This is not a One Challenge story. It’s God’s story. It’s Nabil’s story. We simply celebrate and share as members of His kingdom.
Nabil’s Story
Nabil grew up in a Muslim home in North Africa. His family was devout, practicing their prayer five times a day, fasting during Ramadan each year, and helping the poor. His mother covered her head out of respect for his father, but his father was abusive and unkind to both her and her children. Nabil remembers how they feared their father and wanted to protect their mother.
As a teenager, Nabil began to question a religion that said one thing but seemed to live out another, as evidenced by his father’s behavior. As he read the Koran, things didn’t seem to make sense. If those things were true, he began to be unsure this idea was something he wanted to follow. As he lay in bed one night, he found himself talking out loud to God, telling God that he was God’s child, and asking for help. When he realized what he was doing, he thought, “That’s so weird. I know, as a Muslim, that I cannot be God’s ‘child.’”
God’s Intervention
The next day, he turned on the television. Through satellite, a Christian television program was airing. At that precise moment, the speaker said, “You are God’s child. You are loved.” Nabil could hardly believe what he had heard.
No one was home during the days at his house, so he began to watch the Christian program every day. He soon surrendered his heart to Jesus. On the Internet, he found Christian websites in his language, and he asked for more information. Now that he knew he was truly God’s child, whom Jesus had come to save, he wanted to meet others in his country who also were Jesus followers.
God at Work
Nabil’s story is like many others. Through dreams or visions, God prepares their hearts to receive His Word. Then, through media (television, internet, radio, etc.), or through personal contact with a person with whom they can ask questions, or through getting a copy of the Word of God, they find Truth.
God is doing amazing things around the world – and in ways we could never imagine. One Challenge loves hearing the stories of how He is at work, stories that have nothing to do with OC, but ones we celebrate as His children.
How can God use you?
He is doing the same where you live. As you see Muslims around you in your daily life, say a silent prayer that God would reveal Himself to them, in dreams or visions or through the love of a Christ follower. Then be love to those whom God places in your path. You might just become part of their story.
Pray with One Challenge
This month is Ramadan, the month of fasting, and the month when Muslims are most spiritually open. Would you pray specifically, from May 6 – June 4, that God would bring Muslims to know His Son, Jesus? There is a great resource at www.30daysprayer.com. They have a pdf booklet you can purchase with a daily prayer guide.
Join us in praying God’s heart for the world!
NOTE: Photos are for illustration only. Exact location is not specified for security.