Praying for Pastor Saeed

-
Most of you have probably heard about Pastor Saeed Abedini. He is a pastor from Boise, Idaho that has been imprisoned in Iran for 225 days. What is his crime? Its his faith. The Iranian government says that he has committed crimes against the Isalmic Republic which really means he has been sharing his Christian beliefs.  He celebrated his 33rd birthday, just 2 days ago, in solitary confinement. He has been brutally beaten and tortured and has internal bleeding along with many other injuries. He has a brokenhearted wife, Naghmeh, and two children. 

At church this past Sunday we prayed as a congregation for Pastor Saeed. Dylan was in the service with us and overheard our prayer. He was very concerned and asked Bryan to explain what was happening to Pastor Saeed. Bryan carefully explained the situation and Dylan was touched by it. It has been 4 days and Dylan has still been thinking of Pastor Saeed. This morning he asked if he could write him a letter. Well, of course! So, Dylan and I sat down to write his special letter to Pastor Saeed. He wrote it all by himself and then we prayed together for the pastor and his family. Dylan and I were reminded of one of his memory verses, Luke 1:37. It says, "Nothing is impossible with God." Dylan wrote this in his card and we prayed for a miracle!

Dylan's desire to encourage Pastor Saeed and his family really touched my heart. As I searched for the address, I found a link to send an email as well as sign a petition. If you'd like to take part in the petition and/or send an email, please go to savesaeed.org. If you'd like to write a letter, the address is shown in the picture below.
Dylan's card to Pastor Saeed
"Pastor Saeed, I am praying for you! Love, Dylan
"Nothing is impossible with God" Luke 1:37
Pastor Saeed Abedini
Evin Prson
Saadat Abad
Tehran, Isalmic Republic of Iran
Today I am thankful for my son's tender heart towards others. Pastor Saeed has been on his heart for days now. It was his idea to pray for him and write to him. His thoughtfulness is so inspiring! I am also thankful to live in a place where my faith is accepted. I cannot imagine being tortured because of my belief in Christ. It is such a blessing to be able to be so open about my love for Jesus! I am also grateful for the ability to pray for our brother in Christ. Although there is nothing that we can do physically, God has given us the ability to do something amazing for others. We can lift them up in prayer and ask the God of the Universe to come to their aid. What an incredible privilege! 

Father, I lift up Pastor Saeed. Please comfort him and help him through this difficult time. Your Word says that nothing is impossible with YOU so I pray that You might do something miraculous in this situation and free Pastor Saeed from prison! I pray for his family. Lord, please give them peace and hope in these dark days. Please surround them with encouraging people and allow them to know that their brothers and sisters in Christ are standing with them and lifting them up in prayer. Father, we trust You! In Jesus Name, Amen
***UPDATE: Since writing this blog earlier today, Pastor Saeed has been released from Solitary! Praise God! Dylan could not have been more excited to hear this news! It is amazing to watch God answer prayers! We're continuing to pray for his release from prison!

Comments

Post a Comment

Please take the time to leave an encouraging message

Popular posts from this blog

Please don't give me a wedgie!

-
Image
 Would you believe me if I told you that life with 3 boys is wild??  You probably would, huh? I'm telling you, just an average Wednesday night in the Shaw household is full of all sorts of craziness! I did hear a first tonight though!  Bryan was wrestling with the boys and suddenly Dylan starts yelling "Please don't give me a wedgie!" Now by those words, you would assume that he didn't want a wedgie but the way he was shaking his booty in front of Bryan and laughing, proved that he really did want a wedgie! HA! Then, of course, Evan and Tyson started saying, "Please don't give me a wedgie!" (One in English, one in toddler language) So we had three little boys running around shaking their tail ends and begging for wedgies.  There. Is. Never. A. Dull. Moment. As you can see from this picture above, they got their wedgies! They thought it was hysterical! And I just had to show you the picture below, just to give you an id
Read more

Beauty from Ashes

-
Image
I have heard the term "beauty from ashes" a thousand times in the past week. It wasn't the first time I 've heard the term but I've always just brushed it off. Since I've heard it so much lately, I decided to pay it some attention.  So here we go... The Bible says in Isaiah that God will give us beauty instead of ashes. In Biblical times it was the custom for people in great times of mourning and difficulty to lay down in ashes. Just imagine this...you’ve got a big problem in your life so you just lay down in a pile of dirty ashes. There is absolutely nothing beautiful about this scenario. So where does the beauty come from? Can ashes really be turned into something beautiful?   Scripture says that God is able to take the situation that burdens you or causes you pain and turn it into beauty. He can pick you up out of the ash pile of life and make something beautiful out of you. The Hebrew word for ashes is epher and the Hebrew word for beauty is pheer. Just m
Read more

Psalm 84: 11-12

-
Image
For the  Lord   God is a sun   and shield;      the  Lord  bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold      from those whose walk is blameless.  Lord  Almighty, blessed  is  the one who trusts in you Psalm 84: 11-12 I've been pondering Psalm 84:11-12 for a couple of weeks now. It has become one of my favorite verses. After really digging into this verse on my own and in Bible study this morning, I feel like God speaks volumes through these 38 simple words.  God is a sun and a shield. Like the sun, God provides for us, nourishes us, and is always present. The sun provides hope with each new day, just as God gives hope in even the worst situation. Like a shield, God protects us and gives us security. We can hide behind Him and feel safe. But, a shield does no good just laying near by. It only protects when picked up and used appropriately. The same is true with God. If we don't acknowledge Him, if we don't get to know Him, if we don'
Read more