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Leaving room for a change of plans
August 2021

By a member of SEND’s Diaspora | North America team — As we entered his house, he hung his head and said, “No, no, I am embarrassed. I should be coming to see you. You are my teacher and yet you came to me. In my country, the custom is that the small people go to see the big people, and the big people just stay home and wait for us.” I said to him, “Don’t be embarrassed. We are all the same before God. God doesn’t ask who our father is. He doesn’t ask how rich we are. He doesn’t ask if we are big people or small people. He simply looks straight at our hearts and he loves us."   

After we got past the awkward start to our conversation, we actually had a very nice visit. We shared family news back and forth and talked about what it will take for his children to get into college. As we visited, I silently prayed for how I would steer the conversation and share about sacrifice. We were visiting during the Islamic holiday EID al Adha, which commemorates when Abraham was ready and willing to sacrifice his only son until God intervened and provided a ram. 

Suddenly it came to me, not to share about sacrifice, but to share the story found in Luke 18 about the two men who came into the temple to pray—one who was rich and haughty and the other who was poor and humble. My host had already prepared the way for me to introduce the story by the way he’d reacted when we showed up at his door. So, I shared the story and emphasized again the fact that God looks at the heart, not at our social standing, wealth or outward appearances. 

It was well received and it also prompted a brief discussion about hypocrisy, along with external and internal faith. We look back and give thanks for God preparing the way for something different than what I thought I was going to share. If we are going to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, we have to be willing to listen and follow his prompts, even if it means a change of plans. 

Before we left, we asked how we could pray for the family. They gave us some requests and we prayed for them. They warmly thanked us for coming and invited us to return soon. 

We went on to visit another family afterward, and while the second family was kind (and we had a nice visit), when we shared a Bible story it was not as well received. One family member even rolled their eyes as we shared (yes, that happens in other cultures too!). Before we left, we were able to pray for them, but we didn’t see the same receptivity we experienced in the first house. We had to remember that we are planting seeds on these visits and yes, some are falling on the hard path, yet some are falling into softer soil. May God give us grace to keeping sowing seeds as we pray for the Lord to produce a harvest.

Today I encourage you to keep visiting your Muslim neighbors and colleagues. When you visit, share Bible stories and pray for them. You are planting seeds of faith. And not only are you helping to change their understanding of who Christians are, but you are reshaping their worldview and helping them to understand who God truly is – a God who takes sin seriously, but also a knowable loving Father.

Prayer for the Muslim world
  • We continue to pray for 10% of the Muslim world to come to Christ in the next 10 years. What a crazy, audacious prayer! Please God, give us the faith to believe you can do this. 
  • We are hearing reports of Muslims coming to Christ in very difficult places and we rejoice and are amazed that some are publicly declaring their allegiance to Christ. We pray for God to sustain them.
  • We also pray for former Muslims who have declared faith in Christ and come to the West—that the abundance of consumer goods and materialism does not distract them from what is most important, knowing and walking with Jesus.
  • Pray for Christian workers in Afghanistan. The country is in turmoil politically and COVID is ravaging across the land as well. Pray for wisdom and grace for those serving and living in this land, that they would communicate hope and light in a dark and difficult place.
  • Pray for Christian workers around the world who shared with Muslims about Jesus and his sacrifice during EID al Adha. Pray that the words shared would sink deep into hearts, take root, and grow. 
  • Pray for Muslims to understand that they cannot find lasting forgiveness in sacrificing an animal year after year, and that they will seek the One who made the ultimate sacrifice, putting their faith in him.



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