The Call.9

"No one can come to me unless the Father, who has sent me, draws him; and I will raise up that person on the last day. All of you whom the Father has given me will come to me: and whoever comes to me, I will never refuse." 

-Jesus

A 2012 Ramadan Prayer Guide

July 19, 2012 by Eddie Cox

http://missionaryblogdigest.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/a-2012-ramadan-prayer-guide/

2012 Ramadan Prayer Guide

Mosque in Pakistan

 Sunset on July 19 begins the fasting month of Ramadan since Ramadan officially begins on the 20th.  Join with us as we pray for the salvation which comes by grace through  faith in the Lord Jesus, who according to 1Corinthians 15:3-4 died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.  This is the essence of our salvation.  Will you also consider fasting from sunrise to sunset one day of this month?

July 19:   Many Muslims anticipate the beginning of Ramadan with great expectation.  It is a time when greater emphasis is placed on spiritual matters.  Ask the Father that those who truly desire to know Him will begin to see their need for a Redeemer.

July 20:   This month there is a greater emphasis on good works, hoping and endeavoring to please Allah.  Ask that those fasting would be faced with the startling realization that all their good works are like menstrual rags to God and will not gain them access to Heaven.

July 21:   Ask that those fasting will be blessed with a thirsting and hungering  after Truth and not cease endeavoring to satisfy this hunger until they partake of the Bread of Life.

July 22:   Women must rise early each day to prepare a meal which her family will eat before the sun rises.  As women tire because of this schedule ask that in their weariness they would encounter True Rest in I AM.

July 23:   Children are encouraged to fast and participate in Ramadan activities.  Many do so to gain approval from their parents, their community and their peers.  May God create unrest in their hearts, replacing it with a longing to be accepted by Him!

July 24:   Giving to the poor is emphasized during this month.  Those who have more are expected to give and those who consider themselves poor anticipate receiving from others.  Ask that each of these, both the giver and the receiver will consider and understand the poverty of their spiritual lives without the Giver of All Good Things!

July 25:   Ask that those fasting will be blessed with a deep thirst for Truth and will not cease endeavoring to satisfy this thirst until they partake of the Living Water.

July 26:   Ask that the eyes and hearts of believers would be opened and they will diligently and faithfully pursue the seekers encouraging them along the path to Christ.  Ask that the spirit of fear and apathy in their lives and hearts would be defeated.

July 27:   Ask that believers would respond with passion and compassion, demonstrating the love of Christ in very tangible, life changing ways.  Ask that in addition to helping meet physical needs they would also work to meet spiritual needs.

July 28: Ask that believers would be bold and take every opportunity to share Christ.  The season provides wonderful occasions for believers to visit in the homes of friends and break the fast with them.

July 29: Ask for new believers to see how they can remain in their culture, being salt and light and obedient to the commands of Christ.

July 30: Lift up believers asking they would hold firm and true to I AM in the face of opposition and pressure they face in this season and all year long.

July 31: Ask that He will use the Seeds planted during this season to bear His fruit in the fullness of time.  Praise Him that His Word never returns void.

August 1: Ask that the simplicity of the Good News would draw many to I AM during this fasting month.  “By grace you have been saved.”  Ask that He would give grace to many in need of His great mercy.

August 2: 2 Corinthians 2:15 & 16 speak of the dark veil which covers the hearts of those without I AM.  Ask that the veil would be removed and many would experience new found freedom in Him.

August 3: According to Romans 10:20 ask that He would seek those who are not even looking for Him.  Ask that He would reveal Himself to many who are not even asking for Him.  Rejoice that we serve an amazing Redeemer.

August 4: Muslims very often associate Christianity completely with Western culture.  Muslims often believe that Christians are being deceived.  For many Muslims, the word “Christian” signifies materialism, a lack of spirituality and moral failure.  Ask that the Father would provide true followers of Jesus for them to see.

August 5: Muslims often believe that the Book has been altered and corrupted.  They will deny its authority because they see it as not being authentic.  Ask that many would be drawn to read portions of the Book and would be unable to forget the truth of its precious Promises.

August 6: Muslims believe Jesus was conceived miraculously by God in the womb of Mary.  They believe  Jesus is only a prophet and that He did not die on the cross.  Ask that those fasting would be confronted by the Truth of the Word which became flesh.

August 7: According to 2 Corinthians 4:4 the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.  Seek the Father, asking that HIS LIGHT penetrate the darkness of those fasting this month. 

August 8: Muslims all over the world pray memorized ritual prayers toward Mecca five times a day.  They must also ritually wash before these prayer times.   Ask that as they pray God will reveal that He is the Way, the Truth , and the Life and that no man can come to the Father except through the Son.

August 9: Muslims believe the Holy Trinity implies a belief in three gods.  Many Muslims believe that the Christian Trinity is made up of the Father, Mary and the Son.  Ask that this month God’s Spirit would break through false concepts about the Trinity, replacing them with truth.

August 10: Muslims believe there is a Day of Judgment for all people.  Ask that the Lord would provide someone to tell them the truth about this coming day and that Jesus is the Judge!

August 11: This week those fasting anticipate the “Night of Power” ( Leyla Al-Qadr), which is expected to fall during the last ten days of Ramadan: around August 9-18, 2012.  They ask forgiveness for their shortcomings firmly believing that Allah accepts their prayers more readily during this night.  Ask that God in His mercy would reveal that forgiveness is found only in Jesus Christ.

August 12: Ask that the power of I AM override the Night of Power so that people will be freed from the darkness that consumes them.

August 13: It is believed that on the “Night of Power” angels and spirits descend and carry out the commands of Allah. Muslims are often encouraged to stay awake during the entire night, and pray for blessings and forgiveness.  Ask that families and communities will testify of Jesus visiting them and calling them to follow Him.

August 14: Because many expect visions, dreams, signs, wonders and proper interpretations during this season and particularly during the Night of Power, ask that people will experience these and be led to seek I AM.

August 15: It is tradition as Ramadan comes to an end that children return to the home of their parents, asking forgiveness for wrongs which have been committed against them.  Pray that as they seek to honor their earthly fathers they will see the Living God as their Father and desire His forgiveness.

August 16: It is also tradition to ask forgiveness from friends, coworkers, and neighbors for wrongs in thought and deed committed against them.  Jesus alone offers forgiveness.  Ask that this truth be planted in the hearts of Muslims.

August 17: As the month of fasting comes to an end tomorrow, Muslims prepare to celebrate with family, friends, neighbors.  Would you continue to pray for their spiritual eyes to be opened so that the angels in heaven celebrate because He has drawn new children into His family?

Persevering Prayer

"Have you heard of J.O. Frasier? He left England many years ago to bring the message of Christ's love to the Lisus, an unreached tribal group who lived in the high mountain ranges of western China. The entry to the ranges was at their midpoint, a valley containing a small outpost village. Frasier remained there until he found a Lisu who tutored him in the dialect. After weeks of study, he discovered this Lisu was from the northern range and the dialect he was learning would best prepare him for working in that area.

Frasier realized he would probably be the only missionary to this tribe for years to come. He prayed, "Lord, which way should I go? North, or South?" His Master said, "Both. Pray for the Southern Lisus from sunup to noon and evangelize the Northern Lisus from noon to sundown."

This became the pattern of his life. For years and years, he used half of each day to intercede for Lisus in the south and used half of each day to evangelize the Lisus around him. The work grew slowly. A few hundred Christians were the harvest of a decade of ministry.

After many years, he left the field for the first time to rest and get supplies in the outpost village. Now very familiar with the tribal tongue, he heard a Lisu speaking with a different dialect in the marketplace. He had met his first Southern Lisu! Lovingly Frasier invited the man to come and stay with him in his rented quarters. As he heard the message of Jesus, the Lisu was quick to respond and accept Him as his Lord and Savior.

For several weeks, Frasier tutored the illiterate man, helping him to memorize passages of scripture. He told him story after story from the Bible, always praying that the Spirit would sharpen his ability to remember what he was hearing.

As the men parted, Frasier urged him to tell all the Southern Lisus about Jesus. He then returned to the site of his own ministry, praying as usual for half of each day for those to the south. Years passed...and then a delegation of Southern Lisus arrived at this village. They reported the news that thousands of Southern Lisus had followed Christ and were in desperate need of someone to come and teach them more!

As tears of joy welled up in his eyes, the missionary realized his time invested in prayer from sunup to noon had caused a harvest hundreds of times greater than all his labors from noon to sundown. It was though God was saying, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, shall the Lisus be reached."

-from The Shepherds Guidebook, by Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr.,

J.O. Frasier

I googled J.O. Fraiser to get more information on this man. There are various accounts of his story, none quite as compact as this. For example, most accounts mention that Frasier was quite often in despair over the lack of progress in his work. Another important aspect of his story not related in this account is that his mother back in England formed a prayer group for him that Frasier credits for much of the eventual success among the Lisus!

This people group was the Chinese version of the Harijans in India's caste system--peasant poor, plagued by alcoholism & demon worship. But the Lisu conversion & commitment to Christ was so widespread and powerful that the Chinese communist government tried to eradicate them in the the 1930's & 40's. Today they continue to be one of the most potent evangelical forces in Chinese culture!


In an account related by friend Matthew ponder the power of perseverance:

"When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him."

Jesus replied, "You stubborn, faithless people! How long must I be with you until you believe? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?"

"You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

But this kind of demon won't leave unless you have prayed and fasted." Matthew 17:14-21


What is the connection between faith and prayer; between prayer and healing? Who was Jesus annoyed at: the father, the crowd, the disciples? Why was he dismayed, angry, indignant in this situation?

All that Jesus holds dear is His Father: His love, His Heart, His thoughts, His will, His business. Jesus' passion was to teach all of humanity how wonderful is His Father. Faith in his father was the result among people he constantly worked to achieve.

The attitude that most consistently offended him was unbelief, and in this case, insufficient faith.

If we are to be "about the Father's business" it is crucial to understand the connection between prayer and accomplishing his work. Most of us, especially in today's world, are easily distracted, impatient, unfocused, often indifferent to the difficulties folks around us are struggling with. Someone may ask us to pray for a certain situation and we gladly agree to "say a prayer" for them. Then, like our facebook wall page, quickly move on to the next distraction.

As followers of Jesus we may be the critical link between a friend's suffering and God's healing balm. If at the first sign of resistance, antagonism, or ineffectiveness we falter, fake or fall down we fail to communicate the truth of God: that He is perfectly devoted to each of us; perfectly capable of healing; perfectly commited to helping & saving everyone who comes to Him looking for relief from the difficulties, struggles, or insanity of this life!

Here are two of my favorite quotes on persevering prayer:

"I don't think that time has much to do with whether God hears you or not; but I do believe that time has something to do with whether or not your faith is built up as you pray and ask." -- Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators.

"He [God] must have sons and daughters-- children of his soul, of his spirit, of his love--not merely in the sense that he loves them, or even that they love him, but in the sense that they love like him, love as he loves. For this he does not adopt them; he dies to give them himself, thereby to raise his own to his heart; he gives them a birth from above; they are born again out of himself and into himself--for he is the one and the all. His children are not his real, true sons and daughters until they think like him, feel with him, judge as he judges, are at home with him, and without fear before him because he and they mean the same thing, love the same things, seek the same ends. For this are we created; it is the one end of our being, and includes all other ends whatever." -- George MacDonald

The goal of fasting & prayer, then, is to demonstrate our desire to love like our Father by laying down our lives for others; spending ourselves to "make more lovely" and to lift them from the gulf into which they've fallen.