The rolling deserts, the camels laden with gifts, the wise men traveling from the east. They remind most of the Christmas story, but they remind me of the Middle East where our family spent so many lovely years.  

We were in Saudi Arabia which is a land filled with gold, frankincense, and myrrh but is missing the greatest treasure of all, the newborn king, Emanual God with us. 

One of my fondest Christmas memories was sitting in my living room with a group of Saudis who had in in that very year come to Christ. After eating a huge feast, reading the Christmas story together and singing a few songs we began to discuss family traditions that are practiced during the holiday. For some it is trees, stockings, or nativities, for others perhaps family feasts and presents. We shared with them a tradition our family started in order to make the focus of the room the nativity rather than the tree.  We would hang lights covered with angels and stars and then below it place our nativity (from Bethlehem, we would place different parts of the story around the room, so that we could share the whole Christmas story form our decorations. They thought it was interesting that we didn’t have to have the same tradition as everyone else but we could think about what Christmas represented to us. We then began brainstorming with them about how Saudi believers can celebrate in a uniquely Saudi way the birth of Emmanuel God with us. 

I would like to ask you to pray with us for the Saudi people who have much wealth but are in such need of the greatest treasure of all.

PRAY FOR SAUDI

Watch this great 5-minute Prayercast video as you pray for this country: https://prayercast.com/saudi-arabia.html 

• Let’s thank God for the reforms that are happening in Saudi Arabia, allowing new opportunities to share the good news.  
• Pray for the harvest workers currently ministering in Saudi and for more workers to go and lead a new generation of Saudis in the kingdom of God. 
• Pray for the Muslims who attend the Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage) in the search of how and forgiveness to encounter Jesus who can forgive all their sins and bring eternal life. (Click here to watch a short film of a Turkish man Hajj)
• Pray for Saudi believers who are meeting together, to behold in their witness, and to know strength and joy in persecution.