GOD HEARS Prayer Letters

Wondering how to pray about the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine? It seems very complicated! It’s tempting to choose sides, assign blame, compare firepower and death tolls, debate about mercy versus righteousness and so on.

Early this week I was privileged to join a national prayer Zoom call in which a family ministering in the Middle East related that what God has been doing in and through them has been “immeasurably more than” all they had asked or imagined (Eph 3:20 NIV).

House churches have much potential for this group. Hospitality opens their hearts. Everyone can feel like a contributor by doing something as simple as bringing food. All can be discipled, whether seekers, new believers or those becoming secure in their faith, because the setting enhances the feeling of family. 

The first Pentecost took place during Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, one of three Jewish pilgrimage festivals (Deut 16:16). Shavuot commemorates the giving of the law on Sinai and offers thanks for the spring harvest.

Ramadan, the Islamic month of daytime fasting and heightened devotion, charity and self discipline, begins Tuesday April 13 and continues until May 14. In non-COVID times, Muslim families and communities eagerly come together for prayer and nightly iftar (fast-breaking) meals.

Blood speaks. When Adam and Eve’s firstborn son Cain murdered his brother Abel, God said to him, “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse…” (Ge 4:10-11a).

Sin is rebellion against God. It has consequences. Isn’t that what we should expect from a righteous God? There are different ways in which humans get around this uncomfortable fact. 

This might be the final week in which we examine how the Holy Spirit helps us pray for and minister among Muslims. But who knows? It is impossible to put limits on the Spirit!