Pray for Jakarta, Indonesia

Jarot is a university student in Jakarta, Indonesia. He came to the capital city from a smaller town in his island nation to study engineering, but he has found it a challenge. He struggles with being so far away from his family and community.

Like many Indonesians, Jarot grew up culturally Muslim, but was not particularly devout. He made friends with a group at university who were exploring a movement called hijrah. Hijrah is an Arabic word for a journey, sometimes interpreted as repentance, and the movement encourages people to adopt a more religious lifestyle, following Islamic conduct and rituals carefully. The hijrah movement has been endorsed by several Indonesian celebrities and has become popular among young people who are looking for meaning and purpose.

Rachel is part of the Christian minority in Jakarta. Her church in Jakarta has friendly relationships with local mosques, and she sometimes takes part in inter-faith meetings that they host on the campus. She met Jarot at one of these gatherings, where he was curious to learn about the Christian idea of repentance. Rachel prays he will want to learn more.

Indonesia is a secular democracy and most Indonesians support a pluralist society with Muslims, Hindus, Christians and others living peaceably together. Some are concerned that a movement like hijrah could threaten that peace. Islam is by far the dominant religion in Indonesia, in fact, it has the largest Muslim population in the world with 225 million Muslims. Jakarta has a slightly more diverse population, with 84{1ef34f8f1cacfdc6c19f5319e487deec2393c82eacea09a13da7feed1a24e305} of the residents being Muslim and 11{1ef34f8f1cacfdc6c19f5319e487deec2393c82eacea09a13da7feed1a24e305} Christian.

How to Pray

• Pray for freedom of religion and peaceful co-existence between different faith communities in Jakarta. (Romans 12:18)
• One quarter of Jakarta’s population is under the age of 25. Pray for young people looking for meaning and purpose to find it in Christ. (2 Timothy 2:22)
• Pray for Christians in Jakarta, to be wise and diligent in sharing their faith. (Colossians 4:6)

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