Healed of coronavirus and rescued from Islam in Saudi Arabia!

Al-Safar*, a 42-year old Arab Muslim living in Saudi Arabia, seemed to have everything going for him. An Islamic scholar from a well-educated family, he makes a good living as a bank officer and enjoys down time with his wife and children.

After attending a wedding several weeks ago, however, he developed a fever and cough. Then came the dreaded diagnosis: COVID-19.  Within days he was in the Intensive Care Unit of the local hospital as his symptoms continued to worsen. Breathing became increasingly difficult, and soon, he felt certain he would die.

Two nurses on duty in the COVID ward and assigned to his case ‘just happened’ to be members of the ALG underground church of Bibles for Mideast. Like all of the church’s members, they had once been followers of Islam.

Al-Safir had gotten to know some Christians through his education, but had always resisted any interactions with them. The prospect of death has a way of changing one’s perspective however.

So when one of the nurses asked kindly, “May I pray for your relief?” he readily agreed. The room otherwise empty, she felt free to call for her fellow Christian nurse to join her in  prayer. The nurses constantly pray ‘under their breath’ for their patients, but now, with no one else around, they felt bolder. Both placed their hands on his chest, and one prayed loud enough for him to hear what she prayed, and more importantly, to Whom she prayed.

Initially irritated, he then noticed his breathing became easier, and told them.

“Do you know who we prayed would give you relief?” one nurse asked him.

He replied, 'I know you prayed to the prophet Jesus.”

“You think Jesus is only a prophet,” she replied. “But He is the Son of Most High God and the Living Lord. He came to the world to take away sin and death by His own death on the cross of Calvary. On the third day He rose from the dead. He really is the author of life and death.”

Not all who the nurses pray for are healed, of course (one of God’s mysteries we may one day understand). But they felt God moving powerfully now, and His leading to go further.

“By His stripes we were healed and are healed. Al-Safar. If you believe in Him you will be healed from sickness and saved from death. Can you believe in Jesus as your Lord and savior?”

He had no answer, so the nurses returned to their rounds of caring for other patients. Within a few hours, however, his lungs began to give out again, and one of the nurses rushed to his side.  He pleaded with her to put her hands on his chest and pray.

“I will pray and certainly Jesus will give you relief,” she replied. “But if you don't believe in Jesus as your own Lord and Savior, you will not be eternally healed and saved.”

Al-Safar remained silent about accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior, but begged for her prayers to relieve his distress.

She called for the other nurse and they placed their hands on his chest again and prayed. As they did, Al-Safar suddenly had a vision of Jesus coming in clouds with millions of angels! The Lord then spoke, asking him to believe what the nurses said about Him. Then He added that everything written about Him in the Bible, which is the real word of God, is true.

“There you will learn about and find eternal life. Obey it and follow Me.” Jesus then blessed him and disappeared. Al-Safar clearly saw His nail-pierced hands and felt an amazing peace and relief surge through his body and mind.

When the nurses stopped praying, he opened his eyes and told them what he had experienced. He then readily accepted Jesus as his own Lord and Savior. The miracles continued in that when doctors did further tests, they declared him clear of coronavirus.

Before being discharged from the hospital, he told other patients what had happened to him, and even prayed for them. When he returned back home, he witnessed to his wife and children about Jesus, and within a few days they too believed. He then contacted the pastor of the local underground ALG church and through phone and online conversations, has been in constant touch with him. He has become a diligent student of the word, and with his family, is preparing for eventual baptism. He has not yet been able to attend worship services.

Strolling Saudi women having to cover up even more than usual (REUTERS)

The pastor of the church says that three other Muslim COVID patients prayed for by the nurses have also completely recovered, and two have moved even further into the spiritual healing possible only in Jesus. Like Al-Safar, they have been in touch with the pastor to learn more about Jesus and the church.

Please keep Al-Safar and his witnessing efforts in your prayers. Please also pray for the dear Christian nurses—that countless more of their patients will find both physical and spiritual healing.

We also ask that you pray for the pastor and the other believers who continue to gather secretly. Even with the additional restrictions of coronavirus, they work tirelessly and fearlessly building a strong underground church in the midst of unimaginable constraints on what can ‘legally’ be said, done or shared in a highly restrictive nation of the Middle East.

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* Name changed for security reasons