Prayer Fuel
Day 1 - Eid al Adha
Eid al Adha is celebrated across the Islamic world by millions of Muslims. The basis of the holiday is the story of Abraham’s obedience to take his son to the mountain in order to sacrifice him. Abraham obeys but God provides a substitute, a ram to die in his son’s place. The Qur’an says, “And We [Allah] ransomed his son with a great sacrifice” (Surah 37:107). The cornerstone of the festival is the ritual slaughter of a lamb, goat, cow or camel by Muslim families. They do this not as a sacrifice to atone for sins but as a way to remember Abraham’s obedience. They don’t understand the significance of God paying the ransom of a great sacrifice. The echos of the gospel fill this story with the hope of salvation and yet they do not comprehend it. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).
Prayer Points
- Pray for Muslims to see the light of Christ in the story of God’s provision of the ram for Abraham.
- Pray that Muslims would begin to wonder about the Quranic idea that Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice.
- Pray that God would give the Muslim people revelation to see that Christ’s death on the cross was the once and forever sacrifice that will save them from their sins and give them eternal life.
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
– Genesis 22:11-15
Photo by Filip Filipov on Unsplash
