30 Ways for Muslims to Encounter Christ
Muslims are encouraged to think about the poor during the month of Ramadan, to sympathize with them, and to make donations. Jesus loved the poor and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).
Pray for Muslims in BiH to encounter this radical teaching and to wrestle with His command to not just donate to the poor, but to know that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor.
Praying Scripture
“Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, ‘Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:4-5, 12-15).
Pray that new discovery groups and emerging churches would follow the example of Christ, washing one another’s feet. Ask that God would show the church what it means to be servant leaders in the community.
Pray the Lord would break the need for ‘competition’ and ‘one-upmanship’ and would release, instead, a spirit of humility. Ask God to break toxic ways of relating to one another.
Praying for the Church
Pray for the media efforts currently taking place in BiH! Stragegic content placed on social media platforms is finding it’s way onto the timelines and feeds of Bosniaks who may be seeking the Gospel. Pray that those who are interested will respond.
Pray for the workers in and around BiH who are creating content, responding to the social media inquiries, and following-up in person. Pray that they wouldn’t grow weary, and pray for local and international partnership in these efforts.
Liberty to the Captives
Each of us who comes to Christ must repent of and renounce every pact, promise, or identity we held before faith in Christ. Join us in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ from a Muslim background as they repent of their former identity as Muslims. This prayer is inspired by chapter 7 and 8 of Liberty to the Captives by Mark Durie
We are not defenseless or weaponless, but are spiritually armed in Christ. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Pray for followers of Jesus in the Muslim community of BiH to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ and to take confidence in the spiritual weapons we have to demolish arguments against him.
Bosnian Insights
There is a word that is uniquely common in BiH, “nafaka.” Derived from Turkish and carrying an Islamic weight, nafaka means destiny, Allah’s will, luck, blind luck, or sustenance. Two common uses of this word are in the phrases, “new day, new nafaka,” and, “you never know what nafaka is waiting for you.”
Belief in the idea of nafaka can be strong, as it embodies the ideas of fate, hope, luck, and human destiny, that is all somehow divine as well. It is something people look for, but is also used to explain away difficult situations (that’s just your nafaka).
Pray for those in BiH who believe in nafaka, whether they are seeking it or believe that their circumstances are unchangeable because of it. Pray that they would hear and accept the truth that change is possible through Christ, and that we serve a God who hears our cries, cares about our circumstances, and has the power to change them!