It’s been a difficult year financially for Miles, a landlord and business owner. He feels that if he prays enough, his god will eventually bless him. Ask that as he performs his ritual prayers, Jesus would graciously reveal Himself.
This year, Hazel is fasting extra days hoping to gain more favor with her god. Ask that she would feel the futility of such works and see that Jesus has done everything we need in order to have a relationship with Him.
Pray for Roza. Ever since this young Sister told her family about her choice to follow Jesus, it’s been a near-constant battle as they try to bully and cajole her into recanting. Ask for protection, wisdom and boldness as she continues to share about Jesus, especially during Ramadan, when the pressure will be even greater.
Pray for Harmony for her continued spiritual healing and courage to get involved with the Body again. Pray with us for the Body here to desire to gather for Easter. It would be wonderful to have a special time together. Pray for wisdom and courage.
Ask for courage for Arab believers to speak to their families of Jesus, to believe that there is new family in Christ, to willingly follow Jesus even in the valley of the shadow of death. Many have died recently. May believers run to Jesus in their grief.
Continue to ask for believers to stand firm in the battle, to not deny Jesus, to love him more than family, more than life. A few have been shaken… some because of lack of roots…some because they are lone stalks not gathered in sheaves…. ask for gathering, for discipleship.
Pray for Steven and Harmony, local believers who were wounded by the Body years ago and retreated from ministry, but are now taking tentative steps to re-engage. Pray for this family, and others like them, to have a heart for reaching their own people.
Our friend Ezra is growing in discipleship and wants to learn how to share his faith. We praise God for this step. Pray for our time together, that he will become a disciple who makes disciples.
Two believers… one for almost 20 years, one for almost 2… have recently denied Jesus because of fear of family and because of grief. Please ask that every believer love Christ more than life, more than family and share the gospel because of love.
There was a hurtful conversation between believers who live near each other- one is Berber, the other Arab. May each one see themselves first of all as lovers and followers of Jesus, in one family by the blood of Christ. May Jesus bring peace and reconciliation by the cross.
A mixture of Arabs and Berbers have been gathering faithfully to study and pray together. Praise Jesus for their love for each other and their desire to grow in fellowship. Ask the Lord to meet with them and encourage each one.
There have been two deaths in the immediate families of local believers… both were young and seemed healthy and then were suddenly dead within one day. Both believers are struggling with thoughts of family members facing eternity separate from Jesus… one had heard some of the gospel; the other was vocally Muslim. Pray for the faith of the believers… that they would not be crushed under guilt for not speaking and that they will not drift to lies of ‘all being saved’ because of their pain. May they have courage to speak the gospel to remaining family.
The mother of a still secret believer has been receiving readings about the prophecies of Jesus during advent and her daughter overheard her discussing them with her brother. They both agreed that although Islam says Jesus wasn’t crucified… they believe he was. Ask for courage for the daughter to identify with Jesus and share with her family.
Praise Jesus for believers newly willing to identify with Christ who have been hiding for years. Praise Jesus for their diligence to teach their children and their willingness to gather with other sisters from other tribes and even countries. Pray that Arabs and Berbers would receive each other in Jesus’ name.
Praise Jesus for one who asked to meet a local sister from another tribe and listened with tears as the Berber believer spoke with fire in her eyes. Praise Jesus that she spoke without guile to her family, brought her nieces and sisters to hear the gospel. May she believe and her family too. There was significant spiritual warfare. Please pray that she will be set free from evil spirits and surrender to the Lord Jesus.
A brother invited several other brothers (who are the only believers in their family and alone) to meet together to read the Word and pray. Then right before they met, he cancelled. Pray for these ones who have no fellowship with other local believers. May the spirit of fear be silenced and may these children of God walk in the fearless victory of faith.
7-9 sisters plan to gather for tea and prayer on Saturday. It will be a mix of Arabs and Berbers, 40 year olds, high schoolers, moms, singles… may they find unity and joy and encouragement from the love of Jesus. Ask that believers grow in courage and love for one another.
Tomorrow a new sister will be baptized. She has invited one local believer and two local not-yet-believers to see/hear her witness. Please ask that each have courage to come and that this step of obedience be a time that marks increased boldness and witness. Please pray for the 9 or 10 other new believers in this city who are saying they want to be baptized but haven’t taken that step yet… may they be encouraged and emboldened by her decision.
O unshakable Father, many Arabs are facing uncertainty and death because of unrest and disease. Thank you for your patience as you long for their repentance. Please strengthen your children to abide and then to speak the gospel compelled by love. Would you reveal yourself as the Rock of Salvation and shake all that is shakable.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, we ask that older Arab believers would humbly repent of
*silence because of fear,
*an unwillingness to risk discipling young believers
*choosing isolation over fellowship
Please refresh their first love and overwhelm them with a passion to disciple and be discipled.
Jesus, would you set free those holding onto Islam out of a desire to honor their families. May each one be willing to hear the truth of the only way, truth, and life— the Lord Jesus.
May each Arab believer live a life worthy of the calling they’ve received, humble, gentle, bearing with each other in love. Ask that willing humble shepherds courageously teach everything Christ commanded in love without any thought to power or position.
Two believers just recently shared their testimonies face to face with friends. Praise Jesus for their increasing courage. Ask for God to guard the truth spoken and to bring life.
Please pray that each believer would live lives according to the truth of the gospel. And may they believe and speak unashamedly of the gospel.
One sister’s friend was killed by militia. Another sister’s friend died of Covid and the family was shut away, unable to mourn. A third lost a long-awaited unborn baby. Pray that in the midst of death, each believer would remember that Jesus knows what it is to have a friend die. He proclaimed to the imprisoned John that the lame walk, the dead are raised, the blind see, the poor hear the good news… and blessed is he who is not offended on account of me.’ Pray that believers would trust when they do not understand. Ask that they would share in the fellowship of his suffering and the power of his resurrection.
It’s been a long month of Ramadan with increased isolation for believers bc of Covid and war… and two new believers wrote with doubts, denying Jesus, praising Mohamed. Both are being swept along by the raging stream of Islam as all around them dance around the altar of Mohamed. Pray that they will repent from fear and stand firmly on the rock of Christ. Pray that they will wait for fire from heaven and declare: The Lord Jesus: he is God! Please pray against fear, weariness and doubt.
Many are willing to hear the gospel but are unwilling to believe because they do not understand the mystery of the Trinity. Ask for faith to believe God tells the truth, to delight in the infiniteness of God, to be in awe and wonder and believe by faith what we cannot fully see.
Ask for each believer to grow in love for their families and be courageous to identify with Jesus and “because they fear God, persuade others” (2Cor 5:11)
Please pray for the small groups of believers who were meeting but because of curfews and quarantines cannot meet now. All live at home with unbelieving family so they are afraid to do digital meetings. Ask that each one learn anew how to read Scripture alone, and that they will have boldness to encourage each other even through texting/chats.
Please pray that older believers would be patient with new believers. May they be humble and compassionate, willing to speak the truth with understanding and discernment and wisdom. May God strip away all self-righteousness and spiritual pride… and may the new believers and older ones dwell constantly in the Word.
Praise Jesus for online prayer groups of Arabic speaking believers from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt who pray sometimes through the night for their Berber sister when she is afraid . They have been faithful to call to repentance, to give words of knowledge, to battle with the Word on her behalf. Ask that these scattered Arabs continue to walk in the Spirit and pray fervently. Praise Jesus for how their prayers are changing lives here.
Three Arab and two Berber new believers are now talking about baptism. Please ask for unity and trust and discernment for each one to know what to do together/separately. Ask for obedience and growing faith.
One young woman is a bold evangelist, broken-hearted over friends that refuse grace, boldly identifying with Jesus, diligently declaring the gospel, unafraid to face the mysteries and questions. Her physical health is not good; some of her family are involved in witchcraft. Pray for strength and protection from the evil one. And praise Jesus for her classmate that just believed and received a Bible and is reading, sending screenshots and questions!!
Please pray for several isolated believers – some because of threats, some by choice, some because of distance from other believers. Ask for increasing love for the brothers and sisters, for unselfishness, and for boldness and perseverance. May each one know that they are not alone. May God Almighty guard their hearts against the lies of the enemy.
Praising Jesus for increasing willingness to lead. Ask for more believers to be faithful in encouraging other believers and to be willing to gather, willing to study, willing to share what they are learning in a group.
It is beautiful to see one new believer who can’t stop reading the Word and feels the presence of God as she reads; two other older believers are systematically studying and obeying, loving to hear the voice of God and obeying. But pray for those who have known Jesus a few years who have lost their first love, who used to love to read, study, gather, pray… but are overwhelmed by the things of earth now. Pray Rev 3, for each to love Jesus as they did at first.
One young woman has been sharing with her classmate and she asked for a Bible. When she brought an Arabic one to her, she was afraid and asked that instead this friend send 20 pages a day! May she read and understand. May each believer have courage to speak of Christ!!
Ask for unity as a handful of people gather. Some want to bring friends that haven’t yet believed and others are afraid. May there be respect and submission and love.
Ask for freedom from evil spirits. One young believer said they feel evil heaviness when they enter their home (because of witchcraft done by a family member) and it feels difficult to pray. Pray that believers would learn and practice Ephesians 6 and put on the armor of God.
Praise Jesus for giving increasing love for each other, for renewed first love, for renewed hunger for the Word. We asked together for this and see God’s gracious answer!!
Praise Jesus! A group is gathering again in this city …but each one comes with fears and hurts. Pray that they would encourage each other and pray Acts 4 together for boldness to speak His Word.
