Feasting at Sunset

Throughout our years in the Middle East, our family has been welcomed into countless homes during Ramadan. We’ve been invited to enjoy iftar—the meal marking the end of the day’s fast—with Syrian refugees, our next door neighbors, and even a large family in a neighboring city. These visits can sometimes go as late as midnight. Fortunately, our children usually adjust well to these late nights.

Ramadan isn’t just for fasting. More than any other time of the year, Muslims spend this month reflecting on their relationship with God. When we break the fast with our friends, we often expect to have deeper conversations and more opportunities to share about Jesus Christ.

One special iftar invitation, however, gave us far more than we expected.

Lamin was hungry to understand more of God’s Word.

Before the start of Ramadan, my teammate Kevin and I walked into a hardware store and were welcomed by Lamin, the store manager. He’s the youngest of several brothers and the son of a prominent Islamic teacher in the city.

As often happens here, our conversation turned to religion. Kevin and I shared some stories about Jesus. When he heard that these were from the Word of God, Lamin asked us to tell him more. After more discussion about Christ, we offered a prayer of blessing over his family and asked if he wanted to learn more from the Bible another time. He said he did and insisted we come back to visit soon.

In the weeks that followed, Kevin and I returned several more times to study the Bible with Lamin. With every visit, he showed a deeper hunger to understand God’s Word.

He also shared some of the struggles he was facing. He told us how he and his wife had been trying to get pregnant for years. She had conceived but lost her child one month before the due date. Both Lamin and his wife were still grieving the recent miscarriage.

So, right there in his store, Kevin and I bowed our heads and prayed for him. In that moment, God met Lamin powerfully and filled him with a peace and comfort unlike any he’d ever known.

When Ramadan started shortly after, Lamin called me. “Would you and Kevin join me in fasting for a whole day?” he asked. “Then please come break the fast with me.”

God filled Lamin with a peace and comfort unlike any he’d ever known.

Thrilled by his invitation, we agreed. Just before sunset, Kevin and I arrived at his home. As we ate a feast of chicken and lamb kabobs, we discussed Luke 5, a passage in which Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to follow Him.

By the end of our meal, Lamin announced, “I am ready to follow Jesus Christ, too.”

With our hearts rejoicing, the three of us talked about what it would look like for him to live as a disciple. Then we encouraged him to tell the Lord what he was committing to do.

“I will follow You, Lord Jesus,” Lamin declared as we prayed together. “You’re my Savior, and I will tell my family and my community about what You’ve done for me.”

Praise God! With Lamin’s iftar invitation, we gained a new brother in the Kingdom!

• Pray that God will use Lamin to share the Good News with his wife and relatives.
• As Lamin sows the Word, pray it will take root and flourish—and that many will believe in Jesus.
• Ask the Lord to comfort Lamin and his wife on the loss of their unborn child and pray they will be blessed with more children.
• Pray for Lamin’s father, an Islamic teacher, to accept the truth of the Gospel and invite others to embrace Christ.
• Ask God to lead Frontiers field workers to men and women like Lamin who are hungry for the Good News and who welcome it into Muslim communities.