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TechnoratiChristians around the world will begin a 30-day prayer campaign for Muslims on Monday that coincides with Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.
(Photo: AP Images / Hassan Ammar)Saudi women buy dates, at Unayzah market around 400 km north of the capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday Aug.31, 2008, a day before the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, declared tomorrow to be the kingdom’s first day of the holy month, during which Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until dusk.
Thousands of people speaking more than 30 languages in countries around the world are expected to participate, according to Mission Network News, one of the organizers of the effort.
"I believe whole-heartedly that the only way to reach the Muslim world is through a concerted prayer effort,” said MNN's executive director Greg Yoder. “That's why we're getting behind this effort.”
He added, “So many Christians won't witness to Muslims because they don't know anything about them. This could be the first step in gaining that understanding."
MNN has worked with Youth with a Mission, the main organizer of the effort, for three years in a row to promote the campaign. YWAM has offered the prayer guide on its own for the past 17 years.
This year, Ramadan begins on Sept. 1 and ends on Sept. 30. During this period, Muslims will fast and pray, trying to realign their lives with Islamic teachings. They will try to make peace with those who have wronged them, strengthen ties with family and friends, and avoid wrong actions, thoughts, and words.
Meanwhile, Christians taking part in the campaign will go on a month-long prayer walk aimed at opening a way for Muslims to learn about Jesus Christ the Savior.
Prayer participants will use the 30 Days Muslim Prayer Guide by YWAM to learn about Islam and Islamic communities around the world. The 30-page guide will take readers around the world each day and provide several prayer points related to that day’s subject.
Paul Filidis, director of communications for YWAM, said besides educating Christians, the campaign also is “expanding our ability to love.”
“As you pray for people, you get God’s perspective, God’s heart, and it’s hard not to have a certain love for them that transcends the headlines,” he said.
Filidis believes that prayers must have played a role in Muslims that have come to Christ through dreams and visions.
According to estimates, there are more than 1.3 billion Muslim around the world.
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