Hope and Grace for Kurds

There is always hope for the Kurdish people, Lord.

The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is God's gift, not by works, so that no man can boast."

God, the Kurdish people are so accustomed to working for their salvation. They are slaves to Islam, and they are slaves to the cultures that rule over them. They are slaves to division, political wars, and global fragmentation. They are a people without unity, and they need a fresh word from your Spirit.

Father, rain down your Spirit upon the Kurdish people and give them hope in a world that divides and conquers them. Give them hope and lead them to the cross where alone they can find peace, joy, and happiness.

All the Kurds I know are unhappy. They put on a good show of joy in Islam, but they are not happy. They have questions about their own religion, but cannot show weakness or doubt. They want to know more about Jesus, but they're afraid of asking in case someone thinks they are converting.

Please, God, release the Kurds from the darkness of their prison. They have been imprisoned for centuries, and they have lost sight of their origin in Christianity from Acts 2. Help me to witness to my Kurdish friends, and continue to raise up Kurdish people who will be saved and witness of Christ to their own people. I love you God, and I want the Kurds to know the love you have shown me. I entrust my friends and their people to you, O Mighty Warrior from Heaven!

A Core of Kurdish Christians

God of Heaven and Earth,

God who has made all that exists,

God who loves and God who hears,

God who is with us,

God who sent His Son to die for sinners,

God who raised His Son from the dead,

God who is returning in the sky at the end of time,

Thank you for life. Thank you for teaching me about love. God, thank you for helping those in need. Thank you for caring about orphans and widows. Thank you for creating beautiful things in life like marriage, community, and friendship. Thank you for your plan to rescue all rebellious sinners who are willing to repent.

Father, I pray for the Kurdish people. I love them so much. I love the Kurds for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons of all is because of how amazing they are as a people group. God, they are smart, beautiful, creative, kind, and giving. I see so many of your character traits reflected in them as a people. I see your love in them in the way that parents love their children. I see Jesus Christ in them because He was rejected and despised wherever he went, and the Kurdish people have been rejected and despised wherever they try to live. I see your love for unity in them as a people because deep, deep down, away from all the global politics, they want to be united as a country with their own homeland.

Save these people, God of heaven! Save them and let them hear your Gospel. I am but one man crying out to you on behalf of these people who are so far from you, yet reflect you in so many ways. They will be cut off from you forever if they don't hear the good news in a way that they can understand it and receive it. I pray this in Jesus' name for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Prayer for Receiving the Gospel

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this new day. This day is one more day when Jesus has not yet returned for Judgment Day, which means my friends, the Kurds, have another day to trust in your name. They have another day to hear your Gospel and believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the true King of Heaven!!!

You write a story in Mark 4 that scares me when it comes to my friends receiving the Gospel. In Mark 4: 11-12, you say, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been granted to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables so that,
'they may look and look,
yet not perceive;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand;
otherwise, they might turn back-
and be forgiven'."

Father, I pray for the Kurds in my city that you will open the doors for them to look and to perceive. I pray that you will help them listen, and when they do that they will understand. God, we both know that it is not enough to look and listen, but to receive the Word planted in our hearts, and my final prayer is that you will help the Kurds to turn from their sins and be forgiven.

You know my heartbeat is for our Kurdish friends to know you, to trust in you, to seek your face, to turn from their wicked ways, to hear from heaven that you might heal them. God, I believe that you can do anything, and even though I feel like the world's worst evangelist, I know that you are the best hope the world has, and you can take the world's worst evangelism and train him to be bold and courageous for you. Give me strength and a courageous heart to share freely with my Kurdish Muslim friends that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and the only hope for true freedom for their people.

I know you want the Kurds to come to know you God. Otherwise, you would not have delivered so many of them from the attempted genocide enacted by Saddam Hussein. Thank you for delivering them out of their homeland to America where they might have a chance to hear your Word. I thank you that you care, that you know what it is going to take to get your Word into the hearts of the Kurds who are so defensive because they have experienced decades and centuries of persecution. Break down the walls, and plant the seed of your Truth from the Gospel of Jesus Christ into their hearts.

I pray these requests knowing you alone have all the power, all the love, all the resources, all the authority, and all the strength to grant my requests. I am not the first person to beg you to save his Kurdish friends, but I add my humble voice to all the prayers offered up believing that prayer is the greatest power you give a humble creation like me. I love you, Lord Jesus, and I love the Kurds. Continue, blessed God of heaven and earth, to allow them opportunities to hear the word, understand what it means, turn from their wicked ways, and receive your forgiveness. I ask in the name above all names, the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, Amen.

Opening Prayer: God knows me. God knows the Kurds

Heavenly Father,

I thank you for this opportunity to pray for the Kurds. I dedicate this blog to your glory, God of Heaven and Earth, because you are the only one worthy of praise. You are the only one worthy of trust, love, or allegiance. So I begin this humble prayer ministry by confessing that you are the only true God. You are the God who created the earth and hand-shapes each human being in all of human history. You are not the false god of Islam or Buddhism, Hinduism, or all the various cults that the world can offer. You are Yahweh Elohim Sabba'oth, LORD God of the Heavenly Host. You are the God who send your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross, and you resurrected Him from the dead that He might represent those who are saved to you, Father God.

I pray for the worldwide population of Kurds. Lord, you know I have many Kurdish friends, and you know that I love them. You know, of all people, that whatever love I have for them cannot begin to compare to the love you have for them, and I pray that somehow, some way, by the power of your Spirit and the love of my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, that they would all have a chance to hear your Gospel, repent of their sins, and believe in you. I pray this prayer, not knowing if I will even see one of my Kurdish friends know you in my lifetime, but believing that you are the miracle-working God of the Old and New Testaments. I love you Lord, I love the Kurds, and I will serve you and them as long as you call me to love them. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.