I am an Oklahoman by birth, a Texan by current living situation, but claim the world as my playground.I love to travel and hope to someday soon take our family on adventures to far off lands, where we can share God with others and experience all the wonders He has created.
I am a mother of 5 crazy, homeschooling children ages 10 & under, wife to an amazing man, and daughter of the King of the Universe!I enjoy reading, making my kids laugh, cooking, all things natural, learning to play guitar and dusting off my piano skills.One day I hope to run again, but until then I’m learning patience.
As mentioned last week, this is the time of year when Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims throughout the entire world. This is the perfect time to be praying for Muslims to come to know the One true God and praying over our fellow brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith. It is also a perfect time for us individually to delve into resources that encourage connection during Ramadan and beyond with our Muslim neighbors!
Resources to Encourage Connection during Ramadan and Beyond
This life is all about building bridges so we can share Jesus with everyone! Several years ago, I heard a sad statistic. I would assume that it is still true and may actually be worse now. According to a speaker who came to our congregation to encourage us to reach out to Muslims,
Overseas there is 1 missionary for every 1 million Muslims!
The next statement that was made, convicted me even more:
Maybe that is why God is sending Muslims to the U.S. If we are to scared to go and share the gospel with them in their country, maybe God is bringing them here to hear his Good News!
Do we need more reasons to connect with the Muslims in our community than they need to know God? They are searching to know God better, and if God has put them in our path, He is probably answering their prayer through you.
Let’s not be scared to reach out and make a connection. Fear has no part to play when we are serving our Lord, but that’s a post for another day!
The Bible
Yep, the bible is always an amazing resource! Often times we overlook it for other resources, but this is the first resource we should always come to.
The Book of Acts
Especially for those who are scared to reach out, read the book of Acts and be encouraged by how the disciples prayed for courage:
“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” -The United Prayer of a Group of Believers, Acts 4:29
As you go through Acts look at these faith builders:
Read through each chapter and take note of how the Holy Spirit guided them.
Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you build connections to share God with others.
Read about how God intensely provided for those who followed Him with so much grace and mercy that even as they were being beaten for their beliefs, God protected their spirit!
Pray that God will enable you to share his good news with great boldness.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. -Jesus, Matthew 10:
The Book of John
Now, the book of John is a beautiful and powerful gift to give to Muslims with whom you are making connections. The Koran encourages Muslims to read the Bible, so gifting them the book of John will encourage their hearts in many ways and give them more detail about who God really is and how He loves them! The Koran speaks of Jesus but does not go into details and it’s truly the details that bring them to know the true God!
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God…
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1 & 14
Bridges: Christians Connecting with Muslims DVD Study
God loves Muslims. Muslims are not the problem. Muslims are many times the victim of a system that locks them in and they need to hear that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives.
I would encourage you to gather a group of believers together, maybe in your church or in your home, and prayerfully delve into this study. Ask God to open your heart to seeing how to make these connections and how to build relationships with your Muslim neighbors.
Seeking Allah, Finding God
This is a compelling biography that also details out the Islamic religion in a way that is easy to digest. Nabeel explains many of the rituals and celebrations including Ramadan in a way that will help us connect with the Muslims around us. This book is so well written that it draws you in and is difficult to put down.
Written by Nabeel Qureshi , he explains how he grew up in a loving Muslim family. How he learned from an early age how to love Allah and defend his faith. In his journey to find truth, he found Jesus. Much of this was due to a follower of Jesus who became his good friend. Over the course of many years, Nabeel, a devout muslim, and his Jesus’ loving friend were able to engage in open faith discussions.
Isn’t this what we want to do with everyone?
We want to engage in meaningful, respectful conversation that points people to Jesus!
Let’s continue to look for ways to share the gospel with everyone without fear, and as we have the opportunity let’s connect during Ramadan or other times with our Muslim neighbors in order that they may know God better!
I am an Oklahoman by birth, a Texan by current living situation, but claim the world as my playground.I love to travel and hope to someday soon take our family on adventures to far off lands, where we can share God with others and experience all the wonders He has created.
I am a mother of 5 crazy, homeschooling children ages 10 & under, wife to an amazing man, and daughter of the King of the Universe!I enjoy reading, making my kids laugh, cooking, all things natural, learning to play guitar and dusting off my piano skills.One day I hope to run again, but until then I’m learning patience.
You might be questioning why praying during Ramadan is so important. I did until I realized the significance behind the opportunity.
What is Ramadan? Why Praying During Ramadan is So Important?
Several years ago, I visited North Africa during Ramadan. I really didn’t think anything about it but realized quickly how this religious holiday impacted our travel or more so our ability to eat.
Ramadan falls during the 9th month on the Islamic lunar calendar and is considered by Muslims to be the holiest month. During Ramadan, Muslims give alms, fast, and pray during the day then celebrate with family and feasting all night. They do this for an entire month. So our expectation of finding a restaurant open to accommodate our hunger when we arrived in Morocco was sadly unmet.
As with any “issue” there is always opportunity.
Praying During Ramadan for Muslims Brings Hope
Ramadan begins today and ends roughly around June 14!
Yall, we have an amazing opportunity to be praying during Ramadan for Muslims who are hungry to know Allah better. They will be focused on prayer, giving alms, restoring relationships and pursuing the things of God. Many will be crying out to know Allah better. What better time for us to be praying that they would come to know Jesus as their personal, Lord, and Savior!
They know Jesus is a prophet. The Koran speaks of him in this way, but like Saul, we can pray that the scales will fall from their eyes and they will come to know the one true and living God!
You can pray a simple prayer for those seeking and hungry to know God to see Him for who He really is or you can follow along with this video series for praying during Ramadan. These video prayers are great. They may even give you more of a heart for reaching out to Muslims as well! Truly, this life is all about building bridges with others and then sharing Jesus too!
You can even follow this prayer and specifically pray over each aspect observed during Ramadan.
Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim, went a step further than praying during Ramadan while he was alive. He would fast and even participate in the feasts, which are open to non-muslims too. He would use these moments to build bridges of relationship like Jesus did. Read more about how he viewed this as an opportunity to reach out and love people to Jesus.
Praying During Ramadan for Our Fellow Brothers & Sisters in Christ
During the time of Ramadan, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ stick out like Daniel in his prayer window when it was forbidden to pray. They obviously do not take part in the Ramadan rituals, and are often exposed as Christians because they do not partake in the fasting or calls to prayer.
Due to their non-participation in these events, they are more likely to be harassed and discriminated against. Sadly, some radical Muslims will even take this harassment to the extreme and perpetuate physical violence or persecution against those who choose to follow Christ instead of Allah at this time.
Praying during Ramadan specifically for our brothers and sisters in Christ to be strengthened in their faith and for them to withstand any type of abuse they may receive just as Christ did is of the upmost high importance. We can pray freely and often through the next thirty days. May their strength and courage come from the Lord.
Let’s Grab Hold of this Opportunity
For the entire next month, we, as believers in Christ Jesus have an opportunity. An opportunity to not only be praying during Ramadan for Muslims to come to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ, but to be praying for the protection of our brothers and sisters in Christ ,who will be extremely noticeable as they do not partake in these celebrations.
Praying Over All Hearts
Lord, you are holy and the beyond compare! We pray for those who do not know you yet to come to know you fully and completely. We pray that they will see the amazing blessing that comes from knowing the Creator of the World personally. You are not far from us. You did not make us only to keep us arms length. Our sin has created a barrier between us but praise be to you, you sent Jesus, who took all our sins upon Him on the cross, so that our sins would no longer separate us from you! Thank you, Lord, for your immense mercy, grace, and love.
We pray that as Muslims cry out to Allah this month, that you will reveal yourself to them. May the scales fall from their eyes like they fell from Saul’s eye. May the come to realize that Jesus is more than a prophet but their salvation!
Lord, we also lift up our brothers and sister in Christ during this time. For their willingness to put you first in their lives no matter the cost, you are to be praised. We pray that their faith, courage, and trust in you will be emboldened no matter the discrimination or persecution they face. May they use these moments of facing their “enemies” as an opportunity to point them to you.
Lord, we pray that our faith will be emboldened too. May we seek you with such passion that there is no doubt where our treasure is stored. In the One who took on the sins of the world – Amen!
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