I don’t know about you, but I find myself often thinking of the Middle East as some far off land where people are so different than me. The Middle East is far away from America geographically. Most of the people are followers of Islam. The cultures and food are very different. And for the most part, we don’t even speak the same language.
But if we think about the people of the Middle East as members of our global humanity created by God, we really aren’t that different. For us, sometimes Islam can seem so “other” and unknown. But if we understand the root behind Islam, namely spiritual blindness and worshipping of a false god, then we quickly see that we aren’t all that different than our Middle Eastern friends. Unbelief in the true God of the Bible holds the same destiny, regardless of what religion a person holds to.
Today’s country is Syria. There are approximately 20 million people living in Syria, and 92% of the population is Arab. Since 1973, Syria has been a secular state, but Islam is the majority religion with over 90% of the population identifying themselves as Muslim. The minority religions have some religious freedom. While there are some people who claim Christianity in Syria, most of that population is within the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Protestantism is a small minority.
Ways to pray:
- Currently, missionaries are not allowed to live in the country. Pray that God would open doors for pastors and missionaries to bring the Gospel to the people of Syria.
- There are many unreached peoples in Syria. Many are either unresponsive to the Gospel or have no known Christian presence among them. Pray that they would know the name of Jesus and see him as the only true way to God.
- Pray for the Protestant churches in Syria. They are a minority and very small in number. Pray that they would be equipped to evangelize their Muslim countrymen and be equipped to disciple new converts.