Prayer Fuel

Pray as the Lord leads you as you read today’s verse

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20) ESV

Tunisian testimony

I am a young man from the second-largest city in Tunisia. Like 99.9% of Tunisians, I grew up as a Muslim. Last year, I came across a Christian post online, and it sparked my curiosity. I reached out to the person who shared it, and he gave me a Bible. I began reading it with a few of my friends, and now we meet weekly to learn more about Jesus. I am in awe of what Christ has done in my life. Please pray for wisdom as I lead this group and for my friends to fully commit their lives to Jesus. Pray that we may grow into a house church, have the courage to share with others, and that all in our city will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Also, pray for my strength and perseverance, as my family strongly opposes my decision to follow Christ.

Praying with insight

The 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 depicted throughout the Bible and in the passage above. “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) NIV Today we pray for the people of Tunisia to see the unchanging nature of God, that it is impossible for him to lie, and to make him the anchor for their souls.

For believers

Pray that as new believers increase in knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, they will see both the freedom from empty rituals and the fulfillment of the deeper law that reveals Jesus. When those who have come out of Islam read the passages in Leviticus about cleanliness laws or laws of justice or of the priesthood or of sacrifices, may they see beyond the physical to the heart. Jesus cleanses us. Jesus brings justice and mercy at the cross. Jesus is both the great High Priest and the lamb that was sacrificed so that we can enter the Holy of Holies. True righteousness is born of the holy love of God who loved us first and, in return, we love both God and people.

For the lost

Father, let the lost recognize that the Scriptures are true. We declare that the Word of the Lord endures forever and we pray against the schemes of the enemy to undermine the truth of God. Lord, we pray that those who are wondering about the Scripture and looking up things online will find websites that reveal the truth. Guard them from “every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:5). Would you help them to meet believers who boldly boast in the cross and speak of how Jesus fulfills every promise and prophecy? “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.” (2 Cor 10: 3-4) ESV Now as we pray, we speak the truth, wielding the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and we expose and strike down the lie that the Scriptures were changed. God speaks and he cannot lie. He reveals himself to us because he wants us to know him more and more.

For the church

Pray for the church, meeting openly or underground, no matter the size, to be filled with sinners who confess that only through the righteousness of Jesus can we be saved. We pray their actions, times of worship and prayer, and lifestyles would be marked by the humble declaration of unity with Jesus’ righteousness. As they repent of every man-centered righteousness, may they draw friends and family who don’t yet know Christ to want to know more.

For areas of influence

Pray for places of community among Tunisians. Pray for every neighborhood to:

• be places where its members would steward and care for the beauty God has made on the earth
• have at least one Christian family in it who would model the Law and the Prophets Jesus came to fulfill
• have ekklesia (Biblical church) within it that would be pointing everyone to the righteousness we can only have through Christ

Declaration of the scripture

Lord, we ask for Muslims in Tunisia to see examples of true followers of Christ who:

• do not let sin reign in their mortal body, to make them obey its passions
• do not present their members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness
• do present themselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and their members to God as instruments for righteousness (Romans 6:12-13)

Stir a hunger amongst Muslims here to want to be brought from death to life and stir people of peace to gather friends and family to understand God’s plan of redemption from creation to Christ from the Bible.

Pray as God leads as you watch this video from Tunisia