Why Pray for Muslim Peoples During Ramadan

An invitation to pray during Ramadan

Praying for Muslim peoples during Ramadan means asking that people who live this month with devotion come to know Jesus, and that Christians have wisdom to share the gospel with love. It is an invitation to get to know, with care and respect, one Muslim-majority country and one Muslim people at a time. That is why Route of Nations offers the Muslim Peoples prayer campaign, which accompanies Ramadan.

You do not need to know Islam or have any experience praying for other countries. All you need is the desire to understand whom you are praying for and to bring these people before God.

Who Muslims are

Muslims are the followers of Islam, a religion that holds the Quran as its sacred book and recognizes Muhammad as a prophet. Indonesia and Pakistan, for example, are Muslim-majority countries outside the Arab world, as Pew Research Center data show.

There are also differences among Muslims themselves. Sunni and Shia are names of traditions within Islam, and not everyone identifies with one of them. Try to get to know each people for who they are, without assuming that all share the same customs or the same way of living the religion.

The country shows the national context; the people group brings together people linked by a shared history, language or cultural identity. Every name stands for real people and families.

Our desire is that the gospel be known also among unreached peoples, those with few churches and little access to the message of Jesus. In prayer, remember both those who do not yet know this message and the Christians who live among these communities. Ask God to give them wisdom to teach, to listen and to care for people.

Why pray during this season

Ramadan has a special place in the Muslim faith. According to Islamic tradition, it was in this month that the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad began. For those who observe it, it is a time of religious devotion, seeking forgiveness, prayer and generosity, with attention to reading the sacred book. The Muslim Peoples campaign walks with you through this season, so that your prayer happens alongside the month itself.

During the month, adult Muslims who are able to fast go without food and drink from dawn to sunset. The iftar, the meal that ends the daily fast, can bring families and friends together. Ramadan follows the Islamic lunar calendar and lasts 29 or 30 days, depending on the new moon; that is why it falls at different times of our calendar from year to year.

This is a good time to remember in prayer the people who live this month with devotion. As Christians, we ask that they come to know Jesus, forgiveness and the life he offers. We also ask God to teach us to treat our Muslim neighbors with respect, to listen to their stories and to speak about our faith with clarity and kindness.

God’s desire for people to be saved is the hope that sustains this prayer:

“who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:4, NIV

This desire guides both our words in prayer and the way we act. Ask that Muslim people have opportunities to hear the gospel and to ask questions about Jesus. Pray also that churches will welcome with care those who want to learn and will patiently walk alongside those who begin to follow Christ.

Pray with the Muslim Peoples campaign

Come and pray with us: sign up for the Muslim Peoples campaign and invite your church to pray for these peoples during Ramadan.