Pray the Night of Power

During Ramadan our mission committee floated the idea of holding a prayer night on the Muslim “night of power” (27th night or Day 26 of Ramadan — night precedes day in the Islamic Calendar so the 27th night occurs in the evening of the 26th Day) when God often works in miraculous ways throughout the Muslim world. (‘Night of Power’ prayer nights can be used throughout the year!)

It won’t be another “dull” prayer meeting.

We recognise that “prayer meetings” are seen by many as dull or boring and often have a corresponding lack of attendance – “just another night out”. As we wrestled with this, the idea came to use a format that has been used in various ways by our creative ministries team. So began our journey to create various prayer “stations”. The aim was to cover as many of the senses and prayer styles as possible and yet be informative and not too disjointed.

Set up the meeting room

Our venue was the church auditorium, from which half the seating was removed giving wings at either side which were lit. On the entry side was information on Islam (including Ramadan, the Night of Power, Muslims and sin, Muslims and Jesus) with prayer focus points and information on several countries, sourced from the “30 Days of Prayer” booklet and added to by pictures and library books. Prayer points were highlighted. One of these stations focussed on ‘dreams and visions’. It looked at the importance of dreams and this night of revelation to Muslims and had scripture and prayer points. It also had some testimonies of Muslims meeting Jesus through dreams.

The other side focused on Islam in our country, from similar sources. This side also contained a trestle covered with newsprint on which was the outline of a world map (traced from a wall map) and felt pens for people to write prayers. Our national stand also had hand outs available for people to take away on how to witness effectively to Muslims and also how to reach Muslim students in our country (these were printed off the 30 Days promotional/resource CD).

Both seats and floor cushions were provided at these stations for those who wanted to use these.

Set the Welcome and Ambiance

At the entrance was a “Welcome” sign and a “please leave your shoes at the entrance”. Headscarves (borrowed from the children’s Playgroup and previously washed) were available for women to wear if they so wanted. These added colour to the entrance as well. We had people do a right turn as they came in the door – most folk naturally turn left – reflecting Arabic language which is written from right to left. On the path to the earlier stations we invited folk to “join with us on a journey through the Muslim world and pray that the people of Ishmael would know the one true God and Jesus as the Messiah (Isa-al-Masih).”

In the centre we left the pews, which were used when we called people together at an appointed time for corporate prayer, lead by our pastor. As a conclusion of this time, small groups went to pray at the various stations. This central area was dimly lit and had a power point presentation running for the duration of the night. Pictures had been sourced from the internet with prayer points and scriptures interspersed. From the sound desk, Arabic style worship music was playing quietly throughout the evening.

Women Only Corner

One of the side rooms off the auditorium was used to focus on the women and children of Islam. The door was curtained and a “Women Only” sign placed beside it. The idea was to reflect a Muslim home and the hospitality of that. Outside the door, like the guest lounge in an Asian home, we had two couches, plus a wall display with pictures and a poem. A table was set with a jug of water and glasses for people to help themselves, along with some snack food which would be similar to the “iftah” with which Muslims break the fast after sunset each day during Ramadan. For this, I used patty pans containing a date, dried apricot, chocolate truffle and some chocolate raisins. Inside, the curtained room was set up as a family room with a kitchen table and similar chairs. A greater number of pictures and prayer points were on the display board here, focusing on women and children – some Mission agencies have calendars which are great for pictures. One table was set with water and food as in the “guest room” and more people partook in the privacy here. (I had a comment from one of the guys, “What did you have in there?”) On another table was a collection of books, again focusing on women in the Muslim world, and paper and pen to record those who wanted to borrow these. This gave it a “homework” feel. A cassette recorder was playing Arabic style music here also. The different timing from the main room gave some clash of sounds as in a busy Asian neighbourhood. It also represented the ministry of songwriters working in the Muslim world, the men amongst which cannot otherwise minister to women. This room was well used during the evening.

Jesus at the center

A spotlight was focused on a beautiful wall hanging that we have in our auditorium, as a reflection point to consider the work of Jesus and His centrality in the continuing work of the kingdom.

We had quite a number of positive responses to the whole evening and felt that it was well worth the effort that was put in. We hope this helps you with creative ideas when you pray during Ramadan and especially on the “Night of Power”.

(From a church in New Zealand)

E-mail, Print, Bookmark or Share this anywhere: