Fruitful Practices for Muslim ministry — Priority of Prayer, Courageous Witness

December 2020

By a member of SEND’s Diaspora | North America team — As we enter this Advent season, we may wonder what lies ahead. This has been a crazy year, but God is still on the throne and this year, like every other, we should enter the Advent season with anticipation and a new opportunity to see the coming of Christ with the wonder and grandeur that it deserves. May you still seek to find ways to talk about this amazing event with your Muslim neighbors, colleagues, and friends—Immanuel, God with us!

This month, we conclude the 8 Fruitful Practices review by looking at Priority of Prayer and Courageous Witness.

Priority of Prayer

Too often, we fall into the pattern of being busy doing ministry with our hands and feet and we minimize the value of prayer. No, we don’t usually come right out and say prayer isn’t important, but it quietly slides lower down our ministry to-do list. There are at least three reasons to keep prayer on the priority list as we reach out to share Christ with Muslims:

Scripture commands it. Look up the following passages for a sampling of instances—Deut. 4:7, 1 Sam. 12:23, Luke 18:1, Acts 6:4, Eph. 6:18, 1 Thess. 5:17.
The power of answered prayer in sharing the gospel is life-changing. Muslims have required prayers in Arabic; since only 20% of Muslims worldwide are Arabic speakers, there are many Muslims praying in a language that they don’t understand. As Christians, we pray in our own native tongue to the Lord of Hosts, and he understands us. When we pray with expectation that God will hear our prayer and respond, people are often amazed. In fact, it can be a key factor in their path to faith. Because Muslims pray to earn God’s favor, they are pleasantly surprised to learn that prayer is meant to be a conversation with God, not just to God. One Muslim family shared that the Christians who were interacting with them prayed as if they knew God.
It is a great model for new believers. Actions speak louder than words, and if new believers see and hear you give a high priority to prayer, then they will do the same. If they see you neglect prayer, then there is a high probability that they will do the same.

Courageous Witness

We are all about sharing the gospel, right? So, why do we need to have our last fruitful practice be Courageous Witness? First of all, most of the “easy” places on our planet have already been reached with the gospel, and the places that remain can present challenges (to put it mildly). We have to be willing to go to places where we are not welcomed with open arms, but where people still need to hear the gospel presented in a way that they can understand.

Secondly, Satan is the master of deception and a champion at discouragement. He will find ways to deceive us and keep us from sharing boldly for Christ wherever we are located. Fear of being rejected and ridiculed creeps in, and then we risk not following that prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray or share with someone. Even though we and our message of hope, grace, and mercy might be rejected time and again, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us find the strength to press on. We are not in this work for accolades or favorable ratings, we are seeking to share the gospel—the Good News that Jesus died for sinners to redeem them from the curse of sin and shame. Jesus says in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Thirdly, we model our faith for the next generation. If we are fearful, then the next generation of believers will probably be fearful, as they will learn from us. Let us live and lead with boldness and courage, sustained by the same Lord who spoke to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Prayers for the Muslim world

10/10 prayer challenge: Pray for 10 percent of the Muslim world to come to Christ in the next 10 years. Join with Christians around the world who are seeking God’s face for this miracle.
Pray that Christ-followers will live out our faith in visible ways, so that those we are sharing with have no other understanding, but that to know Jesus is to speak of Jesus.
Pray for missionary families and singles on the field who are still struggling with COVID-19 issues and limitations.
Ask the Lord to give each of us wisdom and creativity to share his truth and light with the nations.

Read about other Fruitful Practices: Language Learning & Reputation Building and Using Social Networks & New Scripture Formats, Storying & Intentional Reproduction.

In an unreached area of Russia, two Muslim people groups live side-by-side, neither one with a significant gospel witness. But God is on the move in that place! Even during COVID, people have come to know the Lord, and several new believers are preparing for baptism. Come join our team as we join with the Spirit through evangelizing and discipling. Click to learn more!

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