Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani What has happened in your life in the past thousand days? That’s nearly three years! How many friends of yours have married, how many babies have been born, how many loved ones have passed on… in three years? Did you start a job? Lose one? Move? Well, in all that time, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has remained imprisoned for his Christian faith in an Iranian jail, with a death sentence looming in the shadows.
Sunday, July 8, marked 1,000 days since he was taken to prison, since he was forced to leave his church, his home, his wife, and his children for an Iranian jail. It is critical to realize that this Christian pastor’s only crime is his faith. In 2009, Pastor Nardarkhani questioned why children’s religious instruction in Iran is only allowed to be Muslim. His “trial” led to him being found guilty – of apostasy to the Muslim faith – and the death sentence was issued.
Of course, he could have the death sentence lifted. It is within his power. All he would need to do is renounce Christ. But that is the one thing Pastor Nadarkhani will not do. No, instead he says, “I try to be humble and obedient to those who are in power, obedience to those in authority which God has granted to the officials of my country, and pray for them to rule the country according to the will of God…for I know this, in this way I have obeyed God’s word.”
In another time, in a similar place and religious climate, another man faced execution for failing to renounce his faith. We know him as Daniel. After praying to God was made illegal, we see Daniel’s response in Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”
The defiant devotion of a Daniel led to a death sentence for him, just as Pastor Nadarkhani’s defiant faith has in his case. But, God had other plans for Daniel. Through Daniel’s captivity and miraculous preservation, even the leaders of that heathen nation had to confess the power of the One True God. Now is the time for us to pray that a similar result will lead to not only the release of Yousef Nadarkhani in the near future, but that truly this will be a moment that plants seeds of faith in the hearts of others in his own land.
Will you pray for Pastor Nadarkhani’s release? Please share this request with your family, with other believers at church, on prayer chains, or wherever you gather to take petitions before the throne of God. Let’s mount a mighty chorus of prayer on behalf of this faithful man.
And for us? Well, in Classic Christianity, our Papa said this:
Daniel was a man who believed it was wrong to run when we should stand. He believed it was wrong to be weak when we should be strong. As the Sunday School song teaches, we should all dare to be a Daniel! How our day needs unalloyed, uncompromising men like Daniel. Daniel would not be coerced to do wrong, even by a king’s decree. He was as faithful in his spiritual life after, as he was before the decree was signed. No earthly authority could tongue-tie Daniel’s loyalty to God. His convictions concerning God were deep as life itself, and dearer. (Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions, Vol 1, page 117)
May the remembrance of Pastor Yousef’s unwavering commitment to stand for Christ in the face of such mighty opposition encourage us to humbly stand for Christ, no matter what trials we face. And -pray!
Before the Throne!
Patricia & Cara
Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions
Sunday, July 8, marked 1,000 days since he was taken to prison, since he was forced to leave his church, his home, his wife, and his children for an Iranian jail. It is critical to realize that this Christian pastor’s only crime is his faith. In 2009, Pastor Nardarkhani questioned why children’s religious instruction in Iran is only allowed to be Muslim. His “trial” led to him being found guilty – of apostasy to the Muslim faith – and the death sentence was issued.
Of course, he could have the death sentence lifted. It is within his power. All he would need to do is renounce Christ. But that is the one thing Pastor Nadarkhani will not do. No, instead he says, “I try to be humble and obedient to those who are in power, obedience to those in authority which God has granted to the officials of my country, and pray for them to rule the country according to the will of God…for I know this, in this way I have obeyed God’s word.”
In another time, in a similar place and religious climate, another man faced execution for failing to renounce his faith. We know him as Daniel. After praying to God was made illegal, we see Daniel’s response in Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”
The defiant devotion of a Daniel led to a death sentence for him, just as Pastor Nadarkhani’s defiant faith has in his case. But, God had other plans for Daniel. Through Daniel’s captivity and miraculous preservation, even the leaders of that heathen nation had to confess the power of the One True God. Now is the time for us to pray that a similar result will lead to not only the release of Yousef Nadarkhani in the near future, but that truly this will be a moment that plants seeds of faith in the hearts of others in his own land.
Will you pray for Pastor Nadarkhani’s release? Please share this request with your family, with other believers at church, on prayer chains, or wherever you gather to take petitions before the throne of God. Let’s mount a mighty chorus of prayer on behalf of this faithful man.
And for us? Well, in Classic Christianity, our Papa said this:
Daniel was a man who believed it was wrong to run when we should stand. He believed it was wrong to be weak when we should be strong. As the Sunday School song teaches, we should all dare to be a Daniel! How our day needs unalloyed, uncompromising men like Daniel. Daniel would not be coerced to do wrong, even by a king’s decree. He was as faithful in his spiritual life after, as he was before the decree was signed. No earthly authority could tongue-tie Daniel’s loyalty to God. His convictions concerning God were deep as life itself, and dearer. (Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions, Vol 1, page 117)
May the remembrance of Pastor Yousef’s unwavering commitment to stand for Christ in the face of such mighty opposition encourage us to humbly stand for Christ, no matter what trials we face. And -pray!
Before the Throne!
Patricia & Cara
Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions
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