DAY 137: Prayer Focus: Jordan

DAY 137

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Twenty – Wednesday 29 July 2020

Prayer Focus: Jordan

As this column has evolved over time, I began awhile back to use the prayer or Collect for each Sunday from the Book of Common Prayer. This will continue. A few weeks ago our focus for the week was prayer for the world and I referenced a resource, Operation World, for such a personal engagement. Now I am adding a ‘country focus’ each Wednesday, whatever country appears in that book on the given date. Today it is Jordan.  

While Sunni Islam is the state religion, religious freedom is guaranteed. Jordan is 96% Muslim and just over 2% Christian with the largest groups being Orthodox and Catholic. Evangelicals are a tiny minority. These minorities have minimal contact with Muslims when it comes to evangelism. A Christian population once almost 7% of the population is now just over 2% due to emigration, discouraging local churches who feel the loss. Congregations also tend to be older.

PRAYER CONCERNS

+ Steady drain of potential leadership who emigrate. Ask God to raise up strong leaders.     

+ Outreach to Muslims is minimal. Pray for believers to gain a heart for their conversion.

+ Unreached groups with no meaningful Christian witness, in addition to the Muslim majority:      

    millions of Palestinians, large Bedouin and Gypsy groups. Pray for evangelists to reach them.

+ Iraqi refugees in refugee camps: pray for open doors to allow Christian aid groups in to serve.

+ Pray for Christian TV coming from Cyprus that the Holy Spirit will use it to reach lost souls.

+ A few Christian bookstores exist: pray that the Holy Spirit will use literature to touch lives.

+ Pray that the small number of evangelical churches will learn to work together in outreach.

For the full country profile and prayer needs for Jordan go to operationworld.org.

Jesus’ Prayer Request each Wednesday:“’The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38.

Reflective question: Will you pray each day this week for the church in Jordan?

Reflective Scripture: 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord…is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance.”

Reflective hymn:

“Rescue  the Perishing” – Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)

Rescue the perishing; care for the dying. Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave.

Weep o’er the erring one; lift up the fallen. Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Rescue the perishing; care for the dying. Jesus is merciful; Jesus will save!