Iran (MNN) — Christians in Iran are people like you and me, not superheroes. But when the pressure comes on, God comes through in extraordinary ways and they find He’s right there with them.
Reverend Shah Ahmadi with Iran Alive Ministries says discipleship for new believers in Iran includes this message: “If you want to follow Christ, you should be ready to lose everything.”
But one of Iran Alive’s contacts was honest with God after she and her husband first became Christians.
She would cry in bed at night. “I love you, Jesus. I love what you did. I accept you. But it’s very hard for me practical[ly] to go to [the] Iranian regime and prison, whatever [could happen]. So don’t test me, don’t put me in that kind of place.”
(Representative stock photo from Iran courtesy of Mashid Saberpour via Unsplash)
Then what she feared came true. Her husband was arrested and so was she. Then came the moment she stood before a judge.
“Are you a Christian?” he asked her.
It was her chance to say no and claim she had been deceived. She was ready to do just that… but suddenly she found she was mute!
In her heart she recognized God giving her a choice to deny or not deny Him. She realized she would rather speak and go to prison than remain mute and perhaps go free.
“During that time, I receive[d] a special grace and boldness I never had — scared like a baby! Suddenly my lips start opening, and I start testifying: ‘Yes, I am a Christian. I used to be afraid of sharing, and now God gave me grace to share with you.”
Representative stock photo from Tehran, Iran (Photo courtesy of Soroush via Unsplash)
God gave her a word of knowledge about the judge: “You [are] going through marriage problem,” she told him. “If you want to save your life, you need to give your life to Jesus Christ.”
Later, the judge visited her one-on-one in a prison cell, asking how she knew what he was going through. The presence of God came to her again. She said it was God-given knowledge and only Jesus could save the judge’s marriage.
“I’m going to help you and your husband get out of the prison,” the judge told her, “and you help me and my wife to be disciple of Jesus Christ.”
Ahmadi says these two couples are now disciples of Christ inside Iran.
“This is one of the most brave [stories], because I see their weakness, and I see a power of God. I see a grace of God in our most vulnerable area, [when] we are unable to do anything,” Ahmadi says.
Please take a moment and pray for strength for Iranian Christians under extraordinary pressure today. During 2024, nearly 100 Iranians Christians were sentenced to a combined 263 years in prison, a massive uptick compared to 2023 (source: Article18).
Connect with Iran Alive Ministries for more stories and opportunities to stand with the Iranian church.
Header photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Aliata Karbaschi via Unsplash.
