DAILY PRAYER FOCUS
July 15, 2024
Deep in the heart of southern Algeria, the Ahaggar mountains rise up in other-worldly shapes through the vast Saharan sands – shards and arches and what almost looks like giant molars emerging from beneath the desert. This is Tuareg territory. Tamanrasset is the largest city in the desert, though the large province known by the same name borders another Tuareg state known as Djanet. These border-less people — traditionally nomadic herders of camels and goats cross borders that designate today’s modern countries and gather in Djanet once a year for a festival. The festival of Sebeiba.
Sebeiba has been celebrated for over 3,000 years and is a festival of peace between clans. It is said the first Sebeiba was inspired by news that crossed the Sahara desert — good news that God had just swallowed up Pharaoh and his army in the sea and Moses and his people has been saved and entered the desert. For tribes that had been threatened by this same Pharaoh, the news of his defeat inspired a peace treaty between these ancient Tuareg desert tribal clans, who had been warring against each other. Each year up until this day, a peace treaty is signed each year where Tuareg (or Imuhar) clans vow to live at peace as a united people of the desert.
This yearly gathering in Djanet is full of music and women singing songs as the men dance with a sword in one hand and a scarf in the other — a symbol of war and peace. Sebeiba attracts many tourists and it also attracts Tuareg from across the region, some we hope, from amongst the around 3,000 Tuareg believers in Jesus who have been spreading other good news across the desert. Good news about an eternal salvation and defeat of an enemy.
In Tuareg language, one of the many first questions you ask someone is how are their goats or sheep, as herder and shepherding is ingrained in their lifestyle. As Tuareg men and women ask each other that question at the festival this year, may they answer about the sheep and goat PEOPLE they are shepherding and leading to find truth and life. Please lift up Sebeiba 2024, which will take place in mid July, likely around the 15th. May he spread much good news that inspires lasting peace within.
DAILY SCRIPTURE TO PRAY
Acts 9:20-21
At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
Let those that once hated You, proclaim your name among their people!
1 Pet 2:9-12
”But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Eph 4:11-16
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
DAILY PRAYING FOR A MOVEMENT
Today is the last day of fasting and tomorrow they celebrate the end of it. This is a time when families gather, extended family come to visit, friends, neighbors, etc. Specifics probably differ from place to place and culture to culture, but it is a time of gathering and gifts. This is a good time for conversations!
Recently there have been many reminders of how powerful dreams are – it raises questions, peaks interests, and in these cultures it carries some weight and it is really good conversation starters. Would you ask our Heavenly Father to invade the dreams of the people we’ve been praying for and that those dreams would spark something inside many and that it would open up the way for good spiritual conversations and make people more open to hearing about Jesus from foreigners that might be visiting and breaking fast, etc.
A story is told of a mountain village in Asia, where every inhabitant of the village had the same dream and all of them eventually came to faith in Christ . There is no reason why God couldn’t do something like this in North Africa – to bring many sons to glory!
Thank you for joining over 6,000 people in praying during this Ramadan!
Please continue praying for this place, especially all that He has put on your heart over the past month.
Pray that God will continue working powerfully in this place.
Before you leave check out the end of campaign stats page and consider sharing with us about your prayer time (E.g. testimonies, insights, blessings, etc.)
Use these resources to help pray specifically each day.
Thank the Lord for the love He has given you for the people of North Africa as you prayed for them to encounter Christ this Ramadan. Pray for Him to complete the good work he has begun among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa. Take time to listen to next steps God would have you take on behalf of the people of North Africa.
ReadToday many Christians celebrate Easter: the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Muslims deny this fact. "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17). Pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to be convicted of the reality that they are still in their sins and that only God Himself can provide a solution for that – the cross of Christ.
ReadLast night many Muslims celebrated the "Night of Power" hoping that God would show up miraculously to change their circumstances (health, financial, relational, etc.). We continue to pray that they would encounter Jesus who already miraculously "showed up" as the Word who became flesh to change their current realities and eternity through His life, death, and resurrection.
ReadOn or around the 27th night of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the "Night of Power" as a special time that their prayers and good deeds count for more. They believe their chance of getting their prayers answered and miracles done are increased on this night. Pray for multitudes of Muslims from North Africa to encounter Jesus tonight in a dream or vision.
ReadMuslims deny that Jesus died on the cross and instead ascended to heaven without dying. This belief denies the act of atonement foundational to our faith as Christians. As many Christians around the world enter into a time celebrating Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to have the eyes of their heart opened to consider the possibility of Jesus' death and resurrection.
ReadMuslims 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 among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa 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.
ReadIslam calls Jesus the "Word of God" but strongly denies that He is God. Pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to meditate on the thought that Jesus is the "Word of God". John 1 illustrates the beautiful reality that, "the Word was with God, and the Word was God." May Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa be prompted to research this online and find John 1. Pray for their hearts be softened as they read.
ReadMuslims (and all people, really) care deeply about their outward appearance or reputation in the community. But Jesus cares about the person's heart. Religion can change outward behavior but can't change inward attitudes—only the Spirit of God can do that. Pray for the people of North Africa to be convicted about their need for a clean heart and to seek out Jesus' teachings on the topic.
ReadIn many parts of the Muslim world, Islam is passed down more through tradition, family, and society than in formal education. Prayer, fasting, and going on the Hajj are mostly done in a communal context. Today we pray in faith for our brothers and sisters among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to find community and family in your Church. We pray they would have vision for sharing what they are learning about Christ in their community, families, and networks.
ReadIslam teaches that God is unknowable and as a result many feel like God is distant. We know the truth is that God Almighty wants an intimate relationship with His followers because He is a good Father who knows the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). Lord, let all new followers of Christ among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa be filled with joy at knowing the intimacy of God, who calls us "beloved".
ReadThe month of Ramadan is known as ‘the month of repentance,’ and so as we pray for a gospel movement to transform this nation, let us cry out for God’s Kingdom to come, for a spirit of repentance to fall on the peoples living among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa, whether they are Sunnis, Shiite, Sufi, or Christians from a Muslim background; rich and poor, young and old, male and female.
ReadIslam teaches an emotional worldview that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims. Lord, help believers among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa shed the sins that so easily entangle them and instead put on their "new self" finding their value comes from You.
ReadMuslims pray prescribed prayers five times a day. Lord, as people from North Africa turn to Christ, teach them how to keep spiritual rhythms, turning it into an intimate time with you and not simply a ritual.
ReadMuslims acknowledge Jesus as a prophet from God. Let their curiosity be sparked in this season for them to learn all that Jesus says about Himself. Specifically, that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) so that they may acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior.
ReadIslam teaches that deception under certain circumstances is acceptable and the effects of this teaching breeds mistrust—of God and of others. But the Bible tells us "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:9-10). Pray for people among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to be people who pursue truth and feel conviction about deceiving others.
ReadZakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, requires Muslims to donate a set percentage of their wealth each year to Muslim charities. The New Testament teaches Christians to give generously from the heart as opposed to a set percentage. Pray for the people of North Africa to be challenged by the contrast between a religious rule and a heart posture and to want to understand more about the "new heart" that the Bible teaches about (Ezekiel 36:26).
ReadMuslims and Christians use the same Arabic word for "fasting". And similar to what we learned yesterday about prayer, the meanings are fundamentally different. Muslim fasting is rigidly defined as no food, water, sex, or smoking from dawn to dusk. Christian fasting takes on many more forms. Muslim fasting is enforced (or broadly promoted) in Muslim countries during Ramadan. Jesus taught, "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret...." (Matthew 6:16-18). Today we pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to come across Jesus' teaching about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount and be challenged to continue to investigate His teachings.
ReadMuslims and Christians often use the same Arabic word for "prayer". The meanings of that word, however, could not be more different. Islamic salat "prayer" describes the memorized recitations that Muslims must speak and the motions they must go through five times a day. Christian "prayer" describes two-directional conversation with God where Christians humbly approach the throne of grace with confidence to present requests and praise, they listen to God, and are thus transformed. Today we ask for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to have the opportunity to be prayed for by a Christian and for them to have a divine encounter with God through it.
ReadMuslims believe that the Quran is the perfect and final revelation of God. Christians believe that Jesus is. "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature..." (Hebrews 1:1-4). Pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to read the Gospels and see the contrast between the exact representation of God's nature we see in Christ and what the Quran teaches.
ReadThe Islamic doctrine of abrogation means that some verses in the Quran can be "canceled out" by later verses. This is contrary to the unchanging nature of God in the Bible. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…" (Hebrews 6:17–19) Today we pray for people among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to see the unchanging nature of God, that it is impossible for him to lie, and to make him the anchor for their souls.
ReadIslam pursues political, societal, and top-down power structures. Christianity teaches bottom-up servant leadership (Luke 22:25-27). Pray for North Africa to be transformed as Christians model Christian leadership principles and reject worldly power structures.
ReadThere is a hadith (teaching) in Islam that says, "Be good to your mother, Paradise is under her feet." This positive teaching is often negatively used to prevent Muslims from questioning or rejecting the religion of their parents. Today, we pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to have courage from God to honor their parents, but not blindly follow their religion and to instead pursue Truth.
ReadThe primary way Islam is growing globally is through birth rate. The primary way Christianity is growing globally is through movements of the Gospel. Pray for these movements to flow through North Africa and all Muslim lands.
ReadThere are many teachings in Islam that advocate the use of the sword (killing) to advance their religion. The teachings of Jesus calls us to surrender to the sword (martyrdom) to advance His Kingdom. Pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to wrestle with this contrast and for their hearts to be softened to Christ.
ReadMany Muslims when faced with difficult questions about their religion fall back on the claim that God is unknowable. In Christianity, though we cannot fathom the fullness of who God is, we do believe that God revealed Himself to us in Christ and wants to be known by us. Today we pray for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to encounter God by knowing Christ.
ReadThere are many teachings in Islam that allow for murder, enslavement, rape, and abuse of women. Today we pray for both men and women among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to see the value of women, who are created by God as His image bearers as well.
ReadIslam teaches that women cannot fast or pray when they are menstruating. We thank God that this is not a reality for us in Christ. Pray for women among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa today who cannot fast because they are menstruating and will have to make up this day of fasting later in the year by themselves. Pray for their hearts to be softened to a God who welcomes them into His presence any day of the year because of Christ's blood on the cross.
ReadIslam teaches that Muslims are born into Islam, inheriting the religion of their parents. Christianity teaches the opposite, each person must make a personal decision to follow Christ and His teachings. Today we pray into this issue and ask for God to give grace to Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to question this teaching that they inherited their religion from their parents.
ReadIn Islam, it is a sin to doubt. It leaves many Muslims with fear of eternal damnation if they question anything they have been taught about religion. Pray today for Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa to seek the true God who is big enough for our questions and doubts.
ReadIn Islam God has 99 names–such as All-Merciful, The Beneficent, The Source of Peace–but none of those names is Love. Father God, who reveals yourself as the God of Love throughout the Bible, please reveal yourself to Muslims among the Amazigh peoples of North Africa with your true nature.
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