A Heart Wakes Up for the First Time

“I really need your prayers,” my Muslim friend Arief said as we sat down at a table in our favorite café. “Would you pray for me right now?”

Arief and I had been friends for several years. But he had never shown much interest in matters of faith—until now.

For the next two hours, Arief bared his soul to me. He confessed his struggles and shared about the doubts and pain that had troubled his heart and mind for years.

He had never shown much interest in matters of faith—until now.

In between Arief’s confessions, I shared how Jesus Christ has worked in my own heart and mind. I showed Arief verses from the Word about God’s lovingkindness and His promise to guide those who seek to know Him.

“Everything you are sharing with me is amazing,” Arief finally said. “Can we do this again? I want to read more of the Bible with you. Can we meet tomorrow?”

“Of course,” I told him. I invited him to come to my house the next evening.

As Arief sat in my living room the next night, he confessed, “I’m so desperate to know God. I can’t explain it, but it’s like I’m waking up for the first time!”

“I’m so hungry to know more… I simply can’t get enough of the Word.”

Over the next couple of hours, we read stories of Jesus together. Arief asked lots of questions, and I drew a couple of simple Gospel illustrations to help him grow in understanding.

“I am so hungry to know more,” Arief said at the end of the evening. “I have no idea why, but I simply can’t get enough of the Word. Let’s plan to keep on meeting.”

For years, I had known Arief and had already been walking through life with him.

But it wasn’t until now that Arief’s heart had been awakened.

“It’s like I’m waking up for the first time!”

What caused his heart to become so hungry for the truth?

One thing I know: My teammates and I have been praying for years for God to awaken the hearts of our Muslim friends like Arief—to give them a burning desire to know Him.

Arief is proof that God works as we pray.

Perhaps you pray for Muslims too. Thank you, and please keep praying! Your prayers are making a difference in their lives.

• Praise God for awakening Arief’s heart with an insatiable hunger for Christ.
• Pray that Arief will give his life to Jesus and become a bold witness for the Gospel.
• Ask the Lord to burden the hearts of believers around the world to pray that Muslims will be drawn to know God through His Word.