International (OM/MNN) — Islam is the second largest religion globally, with over 1.9 billion followers and almost a quarter of the world’s population.

Ramadan, a time of prayer and reflection for Muslims, has just started and will last until April 9.

Julyan, an OM leader, offers one point when confronted with comments like this from Christians, “When we look at the Muslim world, it seems unshakeable, and Muslims seem so hard to reach with the gospel. There are so few believers from a Muslim background, and those few have such a difficult time because of persecution. Surely praying for Muslims to come to faith in Jesus is a waste of time!”

You can use the OM Prayer Reach app (for Apple and Android) to pray for people groups in Muslim-dominant countries.
(Photo courtesy of OM USA)

He says, “These are lies to stop us praying! The truth is that our God is a mighty God, and he is powerfully working in the Muslim world today.”

For many years, Jesus’ followers have faithfully prayed for their Muslim neighbors to discover the love and hope offered by Jesus alone, and God is answering those prayers.

Abdallah, a doctor living in Egypt, wanted to become a follower of Jesus. Still, he could not openly confess his new faith: his wife came from a devout Muslim family, and his children were students at Al Azhar University, which trains Muslim missionaries.

Abdallah was moved to faith by a neighbor who, despite being poorly treated by others, never lost his temper and lived out Christ’s love as he helped others. Those actions inspired Abdallah to ask how his neighbor could be so different from others he knew.

During Ramadan, we invite you to pray with us for God to open the eyes and hearts of Muslims worldwide. God can use you to be the neighbor someone is searching for. Who is your Abdallah?

A couple of prayer points:

  • Pray for Muslim women to have opportunities to thrive and be safe. May they be given strength during their trials of inequality and injustice.
  • Pray for Muslims worldwide who go on their Hajj pilgrimage that they may encounter the reality and salvation of Jesus along their journey.

Here are a couple of ways to pray specifically for people groups in Muslim-dominant countries:

 

Header and story images courtesy of Operation Mobilization USA.