Neighbor Prayer Update

(The words of Isaiah:)

I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,
and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him were seraphs…and they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook
and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Every morning on my way to work, I pass two large mosques. Today, as I passed and saw people entering for their ritual prayers (salat), I was struck by the thought of Isaiah, the Old Testament priest and prophet. Isaiah was a devout, religious man, entering the temple in his day (entering the “Holy of Holies” as a high priest no less). Isaiah was probably not expecting an encounter with the Lord that day…perhaps he was just doing his religious duty…going through the motions…. But God had other plans. God showed up unexpectedly with a powerful vision that changed Isaiah’s life, launched his prophetic ministry and impacted the course of human history. So, as I passed by the mosques today I cried out to God for an unexpected outpouring of His presence upon the Imams (spiritual leaders) and worshipers that they too might see the Lord “high and lifted up” and come to a realization that they (like all of us) are “people with unclean lips” in need of a Savior….That all their “righteousness” (religious rituals and routines) are as rags….and they be struck with a sense of spiritual discontent that will drive them to seek the Lord and call on the name of the One prophesied about in the Book of Isaiah. Let’s pray together for this kind of powerful visitation of God’s Spirit on neighbors all around the world .

1. Intercede for neighbors who are praying today at the Al Raudhah and Darussalam mosques in my city. Then find out the names of the mosques in your own community and pray for the people gathering there. Also ask God to open up doors for you to visit your nearest mosque and get to know your neighbors there.

2. Praise God for answered prayers! Our colleagues who have relocated to a key gateway city to work with neighbors, just sent us an exciting update: “We arrived in the city early this week. A few days ago we met with the head of the school where we were applying for teaching positions. Within a few minutes we realized that the administration was offering us both part-time contracts. The school will provide our visas and work permits! We are rejoicing that this schedule will allow us time and energy for developing meaningful and long-lasting friendships.” Please continue to lift up this precious couple and their new friends, colleagues and students. May the Lord grant them many disciples in this city of three million.

3. Praise God for these recent reports from Jesus Film teams in a creative access area, and pray for the growth of these new believers:

• TEAM A – Praise the Lord, this month a young mother accepted Christ after watching the JF. Pray for her. Her husband is not a believer and she is frightened to tell him. Her husband works in a neighboring country and comes home infrequently.
• TEAM B – We have a new team showing the JF in the new area. There has been a lot of interest and we have showed the film to a lot of people. At this point the people have just shown interest–so far no one has accepted Christ. Pray for us as we continue to show the film in this area.
• TEAM C – This month a young man accepted Christ as we have been discipling him. He has expressed his desire to be baptized which in our context is a very significant public statement of faith. He is coming from a village that is most made up of followers of the majority religion here.

4. Rejoice with a young couple serving amongst neighbors in another creative are. This week they started meetings at their home. Several of their pre-believing friends have expressed interest in the Gospel and they are eager to come. They expect to have 5-7 friends at their first meeting, with several more saying they want to come in the future. This couple is so excited to finally feel like we can begin to reach out and expand on the friendships they have made. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

5. Pray for Rooz and his son Rady. They were recently given a Christian book, a Manga Messiah comic book, a Bible and a Jesus Film DVD, and have shown great interest in knowing more about Isa al Masih. They met with a believing friend this week and told him, “we still have so many questions,” and requested for future meetings. Intercede for Rooz’s spiritual hunger to increase, and also ask the Lord to provide a new job for Rooz, and for complete recovery for his wife who has been suffering from cancer.

6. From this week’s Intercede Magazine, please pray…

• …for NBBs (Neighbor Background Believers) across the Islmc world. Pray they would find fellowship and opportunity
  for discipleship, despite what are often the most extreme and dangerous circumstances
• …for increasing numbers of Neighbors to hunger for spiritual truth and the possibility of knowing God personally, being
  assured of salvation, and having sins forgiven.
• …for NBBs in Libya. Several news reports recently described four NBBs tortured by Libyan police as apostates. May these four and their fellow believers respond as the apostles, “rejoicing because they have been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” And may they too, “Day after day, in the market place and from house to house, never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6)

Going to Madrasah

On my way to work this morning I saw a precious neighbor woman walking hand in hand with her three beautiful children, all dressed in their cultural outfits….on the way to their local madrasah (a school where they teach both Islamic religious studies and the typical reading, writing & arithmetic). I was both blessed and burdened. Blessed by the vitality, joy and hope found in youth. Burdened by the fact that these kids, like millions of others, do not have access to the truth of Isa al Masih — the one who calls all children to “come unto me.” May our prayers this week be focused on the needs of Neighbor children around the world.

1. Pray for our workers moving this Summer to a key gateway city to work as teachers. Pray that all of their paper work, visas, housing be worked out without any hassles. Ask God to give them great relationships with the children and youth that they’ll be teaching, and with their families…that through these relationships, they might be able to share the love of Jesus.

2. Pray for A & T as they continue to meet with neighbor boys in their community on Saturdays to coach soccer. May these sports-based relationships build trust with the families so that the Gospel can be shared. Pray that the boys and their parents will be curious to ask questions about God, and that A & T will have wisdom to know how to respond.

3. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to raise up more Christian educators to meet the rising demand for teachers in neighbor countries. Places like Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Bhutan are openly inviting English, Math, Science and Computer teachers to come. Doors are wide open. Opportunities are great. If you are a teacher or know of teachers, encourage them to write to “praying neighbor” for more information about these opportunities.

4. Val and Kel are tutoring Malay children in English and Math. Their students and parents are beginning to ask questions about Val & Kel’s religious beliefs. They have had opportunit to share clearly with these families about who Jesus really is. Pray that hearts will be open to truth.

5. From this week’s Intercede Magazine….please pray:

• …for the Church in Azerbaijan. Pressure from the government is continuing. May believers be strong, courageous, forgiving and respectful…winning people to Christ by their love.
• …for new believers in Morocco. The numbers are not substantiated, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is definitely reaching neighbors in Morocco. May they be rooted and grounded in the faith, and LIVE Godly lives amongst their families and friends.
• …for the tense situation in neighbor areas of the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. The past 40 years of violence has seen thousands of deaths. May believers gain a new burden to reach out to their neighbors with love and compassion.