It was the middle of the month of Ramadan, and it was hot in the Central Asian country we were living in. We were out shopping for materials to make a set of clothes. As we walked into the next open shop, we looked around but saw no one. A fan was running in the back, rotating 90 degrees in an endless motion of back and forth. We called out and said hello, but no one answered. We assumed the shopkeeper had just stepped out for a minute, so we continued looking for materials around the shop.
Suddenly, down one aisle, we saw a pair of legs on the floor, poking around the corner. Our hearts stopped in our throats. We rushed to see what had happened and if the man was ok. Thankfully, he was fine and sound asleep on a mat on the floor! It was his way of coping with fasting on hot summer days. In all our excitement and relief, we inadvertently woke him up. He rose and yawned, asking if he could help us. Later on, we realized that many shopkeepers in our city did the same thing during those hot summer days.
This year, Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, will be from March 10 to April 8. During this month, Muslims fast from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. In the past, they used white and black threads to determine when the fast started and stopped. In the evening, when you couldn't tell the difference between the two threads, fasting was over for the day. In the morning, when you could tell the threads apart, the fasting would begin. Today, most Muslims have an app on their smartphone that tells them when to start and stop!
Ramadan has an intense, highly anticipated start, with almost every Muslim able to participate in the fast. Mosques are full of people at prayer times, faithfully reciting their prayers, as Muslims believe that all prayers said during Ramadan are worth more than any other time of the year. Prayers said specifically during the night of power, which occurs sometime during the last ten days of the month, are equal to prayers good for 1000 months! It isn't known which date is actually the night of power, but tradition holds that it is most likely the 27th day of the month, which will be on April 5, 2024.
Muslims are supposed to use this month for reflection and meditating on God's word, giving extra to the poor, and doing acts of grace and kindness. Many break the fast each evening with communal feasts, joining with family, friends, and neighbors. Interestingly, more food is consumed during the month of fasting than at any other time of the year. After eating, the men head for the mosque to offer evening prayers and mingle with friends and neighbors. Ramadan is truly a community event.
Your Ramadan experience largely depends on your social status. Living in a Muslim country/community and watching the month unfold around you is interesting. It is much more difficult for the poor and working-class people than those with means. If you are poor, you have to work all day to earn your living, no matter the heat or how long the day is. If you are wealthy, you have air conditioning, and many will try to flip their schedule and sleep during the daytime and stay up eating and visiting others at night.
Stores will do the same and open much later in the day and extend into the evening. Many restaurants will be closed all day and only open for the evening. Some restaurants close for the whole month, and the owner will go on vacation! Travelers, pregnant women, the sick, and children are exempt from fasting, so those who can travel will often do so during this month.
However, after the first week or so, the excitement wears off. For many Muslims, Ramadan becomes similar to New Year resolutions—earnestly followed for a week or two, then dropped. Many will pretend to fast, but what happens behind closed doors is another story. Here in the West, many Muslims, especially new immigrants, cling to their religious beliefs because it is the only thing they have left. They have lost everything else. In fact, you have immigrant Muslims being "better" Muslims and following Ramadan more closely here than they did in their home countries.
Ramadan can be both a difficult and a good time for ministry. You will have to take into account that some Muslims will be sleepy or still asleep even until noon and change your visiting times accordingly. They will want to be hospitable and offer you tea or coffee, even though they will not drink with you. We usually refrain from drinking or eating around Muslims during this month unless we are visiting in the evening after the fast has broken. We encourage you to participate if you are invited to join for an evening meal to break the fast.
Building bridges of friendship is key to sharing your heart with them. I would also challenge you to study what the Bible says about fasting and be ready to enter into a discussion of what true fasting could look like. Ask them why they fast, and perhaps share passages from Isaiah 58 and 59 or Matthew 6:16, and discuss what they mean.
We continue to pray for the Muslim world, especially on the first Friday of each month, hence the timing of this newsletter. We are seeking the throne of God and pleading for 10% of the Muslim world to come to Christ in 10 years—a remarkable prayer for a remarkable people. More Muslims have come to Christ in the last 30 years than in the previous 14 centuries! I and many others firmly believe this is due to the outpouring of prayer for the Muslim world over these last 30 years.
The prayer guides can be purchased and downloaded or ordered from this site. Be careful when ordering, as the PDF file looks very similar to the printed copy.
Another helpful guide to help you pray is the Prayercast videos found here; if you sign up, they will send you a different video each day during Ramadan about different Muslim countries and people groups.
Feel free to ask others in your church, small group, or Sunday school class to join you in special prayer for the Muslim world this month. Muslims pray more during Ramadan than any other month for revelation and direction. Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to answer their prayers with dreams and visions that point them to the True and Living Hope, Jesus Christ.
Pray for Christians living and working in Muslim countries during Ramadan. Pray for protection and grace, as tempers can get short when people are hungry, tired, and thirsty.
Pray for peace in the Middle East. It is a complicated situation, and many people are suffering. There are Christian churches in Gaza that are caught in the middle of this crisis. Each day, they need our prayers for wisdom, grace, and strength.
Pray for Muslims in the West to see the grace-filled lives of Christians and be able to interact with them. Most Muslims have never met a true Christian. We pray that this changes in our cities and towns in the West as the church reaches out with love and grace.
