Friday April 21, 2000
This Week We Pray For: Muslims' Rejection Of The Cross

Today, we remember Jesus' crucifixion, the only means by which we have eternal life. Islam rejects the fact that Jesus died on the cross. The Qur'an states that He was never crucified and that He never died; rather God lifted Him up alive to heaven. Muslims reason that God would not let Jesus the good prophet die such an ignominious death on a cross for sins committed by others.

Muslims cannot see the seriousness of man's sinful nature, so they rule out the necessity of redemption. For them the cross is foolishness.

Prayer
O God, I pray for my Muslim friends who do not understand that Christ's death on the cross was Your supreme gift to sinful man. Let them realize that they are sinners in need of redemption. I pray for them, pleading that You will convict them of this serious sin of rejecting the cross. Help them believe Your Word and accept Your Gospel.

Show them the power of the cross that saves us from sin and transforms our lives from darkness to light and from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God.

Cause thousands of them this week, O Lord, to believe that Jesus died to redeem them from their sins and rose to justify them. Remove the veil from their minds. Open their eyes. Capture their hearts with Your love.

Promise
Jesus, ... for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame (Hebrews 12:2).

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).