Help
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Question
Brother Andrew and/or secret believers,
Other than prayers for your strengthening, protection, and softening of the hearts of your captors/persecutors, what is the single most important way those of us in the West can help you? Is it by contributing to Bible translation/distribution programs or by advocating for human rights or something else?
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Answer
The single most powerful way is prayer. After that there is a choice of things you can do. First of all never undermine prayer as being singularly affective. If however you have access to other resources then ask God to give you discernment and guidance as to what to use.
However God is showing us more and more that it is essential for Christians in the West to be clear about the dangers of Islam without being aggressive and hateful toward Muslims. Change your view of Muslims. Start seeing them as people who Jesus loves and people who need Christ or may become potential agents that the evil one can use. If you get in the arena first and start showing them the love and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ, you don’t need to dig too deep to get past the ‘bravado’ and the ‘euphoria of Islam’. You will soon see hurting needy souls who would love to say ‘Abba Father’ but would not dare! So change your view, be aware of Islam’s dangers but do not let that allow you to lose opportunities with Muslims.
And do not ever, ever compromise on the Gospel or its truths because that is what we are counting on. Do not let any other gods into your system and into the world of the next generation. Fight for your Christian rights in your part of the world and maintain the compassion of Christ, but be singular in your love of Him. One of the hardest things for us on the field is when the Church in the West compromises and waters down the truth of the Gospel or favours pluralistic teaching. Please this is a cry from the field!
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Question
What are some specific needs of the church in Saudi Arabia?
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Answer
Thank you for your question. Here are some specific needs that you can be praying for.
1. Pray for Bibles and scriptures to be available for individual needs.
2. Pray for more testimonies that can be used in ministry to Gulf Arabs.
3. Pray for more opportunities to reach Gulf Arabs outside of their home countries.
4. Pray for wisdom on strategies to reach Gulf Arabs with the gospel.
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Question
What would you like an average American Christian to know and do for you?
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Answer
As a Christian, you are hardly average. You are special, you have access to the One True God and you can be talking to that God about your brothers and sisters in the persecuted world. Those prayers are precious and hardly average. Also as an American you have the advantage of being in a nation and under a law that claims to protect human dignity and is an influential nation with the power to change a lot of global issues. By far, you are hardly average. You are a Christian in a nation where you have the right to speak about your faith. Over come any fears of Muslims, pray for them, befriend them and minister Christ to them. As an American you can share with people the plight of Secret Believers. Forget thinking you are average, start seeing yourself as special and your position as powerfully influential and world-changing and start praying and raising awareness and the prayer profile for us, your secret believer brethren. Remember YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU!
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Question
Ahmed
is there anything specific that you need prayers for? Rember that GOD is with you and he will never leave nor forsake you
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Answer
Thank you for your prayers. They mean a lot. I have not been well lately, so please pray for healing and strength to continue in my work. Please pray for my wife, Salima. Thank God we are reuninted, but she still battles depression. It’s especially hard since our living situation is uncertain. I know we can never return to my home country. Right now we have no home. Please pray that we can have a home, that we can get into a church fellowship, and can continue to have a ministry to Muslims in the Arab world.
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Question
What challenges do you face right now as followers of Christ?
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Answer
James (see pp. 246-49 in Secret Believers): Let me tell you about my eight-year old son. Legally he is a Muslim but in his heart he is Christian. In school he is a Muslim and is taught the religion of Islam. Everyone treats him as a Muslim. But at home he is Christian and he is being raised as a Christian. As he grows older, something very terrible is happening. His friends in the neighborhood won’t play with him because he is an infidel. They tell him if you want to play a game with us, go to the mosque and become a Muslim. My son is being torn apart. He doesn’t know his identity.
I’ve had to relocate because everyone (in my family and village) knew I became a Christian. I lost my job. I need to be productive. What kind of job should I look for? In a Christian shop? As soon as they know I’m a convert, they send me away. When I work with Muslims, they try to convert me. So I work with missionaries, but they were kicked out last year.
Then there are all kinds of problems with security officials. They put my father in prison. My father has nothing to do with my work—they did it to make him reveal my whereabouts. He was asked to write a statement saying that his son was mentally deranged. I’ve been sexually abused in the police station, more than once. These are just the highlights.
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Question
What are other ways we can pray for you?
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Answer
Ahmed: Pray for the next generation of believers among Muslim followers of Christ. Children of MBBs really suffer. Pray that the church will be more sensitive to the needs of MBBs. Pray for the national churches in Muslim countries, that they will hold up the Gospel and come to a full faith in Jesus. Pray for real partnership between national churches, MBBs, and various Christian agencies. Finally, pray for a real mission heart. As you know (from reading Secret Believers) we want to see many Muslims become followers of Christ. Please pray for a great harvest!
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Question
How can we help you?
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Answer
Peter (see pp. 246-49 in Secret Believers): First, pray. We need prayer that we remain strong and not fall back. Second, don’t forget us. People need to come here (to Egypt) more than ever. We need a new wave of missionaries. We need people with maturity. This is not a field for beginners, or people who want spectacular results. We need people who will serve the Church, not their own agenda.
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