Eid al Adha is celebrated across the Islamic world by millions of Muslims. The basis of the holiday is the story of Abraham’s obedience to take his son to the mountain in order to sacrifice him. Abraham obeys but God provides a substitute, a ram to die in his son’s place. The Qur’an says, “And We [Allah] ransomed his son with a great sacrifice” (Surah 37:107). The cornerstone of the festival is the ritual slaughter of a lamb, goat, cow or camel by Muslim families. They do this not as a sacrifice to atone for sins but as a way to remember Abraham’s obedience. They don’t understand the significance of God paying the ransom of a great sacrifice. The echos of the gospel fill this story with the hope of salvation and yet they do not comprehend it. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).

Prayer Points

• Pray for Muslims to see the light of Christ in the story of God’s provision of the ram for Abraham.
• Pray that Muslims would begin to wonder about the Quranic idea that Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice. 
• Pray that God would give the Muslim people revelation to see that Christ’s death on the cross was the once and forever sacrifice that will save them from their sins and give them eternal life.

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For decades now, missionaries and Christians across the world have been documenting the stories of Muslim men and women who experienced significant interactions with God through dreams and visions. Many of these dreams and visions are experienced in countries closed to the gospel. Most often they share a common thread:

• “Jesus speaking Scripture to them, even Scripture they had never heard before.”
• “Jesus telling people to do something.”
• “A dream or vision that led to a feeling of being clean or at peace.”
• “A man in white physically appearing.”¹

Jesus told his disciples that when he was lifted up from the earth, he would draw all people to himself (John 12:32). Dreams and visions are just one way he is doing this.

Prayer Points

• Pray that Muslims would have dreams and visions that point them to Christ.
• Pray for Muslims who have a dream or vision to be connected quickly with a follower of Jesus who can explain the truth of the gospel to them.
• Pray for God to be collectively softening the hearts of all people to experience His great love and respond to His call to follow Him.

1. https://www.denisonforum.org/current-events/global/how-dreams-and-visions-of-isa-are-awakening-the-islamic-world/

^{Photo by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash}

One of the central features of any Eid al Adha celebration is family. Like Thanksgiving in the United States, Eid al Adha is a time with extended families gather to honor the religious traditions of the holiday but to do that together. Adult children routinely come home if they’ve moved away. The women work together to create great meals. The men sip tea and catch up on one another’s lives. The cousins play and play and play.

Throughout the scriptures God engages with whole families: Noah and his whole family get on the Ark; Abraham is promised a growing family; Jesus is born into a family, Lydia, the Phillipian jailer, Cornelius, Crispus the synagogue ruler and their whole households are saved. Some have said that when an individual comes to faith you have the beginnings of a disciple but when a whole family comes to faith - as is so often the case in the book of Acts - you have the beginnings of a church.

Prayer Points

• Pray for travel safety as many Muslims travel home to be with family in the next few days.
• Pray for God to bless whole families with the knowledge of the truth of Christ.
• Pray for new churches to spring out of family networks all across this country.

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All across the Muslim world, Gen Z young adults are questioning Islam. They are the first generation to grow up with unlimited access to outside information through the smartphones they carry with them. In one month, they can see more videos and stories about the problems with Islam, about Muslims who have left the faith and about other religions than their parents would have seen in an entire lifetime. If they have doubts, they no longer feel alone.

They are part of the greatest deconstruction and abandonment of faith that the Muslim world has ever seen. Some simply remain cultural Muslims, not knowing of any better alternatives. Others are leaving Islam to become atheists or agnostic. Still others pursue other religious experiences. Almost all of them are looking for truth. Leaving Islam however is not the same as repenting and coming to a saving faith in Christ. They need a credible witness to point them to that truth. 

Prayer Points

• Pray for all young adults to have a credible witness in their lives who can share the truth of the gospel.
• Pray for these young adults to lead the way out of Islam and into faith in Christ for their families and communities.
• Pray that as these young adults choose to follow Christ they become disciples who are making disciples, passing on what they know to others.

Photo by Robin Worrall on Unsplash.