bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Fasting…Without Grace

There is often a debate in Western nations regarding celebrating Christian holidays. For instance, should one wish a stranger “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” since you do not know if that individual celebrates Christmas? Although you could offend someone by failing to guess their preferred greeting somehow, you do not have to fear punishment. The same is not true for non-Muslims and even moderate Muslims during Ramadan in some Islamic nations.

Pakistan enacted the Ehtram-e-Ramazan ordinance in 1981, prohibiting anyone from eating in public places during fasting hours. If someone breaks the law, they can be fined and/or jailed for three months. In addition, the person serving someone breaking the Ramadan fast can also be fined and/or jailed. Keep in mind Muslims must abstain from both food and water during daylight hours, even when Ramadan occurs during hot weather. In 2013, a man who violated the ordinance for selling the food “paan” was sentenced to five days in prison, but it took him six years to finally get out of jail.

In July 2014, two Iranian men were flogged in public for eating during the fasting hours. The police chief of Iran’s Fars Province said that eating in public is a crime forbidden by Islamic law and that police will act against violators. Each of the men received 80 lashes.

This year, in Nigeria, the Islamic police, known as Hisbah, arrested eleven Muslims for eating during the fasting hours. Other nations that have penalties against eating or drinking during the day in Ramadan include Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. Punishments in those nations range from flogging in Saudi Arabia to fines and imprisonment. Some laws apply only to Muslims, but others apply to everyone.

Azad, an anonymous Pakistani ex-Muslim, writes, “Over the past few years, religious intolerance has grown in Pakistan. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is an Islamist extremist political party founded in 2015 that has become more and more prominent. This party openly calls for the murder of apostates and even for the execution of Muslims who commit acts deemed by the TLP as unIslamic. Ex-Muslims and religious minorities like Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus are all living in a state of constant fear as the Islamists grow in numbers and influence. During Ramadan, even non-Muslims are forced to remain hungry and thirsty because they fear Muslim majoritarianism.”

PRAYER

Muslims are ending this 30-day fast on Tuesday evening, April 9. Imagine fasting for 30 days during daylight hours without food and water, and in many places in the world, eating a morsel of food during daylight hours could bring severe punishment. This past week, a boy was beaten in a Chicago, Illinois, mosque because he was eating food in the bathroom. Muslims live under a strict law, with no grace given.

Thank God, as believers in Christ, we have been saved by grace and serve a God of grace and mercy. As we pray for Muslims:

  • Ask our Lord to give the Muslim people a revelation of His grace in the months to come, an understanding that Jesus longs to pour out His grace in every area of their lives, and give them a revelation of the wonders of His eternal love, bringing them to salvation in Christ!
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Cultural Displacement

This weekend marked a rare intersection of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan holidays. Although Easter and Passover often fall on the same weekend, they only coincide with Ramadan about once every thirty years. 

The intersection of the three holidays has caused a stir in Britain due to the presence of Ramadan lights wishing Muslims a “Happy Ramadan,” while nothing was displayed for Easter. Along with Britons expressing their displeasure on social media, Alex Phillips of TalkTV said, “This (London) is the capital city of the United Kingdom, a Christian country. That is still our state religion, whether you follow it or not – and we’ve got a big Islamic festival being celebrated on the main, most important thoroughfares … it’s insane. [In places like Syria and Afghanistan,] they don’t let us put our Christmas lights up, do they? Christianity makes us the country we are today; it underpins our cultural values. This is insane. It is insulting.”

London is not the only major European city marking Ramadan. In Germany, Frankfort and Cologne put up Ramadan lights, and in Norway, the city of Oslo decorated a central street with crescent moons. In the U.S., Brooklyn, New York, has a 20-block Ramadan display in Bay Ridge, and Nassau Community College hosted the “first ever Muslim Lights Fest on Long Island.”

Perhaps another Briton best summed up this new trend in Western nations when he wrote, “Ramadan lights at Easter. This is cultural displacement.”

PRAYER

It is reported that a past leader made this observation: “When Muslims are the minority they are concerned with minority rights, when they are in the majority there are no minority rights.” Secularism creates a spiritual vacuum that Islam fills in Western nations.

Often leaders in Western nations will compromise because they want to prevent any religious violence and therefore they will permit things taking place by and for Muslims that they would never permit the promotion of it by Jews or Christians. Leaders and citizens need the wisdom of God in decisions they face regarding Islam, rather than responding to the situations with fear. 

  • Pray for leaders to respond in a Christ-centered way and in the best interest of their nation. 
  • Pray for Muslims in Western nations to be drawn to sound, Bible-believing churches to hear the gospel’s truth and hunger to know more about Jesus Christ and His love for them.
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Ramadan Prayer 2024

God’s love for the Muslim people is immeasurable! Each year, Best Current News joins Christians around the world in praying for Muslims to encounter Christ during the Islamic month of fasting known as Ramadan. As Ramadan begins, thank you for joining us in prayer for the Muslim people. 

Officials in Saudi Arabia spotted the crescent moon on Sunday night, marking the beginning of the month of Ramadan. Multiple Gulf Arab nations, as well as Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, will begin the sunrise-to-sunset Ramadan fast on Monday, March 11. Other nations, including Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, will start on Tuesday after officials in those countries failed to see the crescent moon. In addition, Iran, Oman, and Jordan will begin on Tuesday.

Ramadan comes from the Arabic word “ar-ramad,” which means scorching heat. Muslim Matters reports that the month was named Ramadan because it burns the believers’ sins, purifying and molding them into better people. As a works-based religion, Islam teaches that in order to reach paradise, a follower’s good deeds must outweigh their bad deeds.

As Christians, we know that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life. During the month of scorching heat, let us pray that Muslims all around the world meet Jesus, who promises that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14).

Prayer:

Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” We thank You, Father God, that you are drawing Muslims around the world to Your Son to receive Him as Lord of their lives. As Ramadan begins, we believe that drawing power of the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts of the nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world, and in the next 30 days, multitudes of hearts will be impacted with the gospel of Christ! We thank You for doing it, Lord!

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 1 – An Overview

2013 Ramadan PrayerMany western Christians once considered Islam a distant religion having little influence on our culture and society. Following the discovery of oil in the Islamic world and massive immigration from Islamic nations after World War II the fabric of Judeo-Christian society began to unravel.

Ramadan, translated as scorching heat or dryness, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which began in 622 AD, the year Muhammad and a small group of followers migrated from Mecca to Medina. This migration, known as the Hijra, marked an important shift in the teachings of Muhammad. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar the dates of Ramadan change each year by approximately 11 days. This year Ramadan should begin on Tuesday, July 9 with the sighting of the new moon.

Muslims believe that it was during the month of Ramadan when Muhammad first began to receive his revelations so it is considered the holiest month in Islam. The Ramadan fast (sawm) is the fourth pillar of the Islamic faith. The other pillars are reciting the Islamic creed (shahada), required daily prayers (salah), almsgiving (zakat) and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj). These five basic acts in Islam are the foundation of Muslim life.

During the month of Ramadan, most Muslims will observe a fast from sunup to sundown for each of the 29 to 30 days of the month. They are to abstain from smoking, drinking, eating and sexual pleasure during the daylight hours. It is to be a time of spiritual reflection and increased devotion to Allah, and Muslims believe the rewards for fasting during this time are multiplied. All Muslims are required to fast when they reach puberty as long as they are sane and have no illnesses such as diabetes. Exceptions to the fast are travel, menstruation, severe illness, pregnancy and breast-feeding. Those who are unable to fast because of illness or travel are required to make up the days they missed later.

In addition to fasting, Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur’an. Juz’, which is 1/30 of the Qur’an is recited sometimes through voluntary prayers that are held in mosques every night of the month. Charity is important during Ramadan, and because Muslims believe all good deeds are more handsomely rewarded in Ramadan many Muslims may give a larger portion or even all of their required zakat (alms of 2.5%) during the month.

As the Muslim population has increased in traditionally western nations so has Islam’s influence. In an act described by a British broadcaster as “‘deliberate provocation’ aimed at viewers who might associate Islam with extremism,” Britain’s Channel 4 announced the television station would air the Muslim call to prayer live every morning during the month of Ramadan. The broadcast of the call to prayer known as the adhan is three-minutes long and will be aired at about 3 am each day. Additional prayer times throughout the day will be broadcast on the station’s website.

The adhan is recited in Arabic and each line is repeated for emphasis. Removing the repetition and translating it into English, the following words will be broadcast over the United Kingdom for the next 30 days:

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Hasten to the Prayer, hasten to the Prayer
Hasten to real success, hasten to real success
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest.
There is none worthy of worship but Allah.

In addition, Channel 4 available across the United Kingdom will also be featuring “4Ramadan” described as a season of programs “reflecting what life is like for Britain’s Muslim population who observe this religious festival.”

A spokesman from the Muslim Council of Britain in support of the station said, “This is a very special month for Muslims and its recognition on a mainstream channel is not only symbolic for belonging and solidarity but will hopefully help to portray a more realistic account of Islam and Muslims.”

During the next 30 days as we pray for Muslims during this time of heightened spiritual awareness for them, we ask that God will open the eyes and hearts of each of us to truly grasp a “realistic account of Islam and Muslims.”

Prayer Points:

Pray that any words spoken over the nations of the world that are not from the true and living God will fall null and void.

Pray as Muslims quench their physical thirst from the Ramadan fast each day, that God will quench their spiritual thirst with the living water of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Muslim people have been created by God to have a personal relationship with Him. Pray that Muslims will receive God’s love and have divine encounters with Jesus Christ as the Son of God during this time.

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer, Uncategorized

Best Current News Prays – Ramadan – Day 1

THE BACKGROUND OF RAMADAN

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is considered the holiest month in Islam. Because Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar, the dates of Ramadan change each year by approximately 11 days. This year Ramadan should begin on Friday, July 20 with the sighting of the new moon.

During this month most Muslims will observe a fast from sunup to sundown for each of the 29 to 30 days of the month. During the fast they are to abstain from smoking, drinking, eating and sexual pleasures during the daylight hours. The fast (sawm) of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is required by the Qur’an for all Islamic believers except the elderly, young children and pregnant women.

WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE IN PRAYER DURING RAMADAN?

It is a time of heightened spiritual awareness for Muslims and an excellent time for American Christians to gain more awareness regarding Islam in the United States. Although many Muslims within the U.S. desire to live with the same rights and freedoms that Americans hold dear, there are factions of Islamists actively working to change American life and culture.

ISLAMIC VIEWS ARE OPPOSITE OF AMERICAN FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS:

Unlike Christianity, Islam is a complete way of life; a social, political, economic, judicial, educational, and militaristic system, which even dictates how, those who do not adhere to the religion are to be ruled. Reza Safa, in his book Inside Islam, states, “The goal of Islam is to produce a theocracy with Allah as the ruler of society, a society with no separation between religion and the state. This society would have no democracy, no free will and no freedom of expression.”

For the next 30 days of Ramadan, we will be examining Islam’s impact on American culture by examining the effect these groups are having on seven specific spheres of American society – education, government, media, business, family, religion, and arts & entertainment. As Christians we realize that we are in a spiritual battle for the survival of our nation. Radical Islam is only one of many threats to our freedoms, but one that many within the body of Christ are unaware that it even exists.

30 DAYS OF PRAYER REGARDING ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES

The purpose of the Ramadan series of articles is to uncover this system that seeks to destroy the American way of life by using the very freedoms Americans hold dear to covertly and fundamentally bring our culture into bondage. Join us each day, as we become not only an informed citizenry, but also informed intercessors.

“An informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” – Thomas Jefferson

 AND . . . 30 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE MUSLIM PEOPLE

Although Islamic Law is a threat to our society — the Muslim people have been created by God to have a personal relationship with Him. Each day we will pray for Muslims to receive God’s love and have a Divine encounter with Jesus Christ as the Son of God.