[2025 Ramadan] Day 23 A Nation to Proclaim the Praises of the Lord, Yemen!

Yemen is located at the southernmost tip of the Arabian Peninsula. With an area 2.4 times that of South Korea and a population of approximately 32 million, 99.8% of its population is Muslim. Yemen is one of the oldest human settlements, preserving the traces of ancient civilizations, and is also one of the main settings of the Arabian Nights. It is also a land that served as an important backdrop in the Bible, ruled by the Queen of Sheba and once prosperous from the trade of the ancient incense route.

The capital of Yemen, Sana'a, is said to have been founded by the descendants of Shem, the eldest son of Noah. With a long history of 3,000 years, Christianity was introduced to Yemen after the Pentecost, and it even declared Christianity as its state religion in the 6th century. However, in 628, not long after the founding of Islam, Yemen became the first Arab country to embrace Islam, and this history continues to this day.

Affected by the Arab Spring that swept through the region in 2011, Yemen, which had been under a 33-year dictatorship, plunged into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, which supports the Sunni government forces, and Iran, which supports the Shiite Houthi rebels, after the then-president was assassinated by Shiite rebels. This war continues to this day. Since the six-month ceasefire brokered by the UN in 2022, the intensity of the conflict has significantly decreased.

Currently, the Houthi rebels control the capital Sana'a, the northern regions, and the Red Sea coast, where most of the Yemeni population resides. The Houthis collect taxes from the residents and issue their own currency. The Yemeni government is overseen by an eight-member presidential council to which President Hadi transferred power, and it is based in the southern port city of Aden.

South Korea designated Yemen as a travel ban country in 2011, and Yemen has become a closed land where the footsteps of Korean missionaries cannot reach. The ongoing civil war has displaced approximately 4 million Yemenis, who have become refugees, leaving their families and homes, and has resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 people, including children and civilians. Yemen has the most severe child malnutrition rate in the world and currently exhibits a more severe fragile state index than Somalia.

Yemenis also observe Ramadan, reading the Quran in grand mosques, but Ramadan in war-torn Yemen continues to be a time of hunger and hardship. In Ramadan 2023, during a relief distribution event at a local school, a sudden explosion on the front lines caused a stampede, resulting in the death of 80 people. In 2024, the Houthi forces intensified their military operations, attacking US and Israeli ships in the Red Sea during Ramadan.

"A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord." (Isaiah 60:6)

Amen! God has called the Yemeni people to proclaim the praises of the Lord. Although it may seem that the power of death fills this land, the God of love will surely accomplish His work of salvation in this land.

Many Yemenis live as refugees in neighboring countries, having fled the war. Short-term mission teams have visited Djibouti, a country located closest to Yemen across the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea, on several occasions to meet these Yemeni refugees. Through these visits, the gospel has been shared with Yemeni souls in Djibouti, and over the years, souls have responded to the gospel. Some have been baptized in the name of Jesus and have risen as members of the church, the body of Christ. Just as the Lord said He would be with those gathered in His name, there have even been years when two baptized individuals formed a church.

Despite the ongoing war that has lasted over a decade, there are occasional reports of the Christian population growing and underground churches flourishing in Yemen. 2025 Ramadan Prayer Resources English, [3/23/2025 11:38 AM]

[2025 Ramadan] Day 23 A Nation to Proclaim the Praises of the Lord, Yemen!

Yemen is located at the southernmost tip of the Arabian Peninsula. With an area 2.4 times that of South Korea and a population of approximately 32 million, 99.8% of its population is Muslim. Yemen is one of the oldest human settlements, preserving the traces of ancient civilizations, and is also one of the main settings of the Arabian Nights. It is also a land that served as an important backdrop in the Bible, ruled by the Queen of Sheba and once prosperous from the trade of the ancient incense route.

The capital of Yemen, Sana'a, is said to have been founded by the descendants of Shem, the eldest son of Noah. With a long history of 3,000 years, Christianity was introduced to Yemen after the Pentecost, and it even declared Christianity as its state religion in the 6th century. However, in 628, not long after the founding of Islam, Yemen became the first Arab country to embrace Islam, and this history continues to this day.

Affected by the Arab Spring that swept through the region in 2011, Yemen, which had been under a 33-year dictatorship, plunged into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, which supports the Sunni government forces, and Iran, which supports the Shiite Houthi rebels, after the then-president was assassinated by Shiite rebels. This war continues to this day. Since the six-month ceasefire brokered by the UN in 2022, the intensity of the conflict has significantly decreased.

Currently, the Houthi rebels control the capital Sana'a, the northern regions, and the Red Sea coast, where most of the Yemeni population resides. The Houthis collect taxes from the residents and issue their own currency. The Yemeni government is overseen by an eight-member presidential council to which President Hadi transferred power, and it is based in the southern port city of Aden.

South Korea designated Yemen as a travel ban country in 2011, and Yemen has become a closed land where the footsteps of Korean missionaries cannot reach. The ongoing civil war has displaced approximately 4 million Yemenis, who have become refugees, leaving their families and homes, and has resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 people, including children and civilians. Yemen has the most severe child malnutrition rate in the world and currently exhibits a more severe fragile state index than Somalia.

Yemenis also observe Ramadan, reading the Quran in grand mosques, but Ramadan in war-torn Yemen continues to be a time of hunger and hardship. In Ramadan 2023, during a relief distribution event at a local school, a sudden explosion on the front lines caused a stampede, resulting in the death of 80 people. In 2024, the Houthi forces intensified their military operations, attacking US and Israeli ships in the Red Sea during Ramadan.

"A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord." (Isaiah 60:6)

Amen! God has called the Yemeni people to proclaim the praises of the Lord. Although it may seem that the power of death fills this land, the God of love will surely accomplish His work of salvation in this land.

Many Yemenis live as refugees in neighboring countries, having fled the war. Short-term mission teams have visited Djibouti, a country located closest to Yemen across the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea, on several occasions to meet these Yemeni refugees. Through these visits, the gospel has been shared with Yemeni souls in Djibouti, and over the years, souls have responded to the gospel. Some have been baptized in the name of Jesus and have risen as members of the church, the body of Christ. Just as the Lord said He would be with those gathered in His name, there have even been years when two baptized individuals formed a church.

Despite the ongoing war that has lasted over a decade, there are occasional reports of the Christian population growing and underground churches flourishing in Yemen.

Prayer is needed to protect the Yemeni church from Islamic persecution, interference, and bombings.

(Today's Prayer)

1. For the Yemenis and the Yemeni diaspora in Yemen and around the world who are responding to the gospel and coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we pray. In Yemen, devastated by war and forgotten by the world, Lord, who continues to build Your church and save souls, during this Ramadan, clothe the Yemeni church with spiritual and physical strength through the fiery work of the Holy Spirit. May they stand firm in You by faith, looking to You and holding on to faith to the end, and may the Yemeni church be victorious in the spiritual war.

2. We desire Your mercy to come upon Yemen, where the humanitarian crisis is so severe due to prolonged division, war, famine, and disease. May the evil laws that persecute Christianity in Yemen be abolished, and may the work of adding those who believe in the Lord daily rise like a flame. During this Ramadan, may the Yemeni souls returning to You be pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Through the Yemenis returning to Jesus and the Yemeni diaspora churches, may the prophecy for Yemen, the nation of Sheba proclaiming the praises of the Lord, be fulfilled, and may the praise of Yemen cover the entire Arabian Peninsula, the countries around the Red Sea, and resound to Jerusalem!