One of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers is, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work.”[1] As I look back on almost 50 years of following Christ, I‘m disheartened by how many times I still lose sight of the fact that prayer is not preparative, equipping me for the greater work. Starting April 24, 2020, you have an opportunity to join brothers and sisters from around the world to participate in this greater work. For thirty days there will be a global movement to give specific attention to pray for 1.9 billion Muslims during the month of Ramadan.
Why pray for Muslims during Ramadan?
According to the Islamic Network Group’s website, Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an. They fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of learning self-control, gratitude, and compassion. Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion. During Ramadan, Muslims spend extra time re-reading the Qur’an and performing special prayers.
Why are Muslims Turning to Jesus?
In the twenty-first century, God has graciously been drawing thousands of Muslims to Himself during the month of Ramadan. In fact, more Muslims are becoming followers of Jesus in this century than at any other time. This phenomenon led David Garrison to do some research. He shared some of his findings in an opinion piece in Newsweek titled “Why More Muslims are Turning to Jesus.”
Garrison’s article called attention to reports describing large-scale conversions of Muslims declaring their faith in Jesus towards the end of 2010. These reports persuaded Garrison to give the next three years to travel a quarter of a million miles. He traveled from the coastal countries of West Africa to Indonesia to study this phenomenon. His conclusion was that there was no doubt that this historically unprecedented Muslim movement to Christ was a reality. Garrison’s next question was why?
There was no single factor to explain these movements. In fact, Garrison described it as a “melange of factors producing the climate ripe for large-scale and widespread conversions.” Garrison believed that increased prayer for Muslims was one of the key factors he could not ignore, even though this facet did not fit his empirical research. To explain, Garrison stated “Yes, I know this may seem unempirical, and yet I could not deny the uncanny coincidence between the twenty-five-year history of a global prayer movement for Muslims called ‘30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World.’”
My prayer is that you would join this movement. Encourage your church, your friends, and your family to join in. This is for the glory of Christ among the nations.
To find out more, go to 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. You also might find the following resource from Prayercast helpful: https://prayercast.com/love-muslims-home.html.
[1]My Utmost for His Highest, October 17.
