Johnny has served with OM in Hong Kong since 2023. After serving as a missions pastor in Hong Kong for 10 years, he now oversees the OM team in Hong Kong and Macau. He is excited about seeing people cross cultures in order to spread the good news of Jesus to the least reached.
I’m awoken by a familiar but unwelcome sound, my alarm. I look at my clock, but I don’t need to see the time; I know it: 05:30. I think for a moment about turning over and getting another hour of sleep. But I can’t. I must get up to pray. I have to pray at sunrise, and I have to pray four more times today. Not out of duty or obligation, but out of a commitment. I committed to praying five times a day for 30 days with other brothers and sisters in Christ as part of OM in Hong Kong’s Ramadan prayer challenge to pray for Muslims around the world who don’t yet know Christ.
The South East Asian Crescent, one of OM’s current focus areas, is home to over 240 million Muslims. While dedication to their religion varies, everyone participates in Ramadan as it is an important time of prayer and fasting. This time brings together the multitude of people who are seeking Allah and asking for his favour and righteousness, but not recognising Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It saddens me to think about people who pray but don't realise God loves them as a Father.
When I first started praying five times a day — the same five times that Muslims pray during the season of Ramadan — it felt odd. Rigidly scheduled prayer felt awkward and I didn’t always know what to pray, as I had not prayed with such dedication for Muslims before. However, over time, I began to experience the rhythm of life through the pattern of prayer, and began to understand what it might feel like for a Muslim. The difference: I was praying to God through my Lord, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Confidently, I was able to pour out my requests: for those who do not pray and for those who only know Jesus as a prophet or a good man. I prayed that they might know Him as their Lord and trust Him for their salvation.
Praying in community with others was also a great blessing to me, and afterwards it was amazing to hear how God used this experience to change us:
“The very act of praying five or six times a day already challenges me — like clocking in, it requires pausing whatever I’m doing. Taking a minute to quiet my mind and focus on prayer is difficult, difficult because it demands truly letting go of distractions, settling myself and then concentrating for that one minute.“
“I find (the way God speaks directly to Muslims through dreams) truly remarkable, and utterly wondrous. God’s love for people is so great, and He loves them with such tender care...I never imagined I could persevere this long — I believe it’s by God’s grace.“
“Perseverance requires practise, and gratitude for companions on the journey. Thank you to everyone in the group for openly sharing your struggles and your heartfelt journey."
More blessings came when I witnessed an answer to my prayers. At a prayer meeting I attended, a friend living amongst Muslims with OM in South East Asia shared a story about Amir*, who was deeply entrenched in the animism and black magic of his village. Amir told my friend how he wanted to be freed from these, so my friend told him the story of Issa. Issa had come from God — He was God’s Son — and gave His life so that the whole world could come back into relationship with God. In that moment, Amir saw Issa appear in the room. He could not look, and yet he could not look away as Issa called Amir to believe. That day, Amir gave his life to Issa — the name that Muslim believers call Jesus.
This story encouraged me greatly, but what blew me away was when he told me this vision of Issa happened during the hour of prayer. This was the exact time that I and dozens of other Jesus followers around Hong Kong were praying for God’s hand to be at work amongst Muslim communities in South East Asia. This man was blessed, but so was I, as I saw God’s bold and unmistakable answer to prayer.
So I get up in the dark and sit in a posture of prayer. Because God is calling the least reached to know Him and to encounter Jesus. And I get to be a part of it.
Join OM in Hong Kong as they carry out another 30 days of Ramadan prayer.
*name changed
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