May 2021

To Help you Pray this month for your Local Mosque Community.

I was born into a Muslim family in Iran. When I went to school, my teachers encouraged me to pray and to do religious religious rituals, so that Allah would be happy with me and would send me to heaven. In school we learned that Jesus was a prophet of Allah who cured the sick and raised people from the dead. For many years, I imagined Jesus as a kind and benevolent prophet.  

When I was 18, I left Iran to study abroad. Some of my classmates happened to be Christians. I was often moved by their kind nature and good behavior. Seeing these Christian classmates kindled the love for Jesus that I had in my heart. I wanted to tell them about my feelings and ask how it was possible to be a follower of Christ. The closer that I got to my classmates, the stronger my love for Jesus grew. 

Meanwhile, I was always afraid of death and hell. I was told that Allah would put me in hell if I did not do good things. Even if I did something good, it was out of fear of Allah, not out of love. Allah appeared to me as an executioner, not a loving God. Gradually, I turned away from religion, but I always thought about the Christian God. 

One day, I attended a church with one of my classmates. I was just curious. After I entered the church, my heart felt warm. I felt peace in my heart. I had never felt so much peace in my life before. After that, I kept asking my friends many questions about Christianity. 

When I came to Canada, I realized that my mother, who lives in Iran, had become a Christian. My mother and I talked on the phone about her new faith. I told her that I had also become interested in Christianity.

By God’s grace, I attended the Persian Church in my city, and I found good and loving friends there who shared the Gospel with me and patiently answered all my questions. I learned from my friends that God is love, and that He loved us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us, save us from our sins and give us eternal life. My friends read the Bible with me and shared with me about God’s love and His plan for my salvation. My heart was deeply touched and filled with God’s love, and I felt I was His child.  

The moment I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, I felt I was born again. I had a new life granted to me by Jesus. Jesus gave this new life to me as a free gift. I hope and pray that I will be able to be a good child for my new Father in this new life. 

Prayer Points: 

• Many Christians used to go to the Berlin Wall with their Bibles during the Cold War and prayed this prayer: “Wall, come down in the name of Jesus.” My challenge to you is, every day, with your Bible in your hand, pray this prayer, “Ayatollahs, leave Iran, in the name of Jesus.” “Iran be a free country, in the name of Jesus!”  
• Please pray for our protection and for wisdom as we share the Gospel with Muslims, especially with Iranians.
• Please pray for our physical safety. We have been receiving threatening messages from unknown sources asking us to stop the Persian ministry.
• Pray that more Christian students at colleges and universities will boldly reach out to international students with the love of Jesus Christ and that many will come to know Him as their personal Savior. 
• Pray that a harvest of sincere believers will flood our land and be watchful, effective witnesses to others. 
• Ask our Heavenly Father to reveal His true and loving character to unbelievers, through His Word; and the words and actions of His disciples.