By a former missionary in the Middle East — “Please Abdul,” I said. “Come to our Thanksgiving party.”
Thank you, he said, but he didn’t think he could make it.
I repeated, “Please come and bring your whole family. Do you need a ride? I will bring a van, how many will come?”
Finally, he agreed with a big smile. “Yes, we will come, we will all come!”
As we took Abdul* and his family home later that night, they thanked us many times for including them in the celebration of Thanksgiving. We took the opportunity during the party and the car ride to pray and mention the things that we were thankful for, especially the goodness and mercy of God, and the fact that God will forgive our sins—if we ask him to do so.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, we will pray and look forward to seeing how the Holy Spirit will work in this family’s hearts and will lead us into additional conversations in the future.
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Last month, we encouraged you to reach out over the holidays to your Muslim neighbor or colleague. If you have never invited a Muslim into your house for a meal, then we want to challenge you to do so before Christmas! Pray about it and ask the Lord to lead you and to prepare the heart of the person or family that you are considering inviting. Then step out in faith and invite them!
Most Muslims will not visit you unless invited, and many times you have to invite repeatedly, as they think you are just being polite and may decline so that they are not an imposition. This is an important cultural nuance to consider. If I were inviting a North American, I would probably ask once and then let them decide. But if I had taken that approach with Abdul, we would have missed out on celebrating Thanksgiving with his family! We need to remember that non-North Americans—especially Asians, Central Asians or Middle Eastern folks—need to be invited multiple times, so that they really know that we want them to come to our house or event.
We also want to consider ways to avoid unnecessary stumbling blocks when we are interacting with Muslims. First impressions do last, so we can start off on the right foot by being considerate and mindful.
If you have a party and run out of food, it is considered embarrassing for you and shameful for your guests. Plan ahead and stock up. It is always better to have too much than to not have enough. If your Muslim friends come to your house unannounced at another time, it doesn’t matter as much. Just share whatever you have (although, just in case, we always try to have extra cookies or a cake in the freezer or cupboard). But if you invite someone over or have a party, then you must make sure to have plenty.
If in your discussions you speak out against the prophet Mohammed, you might make your point or perhaps win an argument, but you will probably lose the opportunity to ever share with them again. Let the Holy Spirit work in their hearts and pray for their eyes to be open to the truth. As the true light shines in their hearts, it will eventually reveal and chase away all darkness.
How will they know that you are a spiritual person if they don’t see evidence of it in your life? Your prayer doesn’t need to be long or even in their first language. Just ask if there are things that you can be praying about for them—and pray right then about those things.
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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. SEND International has committed to fast and pray the first Friday of every month. Will you consider joining us?
• One of our team leaders had heart surgery late last month. Pray for full healing and that this surgery will not prevent his participation in an important training event later this month.
• Pray for clear communication of the gospel message as missionaries around the world hold programs and parties for Muslims this month. Pray that many Muslims would understand and be drawn to the true meaning of Christmas.
Your prayers launch missionaries out to unreached peoples and give them success through the power of the Holy Spirit. Subscribe to Intercede & SEND, our monthly global prayer calendar.
• Download a free bookmark with daily themes to help you pray for your missionary friends and their children.
* Not his real name
