Ramadan Starts Today!

We hope you'll join us over the next 30 days as we pray for Muslims and the Middle East during the holy month of Ramadan. It's a time of increased spiritual awareness, where Muslims are encouraged to spend more time in prayer, reading the Quran, and fasting from sunrise to sunset every day. 

Three parts of Ramadan

Ramadan can be divided into three 'ashras' (the Arabic word for ten), which each have a different spiritual focus: The Days of Mercy, the Days of Forgiveness, and the Days of Refuge.

The Days of Mercy

These next 10 days are the days of mercy and heavenly rewards, during which Muslims seek Allah's mercy and endeavour to show mercy to others. It is believed that Allah is more inclined to show mercy during these 10 days, and any good deeds or acts of charity are multiplied. Perhaps as you pray, you would consider fasting alongside Muslims for a day or two?

Points for prayer over the next 10 days:

• Some Muslims use these first days to reflect on their lives, say sorry for their sins, and commit to making a new start. This is an ideal time to pray that they would have an encounter with God!
• Pray that as Muslims spend more time in reflection and prayer, the Holy Spirit would draw near to them and reveal God's true nature - as one who shows mercy all year round.
• During the month of Ramadan, the spiritual atmosphere can feel closed and dark. Pray that people will find freedom from spiritual oppression.
• Prolonged fasting can start to make people feel frustrated and tense! Pray that in their frustration, they would cry out to God and that he would hear them.
• Muslims believe that fasting during Ramadan can 'fill the gap', and redeem all their bad deeds from throughout the year. Pray for them as they try to redeem themselves, that they would realise they can't do it by themselves but need Jesus.
• Thank God for the increased focus on giving to charity at this time - but pray that people would also see that it won't buy them salvation.
• Muslims don't just fast from eating during Ramadan, but also try to control their negative emotions and actions. Pray that they would realise they can't achieve perfection in their own strength, but need the Holy Spirit.
• Please pray for our teams in the Middle East as they show love to those around them during Ramadan.
• Please remember Dina in your prayers, a woman who volunteers with our Gulf team. She is a Muslim, but is becoming more and more receptive to the Gospel. Read more about Dina and ways to pray for her >

Join us on the 5th of June to pray through the next ashra of Ramadan! And don't forget to download your Ramadan Prayer Guide to remember to pray for Muslims every day.