As Christians we are united in the body and family of Christ and called to go before the throne of God on behalf of our brethren in prayer. Currently, we are fairly distanced from persecution in the United States physically, but spiritually we have brothers and sisters paying with incredible sacrifices daily for their commitment to follow Christ.
After hearing the testimony of Pastor Saeed and his wife, I was convicted of how little time I spend in prayer - truly in worship and fellowship with my Heavenly Father and Creator. Saeed struggled with depression even at the age of 20 because despite his radical attempts to earn Allah's favor he still had no relationship with his god. Both he and his wife were devout Muslims before accepting Christ, and their faith has now been a testimony to millions of the life-changing power of the gospel. Before meeting Naghmeh, Saeed was a house church pastor with several other men. These men would gather to pray from 12-8am before preaching in the streets in spite of fierce persecution. After a year with no converts, the fruit of their labors was seen in thousands of Iranians accepting Christ and over 100 house churches planted. Even after the Lord called them back to the States, he continued to be a man of prayer taking their young children out with him to pray over houses in their community 6 and 7 hours a day. His wife now says that time spent in fellowship with his Savior prepared him for his imprisonment and is enabling him to withstand the cruel psychological and physical tortures he is now facing. He and his wife were running an orphanage in Iran when he was arrested 3 years ago in 2012. September 26th will be the 3 year anniversary of his imprisonment, and the date for international prayer vigil on behalf of his release and the persecuted church. I invite you to join with me in raising up this family and the persecuted church in prayer on September 26th.