Who or what do we turn to for protection?

PRAYING FOR MISSIONS
February 2021
By a member of SEND’s Diaspora | North America team —
We entered her new apartment and looked around. It was beautiful—a vast improvement over her previous rental with leaky sinks and broken doors. But an image located in a prominent place on the wall caught my eye. I had seen it in her run-down old house; it was one of the few things she brought with her when she moved to this new, fully furnished apartment. The flat, circular, royal blue tile resembled an eye, with a smaller white circle and a black dot in the middle.
I asked her what it was, and she kind of laughed and said it was just a pretty wall decoration. But when I asked again if it had meaning, as I knew it did, she became serious and said it was to keep the evil spirits away and out of her house.
Many Muslims place a variation of this blue/turquoise eye in their homes, in their vehicles, and sometimes as necklaces on their children to ward off the evil eye. Muslims fear the power of the evil eye, which they feel can enter the home or the life of a family, especially a child, when someone looks with jealousy at them, or even when a guest gives an honest comment about something pretty in their house.
I told our friend that Jesus is more powerful than the evil spirits and that when she feels afraid, she can call out to him to save and protect her and her family. She said thank you, but she wasn’t quite ready to take it down yet. Habits and beliefs deeply ingrained in her mind and soul have journeyed with her across the many miles from her homeland to her new home in North America.
I have seen this blue eye painted on trucks in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and swinging from the rearview mirror of taxicabs from Turkey to Uzbekistan. Variations of this pretty blue tile are for sale in all central and middle eastern countries, as well as here in North America. But it is not just a decoration. It is a reminder that the fear of the spirit world is very real to much of the world’s population, and it is also a reminder to Christians to acknowledge that felt fear and to be ready to provide an answer through the name and power of Jesus Christ.
For example, we can tell the story of the time when a man with an evil spirit tried to challenge Jesus. Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, commanding it to be quiet and leave the man—and it did. Luke 4:36 says all the people there were amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
We believe and pray to the Lord of heaven and earth and he loves us with an everlasting love. Oh that the Muslims of our towns and communities would come to know and trust this Word of God, who calls out and casts out demons, to set free the sons and daughters of Abraham.

10/10 Prayer Initiative
Join with Christians around the world who are praying for 10 percent of the Muslim world to come to Christ in the next 10 years. This is no small ask, and we implore you, on Christ’s behalf, to pray that Muslims will come to the one who can deliver them from fear and bondage to the evil one. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Pray for:
  • Missionaries trying to find a balance of ministry and family life in the ongoing challenges of a COVID world.

  • Churches around the world and in our home towns to continue to find ways to meet and share the Good News of the Kingdom to their communities.

  • Christians in America to bring a message of reconciliation and grace to a nation deeply divided. May it be a testimony to those watching from the outside.
Ministry among Muslims
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Additional Posts

By Erin Brown July 2, 2025
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By Diaspora North America June 29, 2025
March 7, 2025 Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it in less than a week? On March 1, 1.8 billion Muslims began their annual fasting month called Ramadan. They are supposed to fast completely—no water or food—during daylight hours from March 1–Mar 29. It begins with much fanfare, promises, and declarations, as fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims believe that faithfully keeping the fast ensures one’s place of favor with God. But many Muslims won’t be able to keep the fast through the whole 30 days. The reasons and excuses are myriad. Sometimes they will continue to claim to be fasting, but in reality, they are eating behind closed doors. To gain God’s favor, they must fast through the whole month, not just part of it. So, they live with the guilt and shame of not fulfilling the requirements of Islam. What was supposed to help gain their salvation now stands in condemnation. A Feast Within the Fast To complicate matters even more, Persian New Year’s Day is March 20, right in the middle of the fasting month. Persian New Year is one of the most important cultural holidays for most Iranian and Afghans, as well as many others with a Persian background scattered throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. In fact, many people with Persian heritage don’t just celebrate on one day. Their New Year’s celebrations extend over two weeks! How do they reconcile these two weeks of festivities within Ramadan? For Arab Muslims, it is a non-issue. But for the Persian world, it IS a struggle. The hard-core Taliban will try to push people to keep the fast. However, many will lean more towards keeping their more ancient pre-Islamic traditions of New Year’s. I would encourage you to take time to explore with your Muslim neighbors and colleagues why they fast. Then share why Christians fast. Perhaps read Isaiah 58 with them, summarize it, and ask for their thoughts on this passage. One more thing to note during Ramadan is the Night of Power. Each year, during Ramadan, on or about the 27th day of the month, there is a special time called the Night of Power. This year it will happen on or around March 26. Muslims believe the Night of Power is when Mohammad first received the revelations of the Quran from the Angel Gabriel. Prayers offered up by Muslims during Ramadan—especially prayers in a mosque—are believed to be weightier than prayers at any other time. However, prayers on this special Night of Power, prayed in a mosque, are considered infinitely more valuable than any other prayer. Many Muslims will stay up all night praying on the Night of Power to earn extra points with God. There is a small problem in all of this, though—Muslims can’t agree on which night is actually the Night of Power. It is sometime during the last ten days of Ramadan, with tradition stating that it is on the 26th or 27th night. There are several resources to help Christians and churches pray for the Muslim world through this month of Ramadan. I would encourage you to connect with some or all of them. Please make others in your church aware of these resources. Perhaps you could even host a special prayer time at your church, utilizing these resources. Ramadan 30-Day Prayer Guide Booklet – This can be purchased as a hard copy or PDF. Prayercast – A wonderful website with many videos on the Muslim world. If you sign up, you can receive daily prayer videos that also work great during a Sunday worship service to help raise awareness of the need for prayer for the Muslim world.
By Erin Brown June 25, 2025
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
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