Prayer Fuel
The Dungan People
The Dungan are a Muslim group of Chinese origin living in 5 countries, with 75,000 living in Kyrgyzstan. They are quite self-sufficient, known for their farming, and living in isolated, tight-knit communities. They are extremely proud of their Islamic heritage and cannot imagine any other way of believing or thinking.
Exalting His Name
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. (Psalm 138:2, ESV)
Rejoicing in His Work
In the last two years, the books of Luke and John have been translated into the Dungan language in audio format. Five translators have heard the Word of God daily and have wrestled with the meanings of scripture, taking their work seriously. We praise the Lord that His word is being made available in the Dungan language for them to listen to and understand.
Praying for the Harvest
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 Corinthians 4:4)
The Dungan are becoming more and more entrenched in Islam and do not appear to be searching for truth. It is extremely difficult to have spiritual conversations with them as they seem unable to understand the differences of what Jesus offers by His sacrifice and the duties required of them by Islam. Please pray for the Lord to open their eyes to see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ. Please pray for a movement of Dungan bowing their knees to Jesus as Savior.
Praying for the Church
We know of perhaps 50 Dungan believers throughout Central Asia and there are no groups of Dungan believers meeting regularly for fellowship. The believers seem cautious for anyone else to know of their faith. Pray for boldness and for the believers to want to know and be known by others for mutual growth and encouragement.
Worshiping and Waiting
This time can be an opportunity to simply sit still, turn on a worship song and ask the Lord if there’s anything else he’d like you to pray for today for the Dungan People. You can write down, draw or sing anything that comes to your mind or heart.
Praying by Name
You can also pray for your three friends today from 2 Corinthians 4:4. Lord, please open ________’s eyes, remove their blindness, help them to see the light of the gospel and understand the glory and person of Christ.
Closing Prayer
Father, we pray for the Dungan people of Central Asia and ask that you bless the work of audio scripture translation. We pray for these scripture resources to be scattered broadly among the Dungan nation and that they would learn to love your word and to love Jesus. Remove the spiritual blindness of Islam and raise up believing leaders within the Dungan community who will lead many to salvation.
To read more about the Dungan, visit Joshua Project.
{With thanks to the workers who contributed today’s prayer fuel.}
