Prayer Beads

This necklace-like strand of beads was photographed in a mosque in Jambi, Indonesia. It’s used like a Rosary. Each bead represents a name of God that highlights His wonderful attributes. There’s a famous Arabic proverb that states, “Only the camel knows the 100^th name of God.”

It’s interesting that many religions have similar systems to allow their adherents to focus during a prayer related ritual. The Buddhists and Hindus have similar practices. The problem with all of these systems is they can quickly become ritualistic and lose the meaning that they originally helped people to focus on.

Every good religious practice has within it the seeds of ritualism. Many Muslims believe that if they faithfully recite the names of God, it will bring them blessings and protect them from evil. Prayer itself has become a magic charm to get God to do whatever the person desires. If believers are not careful, this tendency towards ritualism can enter into Christianity as easily as it does into other world religions. We have the same tendency to view prayer as a means to use God.

Pray that believers who are focused on praying for the peoples of Sumatra will not fall into the trap of ritualistic praying that has no passion and no meaning.

Pray that Christians on Sumatra will be set free from traditional rituals that no longer have meaning, or whose meaning has become inconsistent with God’s Word.

Pray for those praying to a God they don’t yet know to meet with believers who can introduce them to Him.