God’s Work Among Muslims In South Asia
One balmy summer evening, I was prayer walking with my friend through a predominantly Muslim area in my city. It wasn’t the smell of street food and masala chai or the horns of the gridlocked vehicles that overwhelmed me the most; it was the sheer amount of people bustling through the tight streets who I knew had never - and likely would never - hear the good news about Jesus that hit me the hardest at that moment.
Having lived in South Asia for four years, I sometimes grow numb to the magnitude of lostness. But God, in His grace, often uses situations like this to remind me of the desperate need for laborers to put the sickle to a ripe harvest. He also reminds me that I am not the answer — we need to multiply laborers who will own the core missionary task in order to see lostness impacted visibly.
India is the second-largest Muslim country in the world, though they only make up 20% of the population. There are over 200 million Muslims here, and every 21 seconds one of them passes into a Christ-less eternity — roughly 4,000 a day. This grieves the heart of God. This has to change!
It’s a known reality that God is moving mightily in India as church-planting movements are multiplying. However, these movements are predominantly among Hindus. Granted, we need thousands more movements to see the 1.4 billion Hindus of India reached — the task among them is nowhere near finished. But we also need thousands of movements among the neglected Muslims, who are perishing daily with little Gospel witness.
Despite the apparent lack of Kingdom advance among Muslims, we are experiencing and hearing stories that give us hope and wake us up to the fact that God is indeed at work among these people. Movement leaders and networks are realizing that to see No Place Left in their target regions, they can’t skip over Muslims. Desire and vision to reach them is growing among the saints, and God is raising people up who are asking the question, “What is it going to take to reach the Muslims in our fields?” Many Muslim families are coming to faith through a miraculous healing or encounter with the Lord and then getting connected to believers who can disciple them!
I’ll share one encouraging testimony God gave me the privilege of seeing:
A national brother of mine, who already has multiple generations of house churches and leaders he’s caring for and stewarding, has also been growing a heart for Muslims, specifically within his own people group and village. A few months prior to this, he had personally shared the Gospel with and started the first known group with some Muslims in his people group.
He wanted me to accompany him on a 500-mile circuit with multiple stops to visit this family and some others in different places, and to conduct a training with his leaders focused on reaching Muslims. The first stop we made was in his home village at a Muslim family’s house. He’s known this family for 15 years and had shared pieces of the Gospel in the past, but he wanted to gather his whole family this time so they could all hear.
When we arrived, Rafi and his wife and kids greeted us. We sat in their living room and began to exchange pleasantries when Rafi’s parents entered the room. His father, Abu, hobbled in, lifting his paralyzed left leg with his arm to take each step. He had no feeling in the leg, which had been numb for years following an accident — he showed me by slapping and pinching it explaining that it was completely numb. Rafi’s mother, crippled from birth, crawled in on all fours.
After getting to know them, we moved into spiritual conversation. I began by sharing my testimony, to which they responded with enthusiastic interest — I could tell they wanted to hear more about Isa al Masih (Jesus). My partner and I shared the Gospel, and when it became clear they needed further clarification, we explained it again.
We gauged their understanding, and after feeling confident they were getting the point, we asked Abu, “Will you and your family repent of your sins and trust in Isa al Masih for your salvation?” Abu, Rafi, and his family members agreed that they needed to do this. As a family, they repented and believed in the Gospel right in their living room, and we rejoiced together that salvation had come to that home.
Earlier that morning, before we set out on our journey, I had read Acts 3:1-10, where Peter and John heal the paralytic at the temple gate. As soon as I saw Abu limp through the door, that passage popped back into my mind, and I felt the Lord wanting to do something special.
Before we left, they wanted us to pray for their home and specifically a new room they had just built upstairs. It took about 10 minutes for Abu and his wife to climb up the stairs because of their ailments, and in that time the Lord kept impressing Acts 3:1-10 on my heart.
We prayed over the room and then I looked at Abu and asked him if we could pray for Jesus to heal his paralyzed leg. He consented, and my partner and I knelt down to lay hands on him.
In the style of Peter in Acts 3, I looked Abu in the eyes and said, “Abu, rise up and walk.”
I took him by the hands and lifted him up. I began to lead him on a slow, circular walk around the room. At first he hobbled like normal, but I continued to pray. Then, after about 30 seconds, I felt him take on more of his own weight. He loosened his grip on my hands until he finally let go altogether.
Abu, completely of his own accord, was walking upright with no external assistance to his left leg. His pace quickened from a shuffle to a walk, then from a walk to a light jog. He was in shock as he stomped, slapped, and pinched his left leg, which had regained all feeling.
Excitement and awe came over Abu and his whole family, who witnessed this miracle. We rejoiced together and worshiped the Lord for His power, love, and grace. Rafi came over and whispered into my national partner’s ear, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
After this, we had to start the trek to our next stop. Abu walked down the stairs, which now only took him about 10 seconds, and blessed us as we got in our car to drive away. Because of his healing, Abu was able to get a job and make money for his family again. At the time of this writing, he is still fully healed and the whole family is following the Lord. They meet as a church in their home, and my national partner visits them to encourage, strengthen, and guide them.
This testimony illustrates the ripeness of the harvest among South Asian Muslims. They are hungry for the truth, and they can’t find it within the constraints of Islam. They want an experience with the Living God, but their religion doesn’t teach that a close relationship with Him is possible. They are taught to offer prayers in a language they know nothing of, revere a book they can’t read, and seek acceptance from Allah through dead “mediators” lying in marigold-laden tombs.
The power of God’s Word, miracles, and this disillusionment are all means by which the Kingdom is advancing among Muslims in South Asia today. The stronghold of South Asian Islam is falling and bending its knee to King Jesus. However, more laborers are desperately needed — national and cross-cultural.
Therefore, I pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest ... laborers who are willing to suffer for the Gospel, move at a slower pace than co-workers laboring among other people groups, go into hard and dangerous places, and do whatever it takes to see these beloved, misguided people come to the saving knowledge of the Savior.
Will you commit to pray for them? Will you advocate for them? Is God calling you to give your life to see them reached? Perhaps He is. Heed the call.
Editor’s Note: To take your first steps towards the unreached, reach out and connect to us.