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Day 15 of 30
By Will, talking to Phil, from the Mahabba team
Inspired by today's entry in the 30 Days of Prayer booklet, but with a UK twist!
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Daily verse
“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.””
Thought for the day
Passionate Believing
The youth group from our church used to go prayer-walking in the Muslim area, often stopping at the Pakistani corner shop and the Tandoori Take-Away, to chat with people. We sometimes did litter picks and people asked why we were doing it and we said we wanted to bless the community and that gave us opportunity to share about our faith.
There was the old Sunni Mosque and a smaller one we called ‘the radical mosque’. They also ran a Bookstall right outside our church, because a Church member had set up a Christian bookstall there. They wanted to compete. It was like a ‘battle of the bookstalls’!
I started engaging with them – one of guys knew the Bible well, because he had been brought in a Catholic church and had become what he called a ‘revert’ to Islam. Theirs was a polemic type of bookstall. There were two guys I got to know, Mustafa’ & ‘Malik, both with big, bushy beards. They had strong views and were good at arguing.
They would try to pick the Bible apart and say it was not to be trusted – I also enjoyed a good argument and would come back strongly with questions and answers.
I even invited them to our wedding and they came. But we lost touch when the bookstalls stopped functioning.
If you come across a Muslim bookstall or an evangelist who believes passionately I would say Go and engage with them, have a conversation. Gently befriend them, they are people too. Build a relationship. They are more likely to listen to you, if you listen to them ….
Prayer for the day
Lord give us opportunities, courage and grace to engage with our Muslim neighbours in our day to day lives. Show us how we can demonstrate your love for them through our everyday words and actions.
Daily action
Please note: actions were written before the COVID-19 pandemic. Please consult the latest advice from your local public health authority or government and adhere to any current restrictions on travel or social situations.
One of these passionate believers quoted Num. 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.”- therefore Jesus, he argued, who was a man was not God. Have a think how would you answer Mustafa and Malik, and send us your thoughts …..
Read more on fundamentalist, radical Islam, eg
Bill Musk (1992) 'Passionate Believing: the fundamentalist face of Islam' Ziauddin Sardar (2004) Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a sceptical Muslim -
Your turn
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Resources
Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?
There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:
Pray Together as a Congregation
Small Group Session
Night of Power Prayer Meeting
Prayer Walk Guide
What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.