Revealing Ramadan - Sara

By Carol Pipes
Yesterday, I met a young woman named Sara* at a local college campus. I was with a volunteer team from Clarkston International Bible Church in Clarkston, Georgia. Using Soularium cards, we were engaging students in conversation about God and other spiritual matters.

Sara is from Syria but she moved here from Kuwait where most of her family still lives. She misses her family but isn't interested in moving back to Kuwait. When I asked her to describe God, she used words like beautiful, protector, giver of life. Interesting, I thought. I asked her if she attended church anywhere while at school. Sara told me that she was Muslim and attended a local mosque. She also told me she was observing Ramadan.

"I haven't broken my fast," she informed me.

With that, we ventured into a discussion about Ramadan and fasting. I asked her why she felt she needed to fast and how it impacted her life.

"I fast because it is tradition," she said. "It makes me more aware of those who do not have anything to eat. It also makes me feel closer to God."

I asked her if it was easier to observe Ramadan in Kuwait or the United States. "Oh, it's definitely easier to observe Ramadan in Kuwait," she said. "In Kuwait, everyone fasts. Here, there is much more temptation. There is food everywhere. Even in class there are students eating next to me."

She said that being able to overcome that temptation made her feel stronger.

I told her about the church and the ministries they provided to internationals just moving to the states and that perhaps her family members might check them out when they moved here.

She took a card with information and then was off to her next class.

We're about half-way through Ramadan. In the next couple of weeks, pray for Sara and others like her who are fasting.
Pray that God would reveal Himself through dreams and visions.
Pray that American Muslims who are discovering the living Messiah would become a source of life and inspiration for other Muslims in the U.S. and in their homelands.
Visit 30-Days Prayer Network for more ways you can pray.

*Name has been changed.

Call to Prayer

Imagine a Middle Eastern man breaking from his morning tea a few steps ahead of the dawn call to prayer. He shuffles peacefully down a sidewalk to join his friends and family. Imagine the sound of the muezzin, that man with impressive lungs who summons the Muslim community to five prayers daily toward Mecca.

In a Middle Eastern country he might stand on the minaret of the mosque pronouncing from on high the dawn, midday, middle afternoon, evening, and sundown prayers. In Dearborn, Michigan, the local muezzin has access to a loudspeaker, and even from a mile away you can hear his voice.

Imagine crowds of men and women in saris and scarves shuffling toward the mosque past local shops advertising Halal meat. They file in. Kneel on rugs. 

This is not the Middle East, but Michigan—a place where you expect hockey, industry, brutal winters, good old hardworking mid-America. Middle Easterners who’ve worked in the auto industry for decades fill many of the jobs that move the Michigan economy. Over 800,000 live in Michigan.

Muslims along with Catholics and Christians from Middle Eastern countries have settled the area bringing their religion and culture, but also a strong desire to “be American,” says one North American Mission Board missionary, who’s been sharing the gospel with Middle Easterners in Michigan the last five years. “They’ve come to America to be Americans.” The church has an opportunity to help with that and to share Christ as well.

Across the entire Islamic world, the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer five times a day: at dawn (fajr), noon (dhuhr), in the afternoon (asr), at sunset (maghrib) and nightfall (isha'a). On Fridays all male Muslims are expected to attend the noon time prayers at a local mosque. Today, Muslims will be preparing themselves for Friday prayer. This includes a ritual washing in order to be pure for prayer. 

As Muslims here in the U.S. and around the world prepare for Friday prayers and fast during Ramadan, pray that God would reveal Himself and that they would meet the true, living Messiah, Jesus Christ.

To find out more about Islam and how you can pray for your Muslim friends during Ramadan visit the 30-Days Prayer Network.

Prayer for the Muslim World

Ramadan begins tomorrow, August 11 and ends on September 9th. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is during this month that Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan. Muslims worldwide will rise early tomorrow morning and eat breakfast before the day begins. They will not have anything to eat or drink until nightfall. This will continue for the next 30 days. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and one of the highest forms of Islamic worship.

Over the next month, join us as we pray for our Muslim friends, neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances. 

Today, pray that God would prepare our hearts as we seek to pray for the Muslim world. Pray that God would give us a Christ-like attitude toward Muslims. Pray that all Christians would live out Christ's command to love others.

Islam Facts: The Five Pillars
The Islamic religion is lived out according to five main "pillars" which are obligatory religious practices for all adult Muslims. One of the "pillars" is the month of fasting (Ramadan) which is translated as "Saum" in Arabic
1. Reciting the Creed (Shahada in Arabic)- "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet."
2. Prayer (Salat)- Five times each day. Just before sunrise (Fajr), Noon (Dhuhr), Afternoon (Asr), Sunset (Maghrib), Evening (Isha). Prayer is, in this sense, an expression of submission to the will of Allah.
3. Almsgiving (Zakat)- Both obligatory and voluntary giving to the poor. The Qur'an teaches the giving of two and one-half percent of one's capital wealth to the poor and/or for the propagation of Islam.
4. Fasting (Saum)- Especially during the "holy" month of Ramadan. During the 30 days of Ramadan Muslims are forbidden from eating or drinking from sunup to sundown. After sunset, feasting and other celebrations often occur. The daylight hours are set aside for self-purification.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)- All Muslims who are economically and physically able are required to journey as a pilgrim to Mecca (in current day Saudia Arabia) at least once in their lifetime.

To learn more about Islam, visit 4truth.net.