The Five Pillars

These pillars are part of a Masjid, Muslim place of worship, in Southern Aceh. Pillars are important, because they help to hold up the structure of the building. If the pillars are faulty, then the whole structure becomes unstable. Construction in Indonesia is not known for its neatness nor durability. It is very common to see structural failure when serious storms or earthquakes test the quality of the building.

In the same way, the structure of spiritual beliefs are only as stable as the pillars on which they are built. Muslims build their faith on five pillars of belief – the confession, prayer, giving alms, fasting, and pilgrimage. 

It is believed that adherence to these pillars is mankind’s only hope of appeasing God’s wrath over sin. Every good action creates a certain amount of value or merit before God. Every bad action also creates a sin-debt. It is hoped that the good deeds, called amal, will pay for the bad deeds. In this belief system it is impossible to know if your good deeds balance the bad.

Pray for God to reveal His truth to the peoples of Sumatra so they will build their spiritual life upon a solid foundation.

Pray for spiritual insight for the peoples of Sumatra so they can determine the structural integrity of the pillars of their faith.

Pray for God to use storms to shake up the assumptions of the peoples here and awaken them to their need for Him.

The Principle Problem

This man is a principal in a national elementary school among the Serawai people. He shared that the biggest need in his school was for technology to give the students an opportunity to learn how to access the information available on the internet. His school is too poor to afford computers and projection equipment to help teachers expose the students to today’s normal technology.

The worker who was visiting the school suggested that fostering a love of learning and giving the students a vision to dream big was even more important than exposing them to technology. If the students love to learn and have a dream, they will learn whatever technology they need in order to succeed. After all, technology will never solve the deepest problems of the soul.

The greatest need at the foundation of all needs is for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He alone can solve the problem of sin and forgiveness. He alone can give power needed to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. He alone provides meaning to every dream that man might seek to attain. All dreams are empty unless they are built upon a solid foundation. Jesus is that rock-solid foundation. The principle problem of the Serawai is that they are, by-and-large, building on other foundations that will turn out to be shifting-sand in the end.

Pray for believers living among and near the Serawai to be bold in sharing the Gospel clearly and broadly.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of many Serawai to realize their sins and the inability of good-works to pay for their sin-debt.

Pray for teachers among the Serawai to have wisdom to foster of love of learning among the children.

Virtual Prayerwalk for the Lembak

Invest 5 minutes in praying for the Lembak - https://vimeo.com/132906183.

Casting the Net

Many of the peoples of Sumatra earn a living from fishing. This Kluet man is net-fishing in the river. The small fish that he is searching for are often dried and sold at the traditional markets all over Aceh.

Fishermen understand hard work, perseverance, and uncertainty about the results. It is possible to work hard all day and not catch a single fish. It is also possible to work part of a day and get a big catch of many fish. The catch is outside of the fisherman’s control, but one thing is certain, if he never casts the net he will never catch anything. Casting the net is his part; getting the catch is God’s part.

When Jesus walked the earth He picked several fishermen to be His companions in ministry. The characteristics that make a good fisherman also makes for a good fisher of men. Workers on Sumatra have experienced the hard work of casting the Gospel net without a single response. It can be discouraging work, but man’s part is to cast the net by sharing the Gospel. God’s work is to bring the people to saving faith. When workers faithfully do their part, they are expressing faith that in His time God will most certainly do His part.

Pray for perseverance and obedience for workers on Sumatra to keep casting the Gospel nets all over this diverse and spiritually dark island even when the results are disappointing.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead workers to people prepared to hear and respond to the Gospel all over Sumatra.

Pray for believers, especially for new believers, on Sumatra to have the courage and boldness to become fishers of men.

Komering People Group Profile

“No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?” (Job 41:10, ESV).

The 450,000 Komering pride themselves on being descended from fierce pirates. To this day tribes surrounding the Komering are fearful to travel through Komering areas at night because of frequency of outsiders being robbed or beat up. A traditional Komering greeting can roughly be translated, “I’ll kill you!”

Most Komering live along the Komering River in South Sumatra. They often work as rice farmers and raise small livestock. Their lands also contain natural resources such as gold, nickel, diamonds, uranium and coal. They have forests that provide lumber and rattan.

The Komering have an uneasy blend of animistic and Islamic beliefs. They are greatly influenced by Islam, but still have great fear of demons and often consult shamans to treat the spiritual causes of sickness. Many outsiders are fearful of them, so few believers are bold enough to venture to share the Gospel with them. There are over 100 Komering believers but no indigenous Komering churches.

Pray that:

Believers living around the Komering will overcome their fear and boldly share the Gospel.

Komering believers will be grow in the faith and be bold to witness and holy in the way they live.

Deep conviction of sin will fall upon the hearts of the Komering, especially the Komering men.

Komering believers will not fall into the syncretistic tendency to combine animistic beliefs with their beliefs about God.

New Komering believers will be successfully gathered into a truly indigenous church that will rapidly multiply.

Komering believers will be obedient to follow Jesus.

The Lord of the Harvest will thrust out many workers into the Komering harvest field.

Photo from a beach near Muko Muko