The Call to Prayer that Muslims May Know Jesus as Lord and Savior

How to Pray for the Advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among Muslims

All Christians are called to pray for the fulfillment of the Great Commission as given us by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 for the Muslim world.
We are called to pray for the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the Islamic world. In the hearts of many sincere Muslims there is a deep hunger for God. They are what the Bible would call “God-fearers.” They fit well the description of Cornelius:

"At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly." Acts 10:1-2 (NIV)

We must pray that God will bring those Muslims who already fear him into the opportunity to become disciples of Jesus Christ. We also must be ready to do our part in the fulfillment of this Commission whether it is intercessory prayer, giving, enabling missionaries, being open to witness where we are or going somewhere else as a witness.

We must pray that God will communicate the truth of Jesus by all the means appropriate to get past the barriers. This could be directly through angels, dreams, visions, or through the empowered witnesses of local Christians, through the radio or television, or through tent-making missionaries.

All Christians are called to pray Matthew 6:9-10, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…"

To pray "Your Kingdom come" is to pray for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every part of the world. This is actually a spiritual warfare prayer. We are asking God to overcome the kingdom of Satan in all of its expressions.

The Heidelberg Catechism clearly shows us the spiritual warfare nature of this petition.

"Q. 123. What is the second petition?"

"A. “Thy kingdom come.” That is: so govern us by thy Word and Spirit that we may more and more submit ourselves unto thee. Uphold and increase thy church. Destroy the works of the devil, every power that raises itself against thee, and all wicked schemes thought up against thy holy Word, until the full coming of thy kingdom in which thou shalt be all in all."

Some of us may be given a burden to pray specifically that the Kingdom of God will advance to overcome the stronghold of deception in Islam which is a powerful and wicked scheme of Satan being built for the destruction of the Church and the truth of the Word of God.

All Christians have been given the command by Jesus to pray that the Father would send laborers for the harvest field.

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  Matt 9:37-38 (NIV)

There are many places around the world and in our own back yards where there is urgent need for laborers for the harvest.

Perhaps the place of most urgent need is in the Islamic world. In nations in the grip of Islam, by law and the threat of death, witnessing to the love and truth of Jesus is forbidden. Some of us may be given a burden to pray for this most difficult and dangerous of harvest fields. We must also pray for those from within Islam and without who will be called to witness. For some, their witness will be through martyrdom. It may be that as we pray this prayer, God will call some of us to go as laborers or to supply the provision needed for someone else to go.

We must pray for our government and military leaders.

There is no direct command in scripture from Jesus calling us to pray for our government and military leaders; however, Romans 13:1 supports the understanding that they have been placed there by God's decree for our welfare. Insofar as our government and military leaders are called by God to protect our nation from threats from within and from without, they need our prayers. They especially need our prayers when facing such an adversary as the stronghold of deception in Islam, which is ideological and spiritual in nature and not defined by a particular nation-state. They need great wisdom, perseverance and stamina to fight and defeat such an elusive enemy.

Pray for the renewal and reformation of the Christian church worldwide.

To these general prayers, I would add another: Pray for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit bringing renewal and reformation to the Church in the West. The Church is the vanguard of the Kingdom of God on earth.

When the Church is weakened through apostasy and heresy it can no long provide the cultural vitality necessary to resist the growth of demonic strongholds, whether these strongholds come from within its own cultural fabric like Nazism or from without.

Pray for the waves of renewal and awakening that are already taking place in the Western World and for those organizations that support them such as PRMI and GEAR (in the UK).

Pray for the advancement of the Gospel in Russia, Israel and India and the strengthening of the churches that are already established in those nations.