Prayer for Aceh

Meditate on John 17:20-26

20  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—23I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24  “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25  “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.26I have made you  known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Prayer Prompt

In Indonesia you have to declare your religion on your ID card. Indonesia recognizes 6 religions only: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. In Aceh there are 35,000 people who have Catholic or Protestant on their ID card. None of these 35,000 people are from the 11 people groups that call Aceh home. They have transmigrated from other tribes from other regions of Indonesia that are traditionally Christian.  Unfortunately, it would be a stretch to call most of these God-fearing, church-going, bible-believing Christians. Most were born into Christian homes and traditions, but few have ever been discipled. Tragically, many times the “church” in Aceh is very broken and very immature.  There are 158 registered churches in the province of Aceh.  In many cases it is difficult for the churches to work together and many fight over lots of different secondary issues. Currently on average there are 1000 Christian background persons converting to Islam every year. At the same time, we celebrate those faithful followers of Jesus in these churches. Many times, they face intense persecution. There is work underway to mobilize, unify and partner with these churches and believers to take the good news to their unreached neighbors. 

Prayer Points: 

• Pray that the Holy Spirit would fall fresh upon the body of Christ in Aceh. Pray for those whose ID card says Christian, but who don’t know Jesus yet, that they would believe for the first time.  Pray that those who do believe would know who they believe in and be convicted to obey His word.
• Pray for unity, that His body would become unified. Pray that the Achenese would know that they are His disciples by their love for one another.
• Pray for disciplers. Pray for God to raise up disciples within His body who will obey Him (Matt 28:19-20), that they would become disciples who obey, who make disciples who obey. 
• Pray that the church of Aceh would have God’s heart for this people and this place. Pray that they would seek first His kingdom, His will, His way, and be broken for Aceh’s lost as God’s heart is.
• Pray for strength for the church in Aceh, for them to stand strong through the storms of persecution. Pray that love for the enemies would be real in Aceh.