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 2023 Ramadan Prayer

Pray With Us

Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam, begins today, March 22. Muslims believe that it was during the month of Ramadan when Muhammad first began to receive his revelations. Best Current News has produced a prayer series for Christians corresponding to the Islamic month of Ramadan for over ten years.

Because Islam is called one of the three “Abrahamic faiths” along with Judaism and Christianity, many Christians do not realize that the Abraham of the Bible is radically different from the Abraham in the Muslim faith. Statistics from the Pew Research Center reveal that 65% of Christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life – breaking down the report further, 77% of Catholics, 82% of Mainline Protestants, and 47% of Evangelicals believe that at least one other religion (not denomination) can lead to eternal life. Interestingly, 56% of Muslims believe many religions can lead to eternal life.

During Ramadan, most Muslims will observe a fast from sunup to sundown. The fast is broken at sunset with a meal called Iftar. 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. Muslims are to abstain from smoking, drinking, eating, and sexual pleasure during daylight hours.

In addition to fasting, Muslims also increase their prayers during Ramadan, especially during the last ten days, which are considered the most blessed. It is regarded as a time of spiritual reflection and renewal for Muslims.

We are certainly not the first or largest Christian group that produces a prayer guide for Ramadan; however, our approach is unique. In addition to encouraging our readers to pray for Muslims, we often ask that our readers pray for themselves and their fellow Christians during this time.

Depending on which church you attend, there is a good chance that many of those sitting around you no longer believe Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So, as we begin this Ramadan season, we ask that you pray for Muslims and also your fellow Christians. 

  • Pray their hearts will be softened and they come to an understanding of, and most importantly, an encounter with “THE TRUTH,” Jesus Christ the Son of God.
  • That as the eyes of the Church are open to Truth, they will be bold and uncompromising in their witness to our Muslim neighbors.
bestcurrentnews 2018 Ramadan Prayer, Uncategorized

Bridge Building vs. Crossing the Bridge

Crossing vs Creating Bridge

Since 2012, Best Current News has produced a prayer series for Christians that corresponds to the Islamic month of Ramadan. We are certainly not the first or largest Christian group that produces a prayer guide for Ramadan, however our approach is unique. In addition to encouraging our readers to pray for Muslims, we often ask that our readers pray for their fellow Christians during this time. This year we are beginning by asking you to pray for your Christian brothers and sisters in your families, churches, neighborhoods and communities.

Because Islam is called one of the three “Abrahamic faiths” along with Judaism and Christianity, many Christians do not realize that the Abraham of the Bible is radically different from the Abraham in the Muslim faith and that Islam is radically different than Christianity. Sadly few in the western Christian church realize the differences between the teachings of Islam and Christianity, and surveys of Christians unveil this fact.

A report by the Pew Research Center revealed that 65% of Christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life – breaking down the report further, 77% of Catholics, 82% of Mainline Protestants, and 47% of Evangelicals believe that at least one other religion (not denomination) can lead to eternal life. Interestingly, 56% of Muslims believe many religions can lead to eternal life.

Depending on which church you attend, there is a good chance that the majority of those sitting around you no longer believe Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Many of these Christians speak of “bridge building” as a way to find “common ground” between Islam and Christianity. However there is a problem when Christians begin to cross the bridge they have constructed. No one can cross a bridge without taking a step toward the middle and ultimately those steps lead Christians away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So we ask as we begin this Ramadan season that you pray for your fellow Christians. Pray they may have an understanding of and most importantly an encounter with “THE TRUTH,” Jesus Christ the Son of God, and that as the eyes of the Church are open to Truth they will be bold and uncompromising in their witness to our Muslim neighbors.