It wasn’t until Hamid found himself sitting in a prison cell that he realized that he had nothing to lose.
His younger brother Aziz was a new follower of Jesus. Aziz introduced Hamid to God’s Word, and they started studying the Bible together. After several months, Hamid began meeting regularly with Dennis, a Frontiers worker who was helping Aziz grow as a disciple. Not long after, Hamid professed faith in Christ.
But even though Hamid had intellectually accepted the Gospel message, his heart hadn’t truly encountered the love of Jesus. Nor did he have any desire to share the hope of Christ with others.
Hamid was like many other new Muslim-background believers. He needed help learning to foster intimacy with the Lord. So, Dennis invited several of the new believers, including Hamid and Aziz, to study the Bible with him.
“Let’s get together regularly so we can read the Word, practice listening to God, and obey what He tells us,” Dennis suggested.
For almost six months, the men sought to put John 10:27 into practice: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Dennis challenged each of the men to spend quiet time with the Lord and to listen to what He might say to them through the Word.
Listening in this way was a new discipline for the believers. They had never learned anything like this in Islam, and they were slow to warm up to the spiritual practice. For many months, Hamid and the others felt they were hearing nothing from God.
But God was about to reveal Himself in a dramatic way.
One day, Hamid sat in a park reading the Word. Police officers took notice and harassed him for reading a Bible. They arrested him and threw him in jail. He wasn’t charged with any crime, but the police still made Hamid spend the night in a cell, just to intimidate him.
Hamid was afraid. He felt miserable as he lay shivering on the cold, bare floor of the cell.
Click the button below to read how that night in prison changed Hamid’s life forever.
Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/dreams-amid-persecution
