bestcurrentnews 2023 Ramadan Prayer

Night of Power

In the Bible, in Genesis 16:11, Ishmael was the first person named by the living God before he was even born. His name means “God hears.” Ishmael is mentioned several times throughout the Qur’an, and through the Islamic scripture, he is considered a messenger, prophet, and one preferred by God. The Qur’an upholds the Muslim belief that Ishmael, not Isaac, was Abraham’s ultimate heir.

Near the end of Ramadan’s 30 days is the “Night of Power” (Laylat Al Qadr), Muslims’ holiest night of the year. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe their Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, recorded in Sura 96. Most Islamic scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of Ramadan’s final ten days but is typically celebrated on the 27th day.

They believe that from sunset to dawn, during the whole Night of Power, groups of angels perform particular purposes and are only seen on this night. Some angels come down for worship or to grant the request of the believing Muslim. Other angels come down, bringing with them proclamations of the coming year.

Today many Muslims think this is a special night when God gives heed to their requests. They are open to dreams and visions as they seek guidance and revelation. Many Muslims pray all night, seeking a response to specific requests. One common belief is that angels will shower down Allah’s peace and blessings on all who remain awake during this “night of power.” According to the Qur’an, Allah either listens directly or via the angel Gabriel to the requests of Muslims concerning their fate.

Many Muslims have had supernatural encounters with Jesus Christ on this night and during the following weeks. Muslims also call this the “Night of Destiny.” It seems equally important among orthodox Muslims and in Folk Islam.

Muslims are encouraged to stay awake the entire night and pray for blessings and forgiveness. According to Abu Huraira translation of the Hadith, the prophet Muhammed declared that “whoever prays during the Night of Power with faith and hoping for its reward will have all his previous sins forgiven.” Many things a Muslim will endeavor to do on the Night of Power, include reciting and studying the Quran, making special requests from Allah, evaluating their own lives, and making plans for the next year.

For the past 1400 years, many Muslims have stayed up all night to prove their devotion to Allah through their prayers, even being proud of their religious accomplishments. Others, knowing in their hearts that they are incapable of really pleasing God by their own religious activity, will feel disappointed with themselves. Finally, significant numbers will be praying in desperation and genuinely seeking help from God and will have a dream or vision of Jesus.

Our God has not forgotten that He named Abraham’s son Ishmael, which means “God hears.” Today God hears the cries of Ishmael’s descendants who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Let us cry out that they will indeed be guided to the true right path – the path to peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER POINT

Father God, this is when Muslims seek their god on the Night of Power, called the Night of Destiny. We know the sons of Ishmael want to find You, the Living God, through our Lord Jesus, yet they don’t have that revelation. You named Abraham’s son Ishmael because his name declares that You hear him, and we believe You hear his descendants. As they are open to hearing, we declare they will listen to the voice of truth! Glorify Your Son Jesus in their lives and reveal His Lordship. We believe that this Ramadan 2023, more Muslims will turn to Christ than at any time in history. AMEN!

bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Night of Power

2016 Ramadan GraphicLaylat Al Qadr known as the “Night of Power” is the holiest night of the year for Muslims. Most Islamic scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of the final ten days of Ramadan. Typically it is celebrated on the 27th day of Ramadan, which is today, July 2, 2016. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in Sura 96.

The Night of Power is described in Sura 97: “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand; Peace! This until the rise of morn!”

The Hadith also describes the Night of Power and says that anyone that prays on this night out of sincere faith will have all his past sins forgiven. (Bukhari Vol. 1, Book 2, Number 35).

Arab News claims Muhammad intentionally did not give an exact night for the celebration of Laylat Al Qadr, because of the importance of the night. Muslims are encouraged to “seek” the Night of Power in the last ten days of Ramadan. This way Muslims believe Allah can give something worthwhile to the deserving person while “denying the hypocritical and lackadaisical ones.”

Imam Khalid Latif, from the Islamic Center at New York University, reveals that what a Muslim does to seek out the Night of Power will vary from person to person. Some will pray the regular prayers at the ascribed times and then stand for hours in ritual prayer. Others will read or listen to the Qur’an.

Some Muslims participate in what is called “itikaf” which in Islam means to stay in a mosque for a particular period of time for the purpose of worshiping Allah. In order to receive the blessing of itikaf the person participating must be mentally stable, a true Muslim, and seek to perform itikaf to seek closeness with Allah, not to please another person or to show off. They must fast and stay inside the mosque for the entire period of the itikaf which is for a minimum of three days. Muslims are encouraged to spend their time reading the Qur’an, performing prayers and seeking blessings from Allah during the itikaf.Night of Power

From the Qur’anic passage, Muslims believe angels come and perform special purposes including granting requests and bringing proclamations of the coming year.  Many Muslims pray all night, and believe the angels will shower down blessings and peace if they remain awake. It is a time when Muslims are open to dreams and visions as they seek guidance and revelation for the coming year.

All Muslims consider themselves the spiritual descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Ishmael was the first person in the Bible that God named before his birth and his name means “God hears.”

Sura 1 in the Qur’an is considered to be one of its most important passages. A devout Muslim will pray this sura as many as 18 times a day – during their regular prayers, when he gets up, when he goes to bed and before meals. In this sura, Muslims ask Allah to guide them to the right path.

So many times a day for the past 1,400 years devout Muslims have prayed Sura 1.  The spiritual descendants of Ishmael, the one whose very name means “God hears,” have been crying out to know the right path.

In Luke 1:78-79 (NLT) we read:

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

God hears the cries of Ishmael’s descendants who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death today. They ask daily to be guided to the right path, let us cry out that they will indeed be guided to the true right path – the path to peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer Points:

God hears the prayers of the Muslim people around the world – pray that their hearts will be open to His truth as He reveals Himself to them.

Pray that Jesus Christ, the Son of the true and living God will appear to Muslims during this time through dreams and visions.

Since this is a time of heightened spiritual activity, pray that Spirit-filled Christians around the world will be quickened by the Holy Spirit to pray and contend for the Muslim people.

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

Night of Power

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 27The Night of Power ( in Arabic) is the holiest night of the year in Islam. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in the first five verses of Sura 96. Sura 97:3 describes the Laylat Al Qadr as “better than a thousand months.”

Sahbir Ally, President of the Islamic Information Center in Toronto, Canada explains the significance, “The very fact that the Quran states that this night is better than a thousand months is an added incentive for Muslims to worship on this night because the traditions further expound on this to say that worshipping on this night is better than worshipping for a thousand months, and a thousand months as you know is translated to 83 years and four months, that’s a lifetime for many people. …So if a person worships on the Night of Power, then we believe that he or she gets the reward as worshipping for a whole lifetime.”

Tradition says that anyone that prays on the Night of Power out of sincere faith in hopes of attaining Allah’s rewards will have all of his past sins forgiven.

Muslims also believe angels and a special spirit descend from God on the Night of Power. The angels come down to grant requests and bring proclamations about the coming year.

The Night of Power is a time when Muslims are open to receiving dreams and visions as they seek guidance. Many will pray throughout the night believing that those who remain awake all night will be blessed with peace and the blessings of God.

Dr. Ally explains, “It is also narrated in some traditions that the angels tour the world looking for those people who are engaged in the worship of God on Night of Powerthat night, and they, according to the tradition, shake hands with the person.. …Human beings do not actually experience the angels in their presence, but generally the idea that the angels do come down on this night inspires Muslims to worship.”

Prayer Points:

Worship for Muslims on the Night of Power becomes an obligation in order to receive a reward – how different from those of us who are honored to worship our God – not in order to receive a reward, but simply because He alone is worthy of all worship, honor and praise.  Take time out today to worship God – lift His name on high and thank Him for His abundant blessings.

As we “Contend For the Captives” of Islam – pray that they will long for the true and living God, hunger for His truth, desire a deeper relation with Him and have visions and dreams in the days ahead of Jesus Christ as the living Son of God!

Muslims are taught that believing Jesus is the Son of God is blasphemy and will send a Muslim (and all others) to hell. Ask God to give a true revelation of Jesus to Muslims, giving them understanding and strength to push past false teaching and fear and have the courage to receive Christ as Lord.

May heaven be abundantly populated with the souls of “former Muslims” as a result of the prayers of God’s people on the Night of Power!

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 25 – Laylat Al Qadr – Insight Into Islam’s “Night of Power”

2013 Ramadan PrayerLaylat Al Qadr known as the “Night of Power” is the holiest night of the year for Muslims. Most Islamic scholars believe it falls on one of the odd-numbered nights of the final ten days of Ramadan so it could fall on the 19th, 21st, 23rd, 25th or 27th days. Typically it is celebrated on the 27th day. It commemorates the night that Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an, which are recorded in Sura 96.

The Night of Power is described in Sura 97: “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand; Peace! This until the rise of morn!” The Hadith also describes the Night of Power and says that anyone that prays on this night out of sincere faith will have all his past sins forgiven. (Bukhari Vol. 1, Book 2, Number 35).

Arab News claims Muhammad intentionally did not give an exact night for the celebration of Laylat Al Qadr, because of the importance of the night. Muslims are encouraged to “seek” the Night of Power in the last ten days of Ramadan. This way Muslims believe Allah can give something worthwhile to the deserving person while “denying the hypocritical and lackadaisical ones.”

Imam Khalid Latif, from the Islamic Center at New York University reveals that what a Muslim does to seek out the Night of Power will vary from person to person. Some will pray the regular prayers at the ascribed times and then stand for hours in ritual prayer. Others will read or listen to the Qur’an.

Some Muslims participate in what is called “itikaf” which in Islam means to stay in a mosque for a particular period of time for the purpose of worshiping Allah. In order to receive the blessing of itikaf the person participating must be mentally stable, a true Muslim, and seek to perform itikaf to seek closeness with Allah, not to please another person or to show off. They must fast and stay inside the mosque for the entire period of the itikaf which is for a minimum of three days. Muslims are encouraged to spend their time reading the Qur’an, performing prayers and seeking blessings from Allah during the itikaf.

From the Qur’anic passage, Muslims believe angels come and perform special purposes including granting requests and bringing proclamations of the coming year.  Many Muslims pray all night, and believe the angels will shower down blessings and peace if they remain awake. It is a time when Muslims are open to dreams and visions as they seek guidance and revelation for the coming year.

All Muslims consider themselves the spiritual descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Ishmael was the first person in the Bible that God named before his birth and his name means “God hears.”

Sura 1 in the Qur’an is considered to be one of its most important passages. A devout Muslim will pray this sura as many as 18 times a day – during their regular prayers, when he gets up, when he goes to bed and before meals. In this sura Muslims ask Allah to guide them to the right path.

So many times a day for the past 1,400 years devout Muslims have prayed Sura 1.  The spiritual descendants of Ishmael, the one whose very name means “God hears,” have been crying out to know the right path.

In Luke 1:78-79 (NLT) we read:

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

God hears the cries of Ishmael’s descendants who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death today. They ask daily to be guided to the right path, let us cry out that they will indeed be guided to the true right path – the path to peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer Points:

God hears the prayers of the Muslim people around the world – pray that their hearts will be open to His truth as He reveals Himself to them.

Pray that Jesus Christ, the Son of the true and living God will appear to Muslims during this time through dreams and visions.

Since this is a time of heightened spiritual activity, pray that Spirit filled Christians around the world will be quickened by the Holy Spirit to pray and contend for the Muslim people.