The prayer movement in Latin America goes hand in hand with the Pentecostal Movement that was successfully absorbed in our culture as an answer to the social, political, and economic problems of the 22 countries that make up Central and South America.
In the last two decades we have seen changes and measurable changes as a result of the prayer movement in the region. One example of this has been church growth that has produced mega churches - in countries such as Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru - which have attracted people from different social and economic classes to get together in large arenas week after week to offer worship to God. The region is growing and its democracy has progressed, but on the other hand we have another very interesting phenomenon. In the majority of countries, even those with a large number of Christians, there is no visible transformation or it is very slow in the cultural areas of influence (government, economy, family, religion, communication media, arts/entertainment, education) and these shortcomings continue to affect many millions of its people in terms of:
- Poverty and inequality,
- Violence, and
- Environmental deterioration
In different parts of the continent prayer has taken on different shapes and forms in churches, ministries, movements, lay groups, businessmen, Christian and people who believe that prayer continues to be the answer to the problems in the region and to that extent the Prayer Movement in Latin America fits the ability, vision and modality of the leaders who are at the forefront of the region.
Prayer Points:
- Unity of the Body of Christ
- Revelation of the prayer strategies to confront the political, social, and economic problems of Latin America
- Reduction of the statistical indices of: violence, poverty, malnutrition, Illiteracy, infant mortality, demographic situation, fiscal and tributary problems, unemployment, social marginalization
- Increase of the statistical indices of: housing, education, labor, social welfare, infrastructure, communications
- To improve overall macro and microeconomic indicators and that the entire region can enjoy an atmosphere of peace, security and prosperity
- Provoke not only a spiritual reform, but comprehensive reform that includes the transformation of social, political, and economic aspects of the region.
- Cry out to God for a spirit of reconciliation, adoption, repentance, confession, and restitution to fill the region and produce healing in the land.
- Pray for understanding for the national leaders about the Kairos moment in which Latin America is in to reposition it in its Divine destiny.
- To provoke the "Transformation of the Holy Spirit" in the 7 areas of Latin American culture: government, family, education, church, arts and entertainment, economy, and the media.
Strategies
- 40-Year Latin American Prayer Plan
- Prayer Vigils that are pro-unity for the body of Christ
- Celebration of the "Global Day of Prayer" (Day of Pentecost)
- Massive Prayer Convocations
- Fasting and Prayer Journeys
- 24/7 Altars of Worship and Intercession
- Identification of prayer efforts of distinct identities to unite common points and bring solutions to Latin American problems
- Latin American Plan for Repentance and Forgiveness
Latin American Geography
Area: 20,286,362 sq. km. Comprising 22 countries; 15% of the World's land area. It can be divided into three almost equal areas in terms of population and land area: Mexico, Central America, Spanish South America and Brazil.
Population: 546,336,000
Urbanites: 80%
Peoples Languages: 503
Religion Pop % Ann Gr
Christians 503,374,334 92.14 .1%
Evangelicals 91,423,319 16.7 2.6%
Submitted by Judith Gonzalez<This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
We would like to invite you to the Arab/European Prayer Conference on May 14 through 16, 2015 at Wiesbaden, Germany.
We see the countries of Europe at a crucial point in history; we are convinced that through prayer and humbling of His people, God is willing to change the history of Europe. The conference is our first step to bless the European Host countries through commitment in unity and prayer and by encouraging Arab believers to join this; we want to encourage local and Arab believers to participate together in intercession for Europe, to encourage them to pursue God's kingdom in their 'new' home country, Europe.
The initiative is from the Egypt Prayer Movement, joined by Arabic pastors & leaders and churches in Europe. The conference will include worshiping, prayer and intercessions, preaching, accommodation, and meals. We want to dedicate this time as people of God to search him and humble ourselves before him.
For further information and registration
Website: http://www.riseup-now.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contacts
Gabriel Abdelki +4917634131782
Usama Hanna +41765610304
If you wish to receive hard copies of the Posters and Bookmarks for distribution, please email me your postal address so we can mail them to you.
Also please announce the Conference at your Churches as soon as possible for spaces are limited.
Online Registration Form will be available on our website within the coming couple of weeks.
http://www.riseup-now.com/images/invitation_riseupNow201505/201505_riseUp-now_eng_ar.png
http://www.riseup-now.com/images/invitation_riseupNow201505/201505_riseUp-now_ge.png
http://www.riseup-now.com/images/invitation_riseupNow201505/201505_riseUp-now_eng_ar.png
http://www.riseup-now.com/images/invitation_riseupNow201505/201505_riseUp-now_ge.png
Blessings
Iman R. Bishara
"The Christian community in Niger says it is in shock in the wake of weekend violence that has claimed the lives of ten people and led to the destruction of dozens of places of worship and Christian homes.
The protest, which started in the country's second city, Zinder, on Friday January 16, quickly spread to surrounding areas before reaching the capital Niamey on Saturday.
Ten people have died, and 45 churches burned down in the two days of violence, the police say. But information gathered by World Watch Monitor revealed that more than 70 churches have been destroyed, along with numerous Christian schools and organisations, including an orphanage "The Good Samaritan'' run by the Assembly of God Church. The 40 children of the orphanage are currently in ''disarray'' under the care of police.
Over 30 Christian homes were believed to be looted and burnt down. Those affected say the violence has left them with "only the clothes on our backs".
Pastor Zakaria Jadi, whose church was among the destroyed buildings, told the BBC he was meeting with the elders when he heard about the attacks.
"I just rushed and told my colleagues in the church to take their families away from the place. I took my family out from the place...When I came back, I just discovered that everything has gone. There's nothing in my house and also nothing in the church."
All started on January 16 in the southeast city of Zinder, where latest figure show that eight churches and twelve Christian homes were set on fire. Two Christian schools were also attacked and ransacked.
The violence sent some 300 Christians (out of 700 in the city) out taking refuge in army barracks. Some of them have started to get back into their homes, local sources told World Watch Monitor.
"This is the greatest loss the Church in Niger has suffered in recent history. These attacks will have long-term effects on the small community of believers. A large number of local Christian families have lost everything they have laboured for their entire lives. The attacks have also caused considerable fear among the believers. Our brothers and sisters in Niger are in dire need of our prayer as they respond to this challenge," commented a worker for Open Doors International, a charity which partners with churches under pressure.
Spreading
The tension quickly spread to other towns in the Zinder region...
By Sunday the violence spread to the capital Niamey, as a large crowd of about 1,000 Muslims convened outside the main mosque, before marching across the streets of the city. The angry crowd, reported to be guided by youths in cars and motorbikes, then set several public buildings and properties on fire: among them, the headquarters of the ruling party, several bars, a brothel and a beer factory.
Security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to restore order, but the rioters were out of control. In small groups the protesters then attacked Christians across the capital.
"In two hours most of the 'work' was done," reported an Open Doors' worker. "The guides knew exactly where to find the target of the attacks, and after the attacks they checked if it was indeed destroyed.''
On Sunday, the situation had calmed somewhat in Niamey, but the bells remained silent at the Catholic Cathedral, though it had been spared in the Saturday violence as troops guarded it. Most Christians did not feel safe to return home, WWM heard, while others were trying to assess the scale of damage sustained by their communities.
On the day of attacks, there is no protection
Various sources, contacted by World Watch Monitor, have pointed out the lack of reaction from the security forces. This, they said, has turned Christians and their properties, including Niamey's biggest Protestant church, into easy targets for the protesters and looters.
In a television address, on Saturday evening, President Mahamadou Issoufou condemned the anti-Christian violence and expressed surprise at the attack. "What have the Christians of Niger done to deserve this? Where have they wronged you?"
''Those who plunder those places of worship, those who desecrate them, those who persecute and kill their Christian compatriots, or foreigners living on the soil of our country, did not understand anything about Islam''.
The week-end violence was also widely condemned by several Muslim clerics. The government has declared three days of mourning for those who died. A local church leader has called on Christians in Niger to respond with the love of Christ in an interview on the BBC Hausa Service.
"I call on every single believer in Niger to forgive and forget, to love Muslims with all their heart, to keep up the faith, to love Christ like never before, said Pastor Sani Nomao.
''Although it is painful, and what we are experiencing is really difficult, we are God's children. We must love our persecutors...Let no one seek revenge."
Associating local Christians with the Charlie Hebdo publication is incorrect, but convenient. The same way a Danish cartoonist mocking of the Prophet Mohammed created opportunity for Muslims to unleash terror on Christians in Northern Nigeria in February 2006, the Charlie Hebdo saga has become an opportunity for attacking Christians in Niger - an Islam-dominated country that has been praised for its secular government and relative tolerance towards Christians despite the fact that more than 98% of the population follow Islam. Over the past few years the country has seen growing radicalisation..."
World Watch Monitor reports the story of Christians worldwide under pressure for their faith. Articles may be reprinted, with attribution.
World Watch Monitor, P.O. Box 27001, Santa Ana, CA 92799, USA
Pray with the brothers and sisters in Christ who live in Niger that they will be able to forgive their Muslim compatriots and that through their loving response many Muslims will realize that Jesus Christ is Lord.
"The establishment of the Khorasan chapter of the Islamic State in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region strengthens the Islamic State's image as a phenomenon with global reach. But the new chapter's links to the Islamic State are fragile, and it owes its existence more to the fragmentation of the cross-border Taliban movement than to anything the Islamic State has done. The Khorasan chapter, like other Islamic State affiliates beyond the Syrian-Iraqi battlespace, will be met with local resistance from jihadist forces and al Qaeda who see groups friendly toward the Islamic State as a challenge to their authority.
According to The News International, the largest English-language daily in Pakistan, the Islamic State announced the creation of a Khorasan chapter in a video released Jan. 13. (Khorasan theoretically includes Iran and Central Asia, in addition to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but so far the chapter is only functioning in the latter two countries.) In the video, former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid announced the names of the Islamic State commanders responsible for various parts of Afghanistan and revealed the chapter's new leader, a former Pakistani Taliban figure named Saeed Khan. Lending credibility to the announcement of the group's establishment, Afghan government officials have in recent days told Afghan media of the Islamic State's growing presence in several eastern and southern provinces, saying the group is fighting both Afghan security forces and Taliban militiamen.
In response to those reports, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi sent an email to the Afghan Islamic Press agency, denouncing the reports as propaganda put forth by Kabul and Western governments. He denied that the Islamic State's black flags were flying in several areas where the Taliban are usually active and said all the "mujahideen" were fighting under the white flag of the Taliban movement, insisting that there was no infighting within the movement.
Despite Ahmadi's claims to the contrary, there is growing evidence that elements from the Pakistani and, to a lesser extent, the Afghan Taliban, have defected. It is understandable that the Pakistani Taliban would fracture; the group has tended toward transnationalism since its inception, and more recently it has suffered significant losses and struggled with internal dissension. As groups aligned with the Islamic State grow in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in large part recruiting from the Taliban movement, we can expect jihadists in the region to fight back to retain their own influence. Eventually an intra-jihadist struggle could emerge far more intense than the one underway in Iraq and Syria, but the Islamic State will not dominate the area as it has dominated the Levant and Mesopotamia.
Stratfor.com
January 23, 2015
Let's pray for the continuing fracturing of the Taliban movement in Central Asia and also the cutting off of the influence of the Islamic State there
While the world has been focused on the shocking terror attacks in Paris that left 17 dead, thousands of Christians have been murdered by Islamic Jihadists in Africa.
Carnage Against Christians
The same week of the Paris attacks on Charlie Hebdo (a weekly magazine known for its irreverent and mocking articles and satirical cartoons against political and religious leaders), Amnesty International reported on a massacre of over 2,000 people in Northern Nigeria. Over Saturday, 3rd and Sunday, 4th January, the town of Baga, on the border of Chad, was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents who fired Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and assault rifles on church-goers and town residents. Most of the victims were children, women and elderly people who could not run fast enough as they were mowed down by the Muslim terrorists.
A Forgotten War
While the Jihadist terror attack on journalists in France made front page news worldwide, the tens-of-thousands of Christian victims of Islamic Jihad in Africa barely get a mention, even in Christian media. In less than 5 years, over 1,000 churches have been destroyed in Northern Nigeria and over 16,000 Christians murdered by Boko Haram Islamic terrorists.
Destruction and Displacement
Between August and October 2014, 200 Christian churches were destroyed by Boko Haram in the North Eastern states of Borno and Adanawa. Maiduguri Diocese in Borno State reported 185 churches torched and over 190,000 people displaced by the Jihad against the churches in their area, just in those 3 months.
Churches Targeted in Nigeria
In 2011, 430 Christian churches were destroyed, or damaged, in Northern Nigeria by Boko Haram. In 2012, over 900 Christians were murdered and many churches destroyed. In 2013, 612 Christians were murdered and over 300 churches destroyed. Gatestone Institute calculates that at least 1,000 Christian churches have been destroyed by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria since 2011.
Massacres in Nigeria
Human Rights Watch reports that in 2014, Boko Haram murdered 2,053 people. President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria reported last year that the Boko Haram terrorists had murdered over 13,000 Nigerians in the previous five years.
A Flood of Refugees
The United Nations Humanitarian Office (OCHA) reported that approximately 650,000 Nigerians had been forced from their homes and were Internally Displaced Peoples during 2014.
Persecution Worldwide
The Centre for the Studies of Global Christianity reported in October last year that every year approximately 100,000 Christians die for their religious beliefs, including in Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Somalia and Egypt.
Coptic Christians Bombed
Egyptian Coptic Churches are not only being fire-bombed and attacked in Egypt, but even a Coptic Christian Church in Berlin was attacked with a fire bomb last year.
Nuba Church Bombed
In Sudan, Rev. Youhana Jaqoub, of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, reported four bombs being dropped by the Sudan Air Force on their church in the Nuba Mountains, "the bombs have completely destroyed our church compound in Tabolo."
Convert From Islam Attacked in Sudan
Also in Sudan, Ibrahim Ismaeil, a 34 year old convert to Christianity from a Muslim background, survived an attempt upon his life by Muslims who broke into his house at midnight and opened fire. Ibrahim and his family managed to escape and fled the nation. Ibrahim is a writer and Human Rights Defender for the Darfur region.
Churches Demolished in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, which is meant to be a majority Christian country, churches have been attacked in Muslim areas. Heaven's Light Church, which served some 100 Evangelical Christians in the Muslim majority city of Harar, was demolished 28 November by Muslim municipal officials. Although the church had stood and functioned in Harar for 5 years, the local majority Muslim population determined to eliminate the public presence of churches. This has been part of a pattern of forced closure, destruction and demolition of church buildings in Muslim controlled areas of Ethiopia. Numerous Christians have found notes on their doors, warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city, or face death.
"'If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will keep yours also.'" John 15:18-20
Egyptian Coptic Woman Denied Justice
In Egypt, Lisa Nosim Basari, a 28-year old Coptic Christian woman has made a video describing the advances of a Muslim man who was intimidating her to convert to Islam and marry him. Wa-il Hassan Abdul Nu-min began stalking her whenever she left home, threatening her to convert to Islam and marry him. When she refused, he attacked and burned the grocery store in which she worked, tore her clothes and sexually assaulted her. When Lisa filed a formal report against him at the local police, the Egyptian police harassed her, imprisoned her and tortured her to force her to abandon her complaint against the Muslim man. In her video Lisa pleads for some authority in Egypt to intervene and protect her.
Abductions in Egypt
Every year hundreds of Christian women in Egypt are abducted and forcibly converted to Islam and forced to marry Muslim men. Families regularly receive phone calls from the abductors telling them that if they ever want to see their daughter alive again, they must ransom her for one quarter of a million Egyptian pounds. There are many reports of police refusing to investigate these kidnappings. As one police captain said: "So what if one Coptic girl is missing? Look at how many millions of Muslims are dying in Palestine and you bothering us about one girl?"
"Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the Body also."Hebrews 13:3
Muslim Mayhem in C.A.R.
In the Central African Republic the Muslim Seleka Coalition have gone on a rampage of rape, pillage and mass murder, targeting Christians, attacking and plundering churches.
Bulldozed in Sudan
In Khartoum, Sudan, the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church and the Nile Theological College were bulldozed down in November last year by National Intelligence and Security Services personnel and police. These demolitions were based on a court order demanding that the church leaders surrender their premises to Muslim businessman, Khalid Mustafa.
Threat to Democracy
Nigerians are less than a month away from their presidential elections. As more than 1.5 million Nigerians have been displaced by the Islamic Jihad in the three North Eastern states, it is questionable how many of them will even be able to vote in the polls under Nigeria's current election rules. Meanwhile Boko Haram is attempting to regionalise the conflict by threatening further attacks on neighbouring Cameroon.
Double Standards
It seems disproportionate that 3.7 million people can march in France in protest against the Islamic terror attacks against Charlie Hebdo journalists (who have frequently published blasphemous attacks on Jesus Christ), but most media and government leaders worldwide remain silent about the ongoing genocide being perpetrated against Christians in Muslim lands throughout Africa and Asia.
Selective Outrage
As global leaders join millions of people on the streets of France to march in a show of solidarity with the journalists murdered in Paris, Nigerians commented: "Very moving watching events in Paris - wish the world media felt equally outraged by the massacres in Nigeria." Numerous Nigerians have asked how it is that even their own President, Goodluck Jonathan, expressed his condolences for the victims of terrorism in France, but has remained silent on the Boko Haram attacks on 2,000 Christians in Baga. Others have asked why the American President, Barack Obama, seems more concerned to promote Islam than he is to counter Islamic terrorism.
"Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3:15-18
A Deafening Silence
Another commented: "It is shameful how the 2,000 people killed in Boko Haram's massacre in Nigeria gets almost no media coverage."
"How is this Boko Haram attack on Christians in Nigeria not the lead story in every single news network and every news feed worldwide right now!?"
"There are massacres and there are massacres. It would seem that Christian lives in Africa are not as valuable as those of journalists in France."
Most Persecuted in the World
According to the Pew Research, Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world. Of the 24 worst persecuting countries in the world, 20 are Islamic.
How can we help our Brethren who are suffering such intense and violent persecution?
This is first and foremost an information war, a battle for hearts and minds. We must be informed. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." Hosea 4:6
Be Informed
Encourage everyone you know who is concerned for the persecuted Church to be on the emailing list of Frontline Fellowship, to regularly visit our www.frontline.org.za and www.idop-africa.org websites. You can also find Frontline Fellowship on Facebook, like, link and share it, as we seek to regularly place information from the Persecuted Church on it.
Publicity Provides Protection for the Persecuted
You will also find many articles under Country Reports on our Frontline Fellowship website, as well as links to audio lectures and sermons on our SermonAudio.com link and presentations concerning the Persecuted Church, Islam and Communism on ourSlideshare link. All of these are accessible through our www.frontline.org website.
Books on the Persecuted
Resources on the Persecuted Church include: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam - The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat;Faith Under Fire in Sudan; In the Killing Fields of Mozambique; Holocaust in Rwanda and Going Through.
Films on Persecution
There are also some excellent films you can show to your congregation, school, or cell group, including: Islam Rising; Sudan - The Hidden Holocaust; Terrorism and Persecution - Understanding Islam Jihad. These and other resources are available fromChristian Liberty Books, PO Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, tel: 021-689-7478, email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za.
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Fax: 021-685-5884
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.frontline.org.za
Please pray for the world media to cover the atrocities being perpetrated on Christians in Africa by Muslim extremists such as Boko Haram in Nigeria. Pray that these terrorist movements will be dissolved by God's power in answer to united prayer and that governments there and around the world will unite to take action to effectively fight this menace to their people.
Please watch the attached prayer video to understand the torment that Africa's most populous nation is undergoing due to the national battles against widespread corruption and the radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, which has killed or kidnapped thousands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for the important national election on February 14 that good, strong, honest leadership will be put in place to guide the nation into a better future.
Hundreds of girls abducted. Children used as suicide bombers. Whole villages wiped off the map. Nigeria faces a burgeoning genocide by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. This humanitarian crisis has already taken roughly 16,000 lives and affected three million people since 2011. A recent attack may have been the deadliest yet, with some reporting as many as 2,000 casualties. As the February 14 election draws near, the violence has intensified.
Ranked number ten on the World Watch List for persecution, this devastated nation saw the largest number of Christians martyred for their faith in 2014. Though over half of Nigerians claim Christianity, Islamic sharia law has been implemented in one third of the states.
But with persecution has come an increase in unity and prayer in the very large and growing Nigerian church. We join with a Nigerian believer in praying, "May the Holy Spirit embolden us to follow Christ with renewed devotion and dedication, because no force shall destroy the church of God in northern Nigeria."
Together let's watch and pray,
The Prayercast Team
prayercast.com
a ministry of OneWay
*If the link in the picture does not work:
CLICK HERE:
http://www.prayercast.com/index.html
I am a Muslim. Both my parents are Muslims. All four of my grandparents were Muslims. So were their parents and their grandparents. I have always been proud to be Muslim for Islam is a religion of peace, a religion of justice, a religion of love. But lately I am confused.
I grew up knowing that Islam is a way of life. Islam means submission and obedience to God's law. God's law, not the laws of humans who interpret the words of God. Not the laws set by people who call themselves religious scholars or leaders of an Islamic nation but tell us to go against the core teachings of Islam.
These are the people who told us to hate all the Jews of the world when Israel killed thousands of Palestinians, but do not condemn the killing of Muslims by Muslims such as the ISIS militants.
These are the people who were very vocal when Muslim Rohingyas went through ethnic cleansing in Myanmar but have done nothing to help the Rohingyas who have come to Malaysia for protection.
These are the people who would act against anyone making fun of Islam in their writings but they themselves disrespect others through their sermons and speeches.
These are the people who claim 9/11 and the Charlie Hebdo massacre were needed as a warning to the infidels to stop ridiculing Islam but ridicule other faiths all the time.
These are the people who safeguard the sanctity of the holy book of Muslims but couldn't care less about the holy books of other religions, even threatening to burn them.
These are the people who would encourage the entire Muslim population in the country to boycott the products of Israel, the US, Denmark and Holland over some incident taking place thousands of miles away but have never made a stand over the injustice taking place in the Middle East.
These are the people who condemn kafir countries when Muslim students are not allowed to wear hijab to school but look away when a Muslim woman is beheaded or stoned to death in an Islamic country.
These are the people who chant about freedom but imprisons anyone who speaks against their rulings.
These are the people who speak of human rights but snatches away a child from his non-Muslim mother and gives him to his newly converted father.
These are the people who talk of respecting one another, but would break into someone's bedroom in the wee hours of the morning.
These are the people who claim to be the leaders of an Islamic nation but use Islam only to oppress others in order to achieve their own personal agendas.
I am sorry, but I am really confused.
Isn't Islam a religion of peace? Isn't Islam a religion of justice? Isn't Islam a religion of love? Where is the peace, justice and love?
Today when I tell people I am a Muslim, the first question is usually: "What type of Muslim are you? Conservative or liberal? Umno Islam or PAS Islam?"
How do I answer that? How Muslim can a Muslim be?
Surely being born to Muslim parents doesn't make you Muslim.
Praying five times a day doesn't make you Muslim.
Reading the Holy Quran doesn't make you Muslim.
Covering yourself head to toe doesn't make you Muslim.
Consuming only halal products doesn't make you Muslim.
Performing the Haj doesn't make you Muslim.
Having an Arabic name doesn't make you Muslim.
Going on a killing spree in the name of jihad doesn't make you Muslim.
Being offended every time people ridicule Allah or the prophets doesn't make you Muslim.
Sticking "I am Muslim" on your windscreen doesn't make you MusIim.
Protesting against the building of temples in your neighbourhood doesn't make you Muslim.
Not celebrating Christmas or Valentine's Day doesn't make you Muslim.
Decorating your home with verses from the Quran doesn't make you Muslim.
Saying "In the name of God" before eating or drinking doesn't make you Muslim.
Feeling offended over Charlie Hebdo's cartoons doesn't make you Muslim.
Supporting hudud doesn't make you Muslim.
Having "Islam" stated as your religion on a piece of card doesn't make you Muslim.
So what makes you Muslim?
"It is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts." - Quran, 22:46
Pray for Muslim people suffering such confusion that they will come to His light and be set free from delusion and lostness they are experiencing. Pray that visions and dreams of Christ will multiply among them and that Christians will be empowered with wisdom and boldness to share the Lord and the Gospel with them.
"The ISIS cancer has metastasized," proclaims a Wall Street Journal article on March 23rd. The Islamic state is building a regional and global network to recruit from and attack other nations. Their strategy, according to the article, encompasses three geographical rings: Iraq, Syria and other Levant nations like Jordan, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine; other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, extending over to Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the rest of the world, namely Europe, the USA and Asia.
In spite of what governments and political pundits say in politically correct ways so as not to offend the great majority of "peaceful" Muslims, the Islamic State leaders and their increasing number of followers are being rigidly and uncompromisingly Islamic in the way they go about things. They are actually trying to emulate their prophet Muhammad in all they do. According to Graeme Wood, they are "authentic throwbacks to early Islam and are faithfully reproducing it's norms of war", including slavery, crucifixion and beheadings (The Atlantic magazine March 2015). They hope to return to 7th century Islamic sharia law and eventually bring about the apocalypse. In this effort, they are committed to "purify the world" by killing large numbers of people whom they regard as infidels.
Because ISIS is metastasizing and threatening an increasing number of countries in its bid to become a global movement and caliphate, it is essential for us to mobilize prayer at this tipping point so their goal of world domination can be blunted and overthrown. We must remind ourselves that intercessory prayer has been the decisive factor many times before both in Scripture and history. Intercessors are the shapers of history in God's hands. In partnership of the Holy Spirit, we need to develop an international prayer strategy to combat the scourge of Islamic terrorism. Indeed, this was one of the main reasons the IPC came into existence just after 9/11 when a group of international prayer leaders met near Ground Zero in New York City to launch a prayer network that would focus on global issues like terrorism.
Here are some suggested elements for such a strategy as well as some basic prayer points we should be able to implement to counter the growing threat from radical Islam in which some see the dark clouds of World War III:
Let's work together to mobilize any prayer groups, churches and other intercessors we are in touch with to really pray with this focus for the rest of this year. Persevering, informed intercession will make all the difference!
Supply these praying people with current information and prayer requests. For this purpose, please educate yourself about radical Islam, its objectives and activities so you and others can pray intelligently.
Meet regularly in person or over the phone with a few others to pray in depth about specific aspects of the radical Islamic threat that you discover.
Some recommended prayer concerns to get you going:
1. Pray that the radical Islamic movement increasingly coalescing around ISIS as its standard bearer will degenerate into factions, dividing from one another and even fighting against each other.
2. Pray that radical Islamic leaders and their followers will have revelations, dreams, and visions of Christ and make an abrupt turnabout like the great Apostle Paul did. He repented from persecuting and killing Christians to become the most dedicated and effective of missionaries, probably in all history.
3. Pray for the international community to put real military teeth into what is now a paper coalition of 60 nations. May they recognize the urgency and commit every bit of funding and military force necessary to fight and defeat ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab and other radical groups across the whole world.
4. For President Obama and the US government to fully commit and provide unwavering leadership in order to subdue and eliminate radical Islam and terrorism.
5. For the cutting off of funding flowing from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Muslim nations that are supporting ISIS and other terror groups.
6. That Iran and the West will reach an effective deal on the Iranian nuclear program so that Iran finally gives up trying to build nuclear weapons.
7. Aggressively and authoritatively bind the principalities and powers behind these Islamic radical groups in Jesus' name so that the power and influence of the devil will be broken over them.
8. That huge numbers of Muslims will become disillusioned with all the hate, violence, and death in Islam and come to faith in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus exhorts us to release our faith to move mountains. God will work redemptively even through such evil to bring tens of millions of them to faith as we join Him by prayer and witness.
Let's agree for these things in prayer. Remember that history belongs not to the politicians or to the radical Muslims but to the intercessors!