30 in the morning sometimes doing study assignments! Diligent, he will be conscientious in his work—we’re sure he always has been.
• ‘Ruha’ pastors a fellowship of 9 brand new MBBs. He’s a gem (they all are!).
• ‘Simon’ is older but loves kids. He is involved primarily in children’s ministry among Muslims at home. His son would like to study at college, but not sure if that will be possible.
• ‘Philip’ looks like he’s 20, but has 4 children, and is also pastoring a brand new fellowship of MBBs. He is a business man.
• ‘David 1’ is a tailor by trade, really a likable man, and pastors one house group in his home.
• ‘Silas’ is a very bright man with a lot of potential. He repairs cell phones for a living, and is a natural leader.
• ‘David 2’ (yes, there were two Davids!) is an energetic young man who contributed a lot to the discussions. I’ll miss his energy (and wish I had it!)
• ‘Abraham’ is also very bright, and a natural leader, but with lots of love and is very considerate. I’d like to serve under his leadership, quite frankly—and the same goes for many others!

*For security reasons each participant selected a name from the Bible to use for internet and publishing purposes.*

Hanging Out with the Lord

Values. Everyone has them, whether they are expressed, or not. In the Old Testament, the word we translate as 'value' means heavy or weighty, referring to precious metals or the heavy wheat being separated from the lighter chaff. It is the important, weighty things; the things that matter.

When we talk about our values at ReachAcross, we are talking about the things that God has built into our work that reflects who He is. Our most important value is prayer. We have a personal God who makes it possible for us to connect with him constantly. To use modern slang, we’re ‘hanging out’ with Him all the time! We get closer to other people by spending time with them. The same is true with God. Because He has promised to be with us always(Matthew 28:20), we can always be spending time with Him in prayer. Through prayer, our relationship with God can grow deeper as we discover what is on His heart for us and other people. We can not only lay out our own burdens before Him, but those of others as well. The work of ReachAcross was born in prayer, and it is prayer that continues to make this service for Muslims possible.

Recently we experienced a very evident answer to prayer—a pretty hopeless visa situation suddenly changed, and only God could have done it. We were reminded again that it is He who opens doors. As the Apostle Paul wrote: 

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Col. 4:2-4)

Open doors are always a miracle, even when we don’t realize it. Whether God’s Lordship changes the life of an individual, or a family, or a whole clan—continued prayer is the key. That is where our partners have such a vital role to play.  Just like the men who brought their friend to Jesus, and let him down through the roof when there was no other way to get to Him, so our prayer partners bring Muslims to the Lord through their prayers.

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 3:5)

It was not the paralytic’s faith, but the faith of his friends that impressed Jesus so much. Not only that, they wanted their friend to be in the presence of the Lord, so they went to extreme lengths to bring him to Jesus. We can do the same for those we care about, by praying for them. All of us, workers and prayer partners, are in this together.

Let us follow Paul’s advice and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), continually lifting up our concerns and those of others to the Lord.

If you would like to pray with us for the Lord’s work in the Muslim world, please follow @ReachAcrossPray on Twitter for prayer updates.

ReachAcross U.S. Director