According to Pew Research Center, there are currently around 1.8 billion Muslims globally. From April 23 to May 23 of 2020, Muslims around the world will be observing their month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, adherents to Islam will practice fasting each day from dawn until dusk as well as other forms of abstinence and self-control. It is observed “to detach from worldly pleasures and focus on one’s prayers.”
Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, many will be confined to their homes this year (see also here, for another example).
Have you considered using this time as an opportunity to pray for the salvation of Muslims? Could it be that, during this time when millions of Muslims are contemplating their own spiritual needs, Christ may be revealed to them?
Loving Through Prayer
For some, Christ may be revealed this Ramadan through the testimony of a trusted friend or acquaintance who happens to be a Christian. For others, it could be through a dream or a vision of Christ, as has been reportedly happening to many Muslims in recent years. Although we may not know how God will reveal Christ to each person, it is to this end that we should be praying for all people, including our Muslim neighbors, both far and near.
During Ramadan, pray for God to reveal Christ to your Muslim neighbors both far and near.
Here are a few suggestions that may help you take the step to pray intentionally for Muslim people groups and sects around the world.
1. Commit to praying for the salvation of Muslims each day during Ramadan
If you need help to do this, take a moment to visit the following websites which offer a wealth of valuable resources that will inform and encourage you in your prayer time:
- 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. This website also has a downloadable prayer guide that you can purchase for only $2.50.
- The Prayercast “Love Muslims” Campaign
- Crescent Project
- Lausanne World Pulse also has some good information and resources.
2. Challenge others to join you in this 30-day endeavor
So often, our prayer times tend to focus on personal or local needs. The further away from ourselves that something happens to be, the less specific and thoughtful our prayers become.
Could it be that God intends for us to develop new priorities or patterns of living during this pandemic?
It’s been said, “intercession is one of the most unselfish things we can do.” By joining this prayer cause, and recruiting a few others to join the effort, you can help to multiply the ranks of intercessors and the fruit that will come from our unified prayers.
Prayer and the Pandemic
This year, many of us find ourselves under quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are unable to go out and do many of the things we would normally be involved in. But prayer knows no boundaries. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we all have access to enter God’s presence where we can join with Christ in His ministry of intercession.
In 1 Peter 3:9, we read that God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Could it be that this is a season in our lives when God intends for us, as Christians, to develop some new priorities or patterns of living? And could it be that, for some of us, this will mean expanding our circle of prayer and intercession to embrace more of this world whom God loves and for whom Christ shed his blood?
