[Jesus said:] “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name’” (Matthew 6:9). I recently met with one of our young Persian congregants. He works seven days a week and can only occasionally come to church but wants to stay in touch. He asked whether we might go to KFC, which we did. I chuckled when he ordered (for himself) a family-size bucket with 18 pieces plus sides. Oh well, a growing boy… He had, of course, grown up Muslim. During our meal he told me about his childhood in Tehran, also mentioning that his mother used to pray religiously. “How can you know whether someone prays regularly?” you might be thinking. “Prayer is a private matter, and you do so silently, maybe even while walking or driving. There’s no way to tell…” True, but that would be a Christian point of view. In Islam, prayer is a relatively public matter, even at home, because you lay out your prayer mat, face Mecca in Saudia Arabia (which you locate using a special compass or app on your phone), and do the prescribed supplications—some out loud. In other words, it was very apparent to the whole family when Mom prayed. But then, about 15 years ago, she stopped praying, my finger-lickin’ friend explained. In a recent video chat, he asked her why she had quit praying back then. “I can’t really give you a reason,” she replied. “It just wasn’t important to me anymore.” That is a stunning statement because for observant Muslims daily prayer is a requirement, one of the five Pillars of Islam that you must fulfill to hopefully be deemed worthy of paradise when you die. But you can never be sure about your salvation. That is why so many Muslims are nervous about what Allah will hold in store for them. As Christians we know that our salvation is secured—not because of our good works here on earth but because He paid the price for all of our sins and bestowed upon us His righteousness. And praise God, we have constant access to the Father through Jesus Christ, who even gave us the perfect prayer to use anytime or any place. No compass or apps required.
The Tiews in Germany 