I promise I’m almost done reflecting on this book. Once done, I will go back and finish up Economics in One Lesson. There were still a few chapters I never got to, and I don’t want to miss out. Especially in an election year. If we learn to think economically, we will see the disaster that is Clinton, Obama, and McCain.
And Huckabee, in my opinion.
So there. I’m reviewing Secret Believers and I’ve already told you there is no one to vote for at all, which has nothing to do with this book.
What fun.
Anyhow, as I mentioned before, a lot of Brother Andrew’s approach to the Problem With Islam was what I would consider typical: love your neighbor, do good to those who persecute you, etc. But there were a few things, like the morality issue, that stood out as either unique, or better articulated than I had ever heard before.
One of these was the idea that the persecuted church in Muslim countries has requested that we pray with them, rather than praying for them:
“Please pray with us. Many times I’ve told the church outside, ‘Don’t pray for us. Pray with us.’ Can you see the difference? If you pray for me, you will pray for my safety and my prosperity. No, just pray with me for the Muslims to know Christ.”
The interesting thing to me is that the latter will necessarily bring about the former. What I mean is, if the Muslims come to know Christ, the church there will no longer suffer persecution. It will prosper. It will be safe. It will thrive and it will grow.
To me, this was a profound thought. I think that, whenever I have prayed for the persecuted church or missionaries from our church that are struggling in difficult countries like Turkey, my prayer has always been for their safety, protection, prosperity. I forgot to pray for their work. For converts. And yet conversion is the real victory.
So I’ll say it again, as a reminder to myself: pray with, not for.
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