As part of the 10/10 Prayer Initiative, 180 agencies have come together to ask God to draw to himself 10 percent of the world’s Muslims in the next 10 years. 10/10. Easy to remember, yet such an amazingly big task that only God can do it. Will you join us?

By a former missionary in the Middle East — Before the month of fasting called Ramadan starts, Christians can prepare to pray during this holy Muslim holiday. 

Prepare to pray

It is especially important that Christians join together in prayer for the Muslim world before and during this special month. To help you pray, I encourage you to order “30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World”. The prayer guide contains general information on Islam and focuses in on a selected country or people for each day of the month. 

As the prayer guide notes, during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world will be seeking to earn God’s favor by fasting from sunrise to sunset. They also believe that their prayers gain more merit during this season, thus many Muslims will spend more time praying at the mosque. Let’s pray that the one true and holy God would shatter their prayers in a dramatic and amazing way and call many to himself through visions or dreams!

Prepare to participate

I also encourage you to ask your Muslim neighbors and colleagues if you can join them one evening during Ramadan for an Iftar meal—the breaking of the fast at dusk. You might think this is strange, but hear me out. Many Muslims break their fasts publicly; if you join them, it will give you the opportunity to meet other Muslims.

It also will give you the opportunity to ask them why they fast. Many times this will begin an interesting conversation, and the question probably will be asked of you: “Do you fast, too?”

This, of course, could become an awkward question, if you are not prepared. But if you start thinking and praying now about this whole issue of fasting, you will be ready to give an answer.

You might consider praying and fasting yourself for a day or days, as the Holy Spirit leads you, as a preparation for your interactions with your Muslim friends. Ask God to quiet your heart, and perhaps you could read and meditate on passages such as Isaiah 57:14- 59:21; Matthew 12:7, which quotes Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:8; and Luke 10:25-37. These passages all talk about our faith lived out and our attitudes toward God and neighbor. I would encourage you to keep your conversation within these safe topics and to stay away from controversies and accusations.

By the way, the Iftar meals usually are specially prepared and very delicious! Bring along some fresh fruit or dates as a gift and your hosts will be grateful.

10/10 prayer requests

• SEND workers who live among and reach out to Muslims are especially in need of prayer as they prepare to share with their colleagues, friends, and neighbors this coming month.
• Ask that God would provide necessary monthly finances and visas so that workers can focus on reaching out to neighbors.
• Several workers sponsor summer camps for children and young people. Ask that God would provide the resources and wisdom for planning the camps this year and that God would bring just the right campers to hear the messages presented this year.
• Most of our fields are short of workers. Pray for hearts to awaken in our churches to the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit and for many to step forward and ask how they can serve in the Muslim world.
• Pray that each conversation with Muslim friends and neighbors during the coming month would be seasoned with grace and mercy.

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