The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage required of all Muslims who are able. During the 3-day event, around 3 million Muslims from all over the world flock to Mecca (Saudi Arabia) to perform sacred acts and follow the steps of Muhammad, their prophet. This year, the Hajj will start on September 21st and last for 3-4 days.
Muslims participate in the pilgrimage and rituals of Hajj because it allows them to seek forgiveness for their sins; however, even the Hajj is not a guarantee of forgiveness. Muslims know Jesus as Isa al-Masih, a prophet recognized by Mohammed; but to speak of him as Savior or as God is blasphemy to a Muslim. The city of Mecca itself is forbidden to all non-Muslims.
Christians around the world pray for Muslims during Hajj (similar to prayers for the Muslim world during Ramadan). This is a time where Muslims making the pilgrimage are sensitized to spiritual matters. Some have had visions of Isa al-Masih during this time - proof that God is still breaking through to Muslims even as they seek to earn forgiveness from someone who is not God. A prayer guide for the Hajj, from Praying Through the Arabian Peninsula (PTAP) is attached. Please join us in prayer!
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and one of the harshest countries in the world for Christians. Ranked #12 on Open Doors' 2015 World Watch List, Saudi Arabia is defined by a purist version of Islam called Wahhabism. Practice of any other religion is forbidden, and conversion to another religion is punishable by death. According to the World Watch List, radical Islam finds a breeding ground in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi funding of terrorism abroad is the main source of Sunni terrorism in the world. Converts to Christianity from Islam face the risk of being killed or abused by their own families. House churches are often raided by the religious police.
Saudi oil money funds a worldwide propagation of Islam through aid to sympathetic countries, building mosques, sending missionaries, distributing literature, and funding of Western educational institutions with the condition that they must build a center for Islamic studies. The Saudi government denies Christians the liberty to share their faith, but expects Muslims to be granted this liberty elsewhere.
All Saudi citizens are officially Muslim and it is impossible for a non-Muslim to gain citizenship. However, the large expat population (more than 30 percent) includes Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. It is not permissible to practice any form of religion publicly, other than the government-sanctioned interpretation of Sunni Islam. Despite this, there are a number of secret Saudi believers – perhaps even a large number.
September 23 is the annual Saudi Day of Prayer, this year coinciding with the final day of the Hajj. We invite you to join in prayer on this day for the country of Saudi Arabia, as well as for Muslims on the Hajj.
Prayer Guide for Hajj: Hajj2015US.pdf
Operation World: Prayer for Saudi Arabia: http://www.operationworld.org/saud
World watch list prayer for Saudi Arabia: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/saudi-arabia/
Comments
The power plant of millions of muslims giving a sacrifice of prayer to Al Lah, alias Vishnu the destroyer, gives the demons a huge amount of demonic power to use against us and for us. We need to use deliverance against all that sacrifice power. Five times a day, each Muslim gives a sacrifice of worship poses and prays for all Muslims three times, even the ones they intend to kill some time in the future! The Humanists and Marxists don't appreciate the spiritual power in Muslims and Christians.
Hajj, Day 3 (September 23)
Father, as many Muslims leave Mecca today, please keep them safe on their journeys home. Please fill their hearts with an emptiness, their minds with questioning over whether their sins are truly forgiven, and their spirits with a desire to know for sure that they are forgiven. Raise questions for those who came to Mecca seeking forgiveness. Reveal yourself to them in ways that challenge their beliefs and that cause them to long for you.
Many, Lord, will return to places where they can come into contact with the Gospel. Please arrange divine appointments with your children, and grant your children the wisdom, sensitivity, and discernment from your Spirit to effectively share the Gospel with them. Bring your Word to them through the internet, through media, through any means that can reach them. Draw entire families to yourself as you did with the jailer in Philippi. Make this journey to Mecca the turning point of their lives and a step toward true eternal life.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Hajj, Day 2 (September 22)
Father, please disturb the hearts of Muslims who are seeking forgiveness from Allah today. Disturb them with a lack of peace, with the knowledge that there is no forgiveness for sin outside of Jesus, and with their need for a true Savior. Penetrate the walls they have built up over years of trying to earn salvation and break through with the truth off your grace.
Reveal yourself to those who are staying up all night to pray - reveal yourself through dreams and visions, and call to yourself many Muslims on the pilgrimage. Meet with these Muslims and let them experience you in the ways each one needs in order to know the truth and be drawn to Jesus.
In His name. Amen.
Hajj, Day 1 (September 21)
Father, please watch over the many Muslims in their travels to Mecca. Reveal yourself to them in dreams and visions. Cause them to ponder Isa al-Masih and lead them to Your Son. Have mercy on them by keeping them safe and healthy on their journeys.
Reveal to these Muslims that purification for sins can never some through our own actions - pilgrimages, rituals, sacrifices, or any others. Show them that true forgiveness comes only through Jesus, the perfect Sacrifice - the once for all sacrifice.
In the name of your Son. Amen.