The annual Muslim commemoration of Ramadan ended Saturday but not without Christians praying for their Muslim co-workers and neighbors. Followers of Islam observe it as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. Whether during the observance or the entire year, Christians can lift Muslims up in prayer.
Lifeway Research says there are five ways Christians can pray for Muslims:
• Pray for the general well-being of Muslim-majority nations. Because of geopolitical realities, we are often tempted to view these nations as adversaries. While that may sometimes be true of our respective nation-states, we would do well to make distinctions between governments and people. Muslim people are our neighbors, and one way to love our neighbors is to ask God to be kind to them and secure their general welfare. Remember, God sends rain on the just and the unjust. Praying in this way will soften our hearts toward those we are often conditioned to look on as enemies.
• Pray for the discontent of Muslims. Many Muslims come away from Ramadan disillusioned. Some miss the nightly feasts and the crowded mosques, while others feel guilty about their failures to keep religious habits either during or after Ramadan. Ramadan, as false worship, cannot bring contentment. This is good, not because we want our Muslim friends living discontented lives, but because we want them to seek what can truly satisfy their souls: Jesus Christ.
• Pray that Muslims would experience the joy and life of Christian community. There is genuine joy around the table at a Muslim iftar meal. Family and friends laugh and tell jokes and stories; the food is wonderful. All of this is a common grace gift from God, and we should be thankful for it. But vibrant Christian community exhibits what the best gathering of non-believers can never offer: a group of people at peace with God and one another, the true joy of having their sins forgiven and the real presence of the Spirit of God indwelling them.
• Pray for Muslim-background believers in Jesus. Ramadan often is a time of great spiritual warfare for these brothers and sisters. THe pressure increases after Ramadan. Being outnumbered — a few thousand believers compared to tens of millions of Muslims — they experience doubts about their salvation. Pray for God to uphold them with his mighty right arm and sustain them in the face of doubts and scrutiny.
–Alan Goforth
