“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me.” Isaiah 65:1
A few years ago we had Tom Doyle speak at our missions conference. Tom has spent eleven years as a full-time missionary to the Middle East and has authored the book Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? Below is one of the stories he relates in his book. My heart soars as I contemplate God’s love for people and the measures He is willing to take.
Hassan had a heart for Muslims and had studied for years to reach them for Christ but the results were disappointing. He had lived in the old part of Cairo, Egypt for two years and although he talked about Christ daily, he had not seen a single convert. Early one morning he was abducted and taken against his will across rooftops to a hatch door that he was commanded to open. Hassan was praying the prayer of a martyr, “Jesus, into your hands I commit my spirit,” but something extraordinary awaited him inside the foreboding room he entered.
The man who had kidnapped Hassan explained: “We are imams, and we all studied at Al-Azhar University. During our time there, each of us had a dream about Jesus, and each of us has privately become a follower of Christ. For a time, we didn’t dare tell anyone about this. It would, of course, have been our own death sentences. But finally, we could hide it no longer.
“We each prayed to Jesus for His help to learn what it means to be His follower. Over time, He brought us together, and you can imagine our amazement when the Holy Spirit revealed that there are other imams who have found Jesus as well. Now we meet here three times a week at night to pray for our families and for the people in our mosques to find Jesus too. We know you follow Christ. He has led us to you.
“I’m very sorry I had to frighten you with the mask and the gun, but I knew it was the only way to get you here. It was just too dangerous any other way. I apologize. But now our question is, will you teach us the Bible?”
One Thing 