Prayer for the Muslim world: As Ramadan nears, some challenges of fasting for 30 days
By a former missionary in the Middle East —
Muslims revere the 30 days of fasting known as Ramadan because they believe that during this month many years ago, Allah began revealing the Quran to the prophet Mohammed.
During this month, from before sunrise until after sunset, Muslims are supposed to abstain from food, drink, and other pleasures. More specifically, the fast runs from the time when you can tell the difference between a black thread and a white thread, until the time when you can’t tell them apart.
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is something that all Muslims are supposed to do every year to earn the favor of God. Though there are supposed to be exceptions from fasting for those who are traveling, have a medical reason/condition, or are pregnant, elderly, or too young, there is pressure on everyone to fast.
Yet we have known many Muslims who never make it past the first or second week. Some people come right out and admit it, and others try to hide the fact that they are not keeping the fast. For the spiritually sensitive Muslim, this can create a fair amount of anxiety or disquiet in their hearts—to earn God’s favor, they have to keep the five pillars, yet they are not fasting.
You might compare this to keeping a New Year’s resolution; many people start off well-intentioned, but end up breaking their resolution in a week or 10 days! But this isn’t just about starting a good habit or stopping a bad one; this is about trying to secure salvation, so failure can produce feelings of guilt or fear. This situation can open the door to taking about our assurance of salvation in Jesus, not in what we have done to earn it, but in what he has done for us!
Indeed, this could be a great month to interact with Muslims and talk to them about why they fast and what God requires of them. You could talk about times you have fasted and about how God has led or spoken to you though his Word. However, let me also caution, if someone is truly fasting, during the day he or she will be very hungry and thirsty, and as a result, possibly not so patient or understanding, at least not until after the evening meal at sunset.
Praying during Ramadan
As you pray during Ramadan, I encourage you to use the 30 Days of Prayer guide. These guides offer helpful information about Muslim people groups (only 20 percent of which are Arab) and about Ramadan and Islam in general. Consider them a good investment, as they also can be used throughout the year to guide your prayers.
Please do not forget the 10/10 prayer initiative . 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 praying for the following requests?
- Ramadan in countries that are hot and humid is very difficult and hardly any work gets done, especially in government offices. Pray for our workers to have wisdom and discernment during this month in all that they do and say.
- Pray that Christians around the world would seek to learn more about Muslims and love them more, too!
- Even though more Muslims have come to Christ in the past 30 years than in the previous 14 centuries, 80 percent of Muslims don’t know or have never met a Christian. Pray for more workers to go out and reach out to Muslims, both in North America and abroad.
- Pray for more workers to come from non-North American or Western countries. This will bring challenges in finding resources to support them, so pray for that, too!
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Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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