My team and I recently committed to 40 days of prayer, asking God to move in power throughout the Muslim world. Each of us on the team chose to fast as we felt led.
About 12 days in, I found myself struggling in the fast. I was visiting my Muslim friend Shamsia when a supporter sent me a message of encouragement along with a verse:
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. — Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
Shamsia saw me smile and respond with an emphatic “yes” as I silently read the verse.
“What are you reading?” she asked me.
I shared the verse with her, and she was so touched by it. “Sister, this is so beautiful,” Shamsia said as she clasped her hands to her chest and reach out to touch my knee. “These words are so true!”
I quickly agreed with her. Then I read her the other verses surrounding that Hebrews 12:11.
“This is so beautiful. These words are so true!”
“If I had a book like this, I would read it every night,” Shamsia said.
I asked if she wanted to read the Word with me daily to learn even more about God’s goodness. She eagerly said yes.
That very night, we started reading Genesis 1 together. At the end of the chapter, Shamsia shared how she was in awe of God’s power as she imagined His Spirit hovering over our world when it was just darkness and water.
“If I had a book like this, I would read it every night.”
The next day when I saw Shamsia, she had a pep in her step.
She told me that she’d had a wonderful dream. She had dreamed that she was in the most beautiful garden and it was all perfection, just like what we had read in Genesis. When she woke up, all she wanted to do was go back to that garden God had made.
Praise the Lord for working in Shamsia’s heart as she reads the Bible! She’s hungry for more of the Word, and she’s eager to know why God created her and what her life’s purpose is.
Please pray that Jesus Christ will meet her in these questions and lead her to find her purpose and hope in Him.
- Thank God for Shamsia’s openness to the Word of truth, and pray that she discovers Jesus, the Living Word.
- Ask the Lord to pour out His spirit in Muslim communities and draw many men, women, and children to salvation through Jesus Christ.
- Pray for Frontiers workers to be filled with fresh vision and hope as they pray and fast, asking God to move in more hearts.
Sameen might be quiet. But she’s not afraid to tell others about Jesus.
Discover how God is using Sameen and dreams of Jesus to draw Muslims to the truth of the Gospel.
This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.