WORLD RELIGIONS FAMILY PRAYER SERIES
Welcome to the second (of five!) family prayer guides for world religions! Use this as a tool to help engage your kids in global intercession. Utilize components that work well for your family and don't worry about the rest! This shouldn't feel stressful, but an adventure into family prayer for the world!
Family Devotion: King Over All the World
“Tell the nations, ‘The Lord is king’...He will judge the people fairly” (Psalm 96:10 ICB).Wearing a purple robe. A golden crown set on his head. A scepter—a long golden staff—in his hand. This was a picture of a strong king in Bible times.
In today’s Bible verse, God is described as the mighty king. He reigns over all the earth. God is such a great king that everyone should praise Him by singing songs. They should tell the world about Him!
In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites asked for an earthly king like all their neighbors had. The problem was God was already their king. Their neighbors served fake
gods. God warned His children. What they were asking for would not make their hearts happy. By asking for an earthly king, the Israelites were rejecting God as their King. They wanted to do things their own way.
Psalm 96:10 tells us two things about God. Did you catch them? One, God is the King over all the earth. No else is the true King who rules the world but God.
Two, God will judge everyone fairly. He is never selfish. A good king makes wise decisions for His people, which is good for us. If we don’t see God as our good King, we may act like the Israelites. We won’t tell others about our King who makes wise choices for His people.
We can respond to God’s goodness by helping others know Him. Worshipping God is not only for the Israelites or those who attend church. Everyone—no matter how young or old—is invited to praise the King of heaven and earth! Our hearts will be happiest when we live under our mighty King.
When we accept God as our good King, we can’t help but tell others that Jesus is for everyone.
Islam Video
As a family, watch this short video (under 4 minutes!) produced by Pioneers (missions agency) for kids to gain insight about what Muslims believe.
Prayer Prompts
Carve out a few minutes–on the drive to summer camp, during breakfast, before bed–and lift up Muslims using the following prayer prompts (and add to this list with your own prayers!):
1) Pray for Muslims to recognize Jesus is more than a prophet.
2) Pray for Muslim women to have access to the gospel as some have less freedom to travel outside their home.
3) Pray for Muslims who become Christians to remain faithful to Jesus and find ways to share their faith with their family, friends, and community.
Activities
Below are some activities to see how religious beliefs intersect with culture.
1) Swing by the Weave website to meet Mahmoud from the Riffi Berber people who live in the mountains of the African country of Morocco, create your own designer bread like many Riffians, and learn two ways to pray for the Riffi Berbers.
2) Visit your local library and check out books from a country where Islam is practiced. Use this as a springboard to praise God for the diversity He's created around the world and pray for people who don't know Jesus yet. Consider using Wycliffe Kids Travel To Another Country printable worksheet to guide your research!
3) Grab dinner from a Middle Eastern restaurant.
4) Play Dinifri, a popular Moroccan kids game. Instead of having two groups of five, you can adapt it to have one family member defending while the others "attack." This game could easily be set-up in a driveway.
5) Create your own Moroccan Cactus Rock Garden! Once you finish, use the garden as a reminder to pray for Moroccans and other Muslims throughout the month.
Additional Resources
To keep digging deeper, here are resources to grow our understanding of different cultures where Islam is practiced. We want to openly talk with our kids about what others believe. For an overview of how to guide conservations about other religions with your kids, check out this Risen Motherhood article. As we increase our understanding, we can better pray for others.A Thousand Questions: Two girls who don't think they have much in common, discover they might not be as different as they think. When a Pakistani-American girl finally visits her extended family in Pakistan, she begins to understand more about herself. This middle grade book is a great way to learn about Pakistani culture and friendship. (Ages 8 to 12)
Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream: Pakistani-American Zayd dreams of becoming a basketball player even though his family wants him to play the violin instead in this middle grade series. (Ages 7 to 12)
King for a Day: Experience a kite flying contest with Malik as he protects another from a bully in this picture book. (Ages 4 to 7)
Meet Noor: A digital lesson about a Muslim boy and how his beliefs differ from Christianity (elementary kids)
Amal Unbound: Amal mistakenly insults the village landlord after his car hits her. Amal ends up as a servant in the landlord's household as punishment. With engaging characters and an intriguing plot, this book is a page turner! (Ages 9 to 12)
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition): Pakistani girl, Malala, stands up for what she believes and made a difference in the world. This makes a great audiobook for a road trip! (Ages 10 and up)
As you go about this month, remember to pray for Muslims! Be sure to come back next month when we learn about Buddhism.