The Muslim Night of Power or Destiny (Laylat al-Qadr) is a celebration within the last 10 days of Ramadan. This is to commemorate when the first verses of the Qu'ran were revealed and it is said to be the night when sins are forgiven and the blessings and mercy of Allah are abundant. Many traditions observe it on the 27th night of Ramadan.
As it is a time when Muslims pray hoping for visions and dreams from God, it is a wonderful opportunity to pray for them that they may meet with Jesus. Mahabba Network encourages Christians to hold prayer meetings to coincide with the Night of Power each year.
Consider new people joining your meeting:
The Night of Power is a great opportunity to invite Christians who would not normally pray for Muslims to join you. Plan the prayer meeting with them in mind and put an invitation out to local Churches.
In the meeting, make sure you explain briefly anything that new people may not understand. Invite a Believer from a Muslim background (BMB) to share their testimony; this can be very inspiring, especially for newcomers. If no BMBs are available, show a reliable video testimony instead.
There are different ways you can gather to pray:
Pray in a small group in a home.
Pray in a larger meeting in a public place.
Organise a prayer walk in the local Muslim area.
Pray online.
There are different styles of praying
Different people like to pray in different ways, so it can help more people to engage if you use different styles of praying:
Pray in twos and threes.
Pray in small groups.
Pray simultaneously out loud for a topic.
Pray as one group, one person pray a short prayer to which we can say the amen, to be followed by another etc.
Silent prayer listening to God, then sharing back what we have heard and praying for it together.
On the Night of Power, many Muslims hope they may receive a dream or vision from God.
It is good to ensure you give time to pray for the following:
Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring revelation to those Muslims who are reading the Bible/ having faith conversations with Christian friends/ or engaged in vigorous polemic debate.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will bring revelation to Muslims who are beginning to question whether what they have been taught is true. Pray that the Muslim people on their prayer mats will meet Jesus and find the mercy and forgiveness they have long for.
Praise God that in the UK we are seeing new believers from Muslim background coming to our churches! Praise God that they are telling each other the Good News.
Pray that they may be eager to grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ and His ways. Pray for wisdom and perseverance for those discipling them.
Pray for the believers as they face many life challenges: housing needs, language support, need for meaningful employment and mental health difficulties - stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD.
Ending the meeting
End with a psalm of praise or a blessing, affirming God’s victory. Or with the Lord’s prayer together.
Let everyone know when your next meeting will be. Share how they can sign up for Mahabba’s email newsletter to stay informed about how they can continue to pray for, and engage with, Muslims.