PRAYER GUIDE
Local Focus
GIBC
Pray for our Senior Adults. Pray that they will continue to be a source of wisdom, encouragement, and strength to our church family. Pray for the many who are suffering from various physical difficulties, that God would bring strength and healing. Pray for those who have lost loved ones, that God would bring hope and comfort. Pray for those who are unable to regularly attend worship, that they would feel connected to God and His people even in their absence. Pray that they would see their value to the body of Christ and embrace the ways God uses them in this stage of life.
Community
Pray for our sister church, Bay Street Baptist. Pray for pastor Luke Racykowski and the staff. Pray for the members, especially those volunteering in key roles. Pray that they would have a great impact on reaching the community for Christ. Pray that God would grow their fervor for telling others about Jesus, reading the Word, and prayer.
USA
Pray for our national leadership who shape US foreign policy. As conflict in Ukraine and Iran continue, we see the real time effects of our foreign policy positions and postures. Pray that God would grant wisdom to policy-makers so that they will take positions rooted in fact, aimed at solutions, and resulting in human flourishing. Pray for an end to the conflict in Iran. Pray for our successful efforts to build and continue good relationships with other countries. Pray that all who lead and represent our country around the world will find salvation in Jesus.
North America:
Baltimore
About 40 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, has a long history of renovation and reinvention. In the last century alone, the city has rebuilt itself time and again. An estimated 1,500 buildings were destroyed in 30 hours during the Great Baltimore Fire at the turn of the 20th century. But after months of renovation, the city and the community emerged stronger and better. In the 1960s, much of the population left the city center for life in the suburbs, exposing downtown to financial depression and urban decay. However, revitalization efforts in the 1980s drew people back, and today the city is growing in every direction.
Though the harbor once played a large part in the city’s economy, it is now known for Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore’s top two employers. Other universities are located here as are celebrated athletic venues and an array of big and small businesses.
The Baltimore metro area boasts a population of more than 2.8 million people. Yet within this same area, there are only 252 active Southern Baptist congregations. This leaves just one Southern Baptist church to every 9,925 people. Statistics also show that crime, poverty and the spread of diseases such as HIV are all on the rise. The need for the gospel here is great.
“Our city is full of monuments that testify to what God has done in the past,” says Brad O’Brien, church planter and pastor of Redeemer City Church in Baltimore, “but now we’re asking God for the gospel to become a movement that spreads throughout the entire city.”
Pray for Send City Missionary: Adam Muhtaseb
Adam grew up in a Muslim family and was a follower of Islam until he was radically converted to faith in Christ as a teenager. Since believing the gospel, he has had a consistent vision for church planting. After Adam and Sherrie were married in 2013, Adam pursued his Masters of Divinity (M.DIV) degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated first in his class with a 4.0 GPA and was a recipient of the Joe B. Brown Preaching Award. They have three boys, Aiden, Judah, and Micah. Adam and Sherrie dream of playing a part in a city-wide movement of church plants within the neighborhoods of Baltimore. In his free time, Adam loves playing basketball and spending time with Sherrie and friends on their rooftop deck. He is also an avid reader, especially of Tim Keller books. You can follow Adam on Twitter and Instagram.
Send an encouraging word to Adam at:
Information gathered from North American Mission Board
Every Country:
Pakistan
Population: 255,220,000
Unreached: 35%
Christian Population: 2.5%
Pakistan is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations and one of the oldest centers of higher learning, dating back more than 2,500 years ago. In 1947, newly formed Pakistan went to war with India over the ownership of Kashmir land. Although the first war ended in 1948, the territory is still a major source of conflict today. More than 70 languages are spoken by Pakistan’s wide array of ethnic groups, though Urdu is the national language and English is used in business and government. Towering mountains in northern Pakistan form glaciers and deep valleys, and deserts cover much of the southwest and southeast. Its deserts and sandy beaches are hot and humid, while mountainous regions have cool summers and freezing winters. For generations, Pakistanis have enjoyed foods such as lentil curries, naan, and chai.
Though Pakistan has a large agricultural industry and a growing manufacturing industry, it is a lower-income country, with millions of people living in poverty. Pakistan is one of the countries most affected by terrorism, where attacks from armed militant groups have killed thousands, including students in schools targeted by the Taliban. Many people have been displaced. Though the government has taken steps to address extremist violence, it often fails to protect religious minorities, who face discrimination, attacks, and threats from extremist groups and local communities. Girls are often kidnapped and subjected to forced marriages. Monsoon rains and flooding along the Indus River cause landslides, destroy homes, and displace communities. Earthquakes cause widespread destruction, and heat waves and droughts lead to water shortages.
With a fusion of different ethnicities and languages, Pakistan’s national identity is strongly shaped by Islam. More than 95 percent of the nation identifies as Muslim, with the majority belonging to the Sunni tradition, and Pakistan is the second-largest Muslim-majority nation in the world. The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but religious minorities often face discrimination, legal challenges, and violence. Though Christians make up less than 2 percent of the population, they are one of Pakistan’s largest religious minorities, with significant communities in Punjab and Karachi. Christian converts and those born into Christian families face persecution from Islamic extremist groups, the government, and their communities. Many Christians worship in churches and smaller house gatherings, and Bibles can legally be printed and distributed, though sharing the faith publicly can be dangerous. Pray for perseverance for Pakistani believers and for Muslims and terrorist groups to encounter Christ.
- Pray for courageous faith despite fierce persecution.
- Pray for the lost to find security in Christ amid deep economic difficulty.
- Pray for defense for the vulnerable against extremist violence and oppression.
Information gathered at operationworld.org & prayercast.com
Unreached Peoples:
Arain (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan
Population: 10,364,000
Worldwide: 10,505,000
Christian Population: 0-0.1%
Main Religion: Islam
Sitting in a corner bench in the Lahore High Court, Wassim, a young Arain man, feverishly took notes on his laptop. Drops of perspiration were falling on the computer screen. The relentless Lahore summer heat and humidity didn’t spare even those within this Mughal-Gothic style building. Wassim’s father wished that his son would become as good a lawyer as he is. Wassim was eager not only to be a good lawyer, but also to reform Pakistan’s legal system.
The Arains are an agricultural caste that over the years has reached the echelons of lawmakers and politicians. Fabled to have come along with Muhammad bin Qasim, a Syrian Umayyad General, the Arains claim to have come from Areeha (Jericho, Syria). Claiming also to be of Arab descent, they pride themselves of “unbroken practice of Islam.” However, there are 19,000 Sikhs among them.
Today they primarily live in the Punjab, a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. During the time of the British Raj or rule, the Arains were chiefly employed to cultivate the land around the cities. They were favored over the other tribes because they were diligent in their work. They used their newfound wealth to further education, which has left them with a legacy of extensive contributions in the field of politics and the practice of the law.
The Arain people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.
The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.
Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.
In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.
Like all other peoples of the world, this people group needs the blessings and guidance that only Jesus Christ can offer.
- Ask God to raise up Arain who are more desirous to know the truth than to stay on the broad road to death.
- Ask God to send loving, committed workers to the Arain in the near future.
- Pray the Arain would no longer be hidden away from the influence of Christ.
Information gathered at joshuaproject.net