Prayer Fuel

Pray as the Lord leads you as you read today’s verse

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4) ESV

Praying with insight

Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, requires Muslims to donate a set percentage of their wealth each year to Muslim charities. The New Testament teaches Christians to give generously from the heart as opposed to a set percentage. Pray for the people of this area to be challenged by the contrast between a religious rule and a heart posture and to want to understand more about the “new heart” that the Bible teaches about. (Ezekiel 36:26)

For believers

As new believers follow the example of the early church’s generosity (Acts 2), may they believe their Father sees what is done in secret and not fall into old patterns of trying to win the love and favor of God. Some believers who have come out of Islam may be paralyzed by remembering the past requirements and want to break free from obligatory giving to win points with God. Pray that each believer will give and will know they are already loved, already forgiven. Let them give freely before the eyes of the Father.

For the lost

When the burden of trying to give enough is too heavy, when the need to appear righteous seems tremendously important but impossible, may those who stagger beneath these loads come to the cross. Let them take up the yoke of Jesus, who sees the heart and walks beside them. We pray, God, that these precious ones will know the living God sees them and that they will hear the truth from believers.

For the church

Lord, we pray for Your church to repent from hypocrisy. Whenever Your children fall into giving as a way to be seen by others, let them be grieved by their sin and humbly confess it before others. May they be generous and faith-filled, knowing that you see and there is no need for others to see. Strip away the idol of affirmation and make each one live to give the Father joy.

For areas of influence

Places of Government

Ask God to convict government leaders who only do ‘righteous’ deeds to gain favor with the electorate.
Pray for Islamic government leaders to be convicted of their own hypocrisy and for it to lead them on a journey to Christ and begin to read the Bible.
Pray for Christians in this region to model giving in secret to the needy and for it to challenge and convict those who accidentally find out these humble ways.

Declaration of the scripture

May the same words be true of reproducing churches and disciples in this region as was written about the reproducing church in Macedonia:

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of [this people], for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord…” (2 Corinthians 8:1-3) ESV