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For Christ in the Wilderness - Part 3
by Benjamin Prabhu While in solitary confinement one day, the guard on duty opened the cell door and instead of handing over my lunch packet, threw it on the floor and kicked it towards me. Deeply hurt, I asked him if that was what his religion taught him; to which he quickly apologized and picked up the packet and gave it to me. However, I could not take in such humiliation, and in cried out to God. Then I remembered the sufferings of the Lord on the cross. When He appeared before the high priest, people spat on His face and struck Him on his head. Some others slapped His face and mocked Him. The Spirit of the Lord convicted me that if the Savior had faced all this humiliation for me, then the humiliation I face for Him, pale in comparison. I forgave the officer in Jesus' name and blessed him. Immediately, a divine peace replaced the anger in my heart. Normally, the guards would allow Muslim inmates to wash themselves, before the five designated worship timings, as per Islamic custom. They would open my cell door at that time and call me for 'salah' (worship) but I would tell them that I was not a Muslim but a 'messieh' (Christian). They would then compel me to convert to Islam and participate in their worship. When some of the police guards forced me relentlessly, I told them in clear terms, 'My faith is in Jesus Christ, to whom I pray not five times, but all through the twenty four hours in my room'. They would angrily say that if I did not embrace Islam, I would end up in hell. Only one or two guards respected me after hearing my statement of faith. When the guards would speak in contempt about Christ and Christians, my instinct was to fight back or argue; but the amazing thing was, God was teaching me some important values like patience. This gave me opportunities to speak about my Savior in humble and polite ways. It was not long before I realized that God was able to turn bad situations into opportunities, where I could glorify Him. Oh yes, the God I worship is truly wonderful! As I had no contact with the outside world for two weeks, I remained in the same clothes. The only redeeming factor was that I was allowed to take bath twice a day. Only after two weeks could I get my clothes washed and buy toiletries and other necessities sold within prison grounds. Every day, two guards would open a slot in my cell and call out something in Arabic. Not understanding clearly, I would simply reply in the negative. Only when a guard told me, I realized that a person was collecting clothes from inmates for washing. However, since I had no money, I could not utilize the service. Only on the 20th day of imprisonment, I could change my dress. On days when there was no interrogation, I had to remain in my cell doing nothing, as no reading or writing material was allowed. A dim light used to burn in the cell, night and day. As I was not used to sleeping with lights on, it was a struggle to get any sleep. I spent my days pondering over how best I could face further interrogation and called to mind, God's promises in the scripture 'Fear notbe not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yea I will help you' (Isaiah 41:10). 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and not shall the flame scorn you' (Isaiah 43:1-2) These living promises strengthened me both physically and spiritually. I soon learnt that Mr. Iskander, an elder of the Ethiopian church was also arrested a week after me. He was the one God used to provide us with an auditorium for the special crusades. Under intense psychological pressure and torturous questioning, I had revealed the names of the four Christians who had helped me in organizing the crusades. However, I knew in my heart, that these strong believers would withstand the test of faith. As for the Saudi believers, I confirmed their testimonies and conversion, but I did not reveal their names. I was also accused of propagating Christianity through video and audio tapes, all over Saudi Arabia. I told them that my work was confined to the city, but they would not believe it. I was still to learn that several Christian leaders, fearing arrests, resigned their jobs and left the country, during my imprisonment. Only a few believers visited my wife to comfort her during this time of trial. As there was no further interrogation, I was hoping to be released soon. I learnt later that friends and senators in the U.S., officials from the governments of Australia and Germany had sent faxes to the Saudi government, asking for my release. International Amnesty, White House, and the home ministry of India had been approached on my behalf by Dr. Steve Sneider, Mr. Richard Braidich of International Christian Concern, U.S.A., Dr. John Solomon (Miracle Ministry) and Dr. P.P. Job (Tortured For Christ), all appealing to them to ensure my release. The Saudi authorities replied to these petitions stiffly, and said that I was being held for not conducting Christian services, but for converting Saudi Muslims and that I would be released shortly. Twenty days passed by with no sign of release. Then, the next ten days were the worst. As there was no enquiry, I was confined all night and day to the solitary cell except for a few minutes, twice a day when I was allowed to go to the bathroom. I felt like a caged animal. Days seemed like years, and loneliness took hold of me. It was then that I longed for interrogation, for then I would at least breathe some fresh air, while taking in the sunlight when taken out, and hear human voices. PRAYER LIFE IN THE PRISON AND ATTACK OF THE ENEMY During those ten days, God enabled me to intercede for relatives, friends, ministries, missionaries, people of other faiths, and especially for the nation of Saudi Arabia and its people. I could not read the Bible and this created a big void in my soul. In Psalms 119, David explains very vividly about the greatness of the Word of God, and its quickening power. God's Word is our life and forgetting this could lead us into untold miseries as stated in Hosea 4:6, 'Because you have forgotten the law of the Lord, I also will forget your children'. During the two weeks prior to my arrest, after conducting the two big services, I had been busy arranging the return tickets and purchasing materials, that I had not been spending enough time reading the Bible and meditating upon it. Due to the meager time spent in prayer, my personal relationship with God had weakened. The Lord softly convicted me of my carelessness, which had given foothold for the enemy to attack me. Dear reader, you can forget anything in this world, but do not forget the living Word. Give quality time to this and give secondary place to all other things. Then you will see the fruit of your time spent with God's word, in your life. While in prison, I would get up every morning and first recite, Psalms 23, 121, 46 and 91, which I had memorized since my childhood days in Sunday school. That was the food that sustained me. King David wrote those psalms when he was surrounded by his enemies. 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil' in Psalms 23:4 and 'He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him' in Psalms 91:15 gave me great comfort. Psalms 121:7 says, 'The Lord shall preserve you from all evil', and Psalms 46:1 says, 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble'. How true this proved to be in my life! God's word encouraged and strengthened me through every step of the difficult path that I trod. They also helped me to believe that the living God would protect, guide and deliver me, no matter how bleak the situation may be. Through the day, I recited several Bible promises aloud to encourage myself. I am thankful to the Holy Spirit who comforted and strengthened me in those days as I felt his quickening power on me as it was on the dry bones to revive them. There were times when tormenting spirits would appear in the nights and whisper to me mockingly, 'You are going to be beheaded and your wife will become a widow. Your children will be father-less and your own father will die of shock'. Fear, despair and sorrow filled my heart and grief mixed with worry sapped the strength out of my body, and I would lose sleep. The emotional trauma was more painful than any physical torture, and it was unbearable for me. The devil used his weapons of fear, despair and confusion against me, but God showed me the way and enabled me to use the following three weapons (1) binding evil spirits and removing them from my path (2) covering myself and my surroundings with the blood of Jesus (3) wielding the weapon of praise and worship, I exalted the Lord with the words mighty God, wonderful Lord, miracle working God, El Shaddai, Ebenezer, Jehovah Jireh, living God, Lord who conquers death, eternal God, merciful God and so on. When I offered praised to God, Satan and his angels were driven away because the Bible promises us that where there is praise, there is victory. Thirty days went by but there was no sign of release. I was discouraged and wondered whether I would be kept in the solitary confinement for months at an end. There were times I wondered, 'Is Jesus alive? Why is there no deliverance? Why is there no reply to my prayers? Is He on my side?' There were times in the afternoon when the call would be given for Muslim worship and I would be tempted to join. My faith in the true God was so badly shaken. I was so oppressed by evil spirits that I nearly denied my Lord. Just when Satan seemed to beckon me with sheep's clothing, the Lord appeared before me with bleeding hands and questioned me about my faith. He reminded me of the many sermons I had preached about following the Lord zealously. Was I going to deny Him now, like Peter? I remembered Revelations 2:12 'Do not fear any of those things, which you are about to suffer; be faithful unto death'. I was ashamed that I nearly let the devil lead me astray. The thought of many saints in the Bible, who suffered for the faith, inspired me to commit myself afresh into the hands of my Lord. I rejoiced at the thought, that in the event of death, I had a home in heaven waiting for me. When I committed myself totally into God's hands, a strange thing happened. At that time, the Lord enabled me to visualize in my mind, materials for thirteen spiritual books. Did not apostle Paul write his epistles from prison, and did not John write the book of Revelations during his imprisonment in Patmos? Likewise the spirit of the Lord enabled me to write books in my heart on the subjects of 'God in generations past', 'God of the covenant', 'The name of Jesus' and many more. I believe that God fulfilled this particular scripture in my life, 'All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose', in Romans 8:28. I desire to publish these books revealed to me, in the near future. 2010 copyright Benjamin Prabhu. Benjamin Prabhu is a doctor, currently preparing for his medical licensure exams. His father, Prabhu Isaac, is a pastor and founder of Voice of the Solid Rock ministry in Pittsburgh, PA. http://voiceofthesolidrock.org http://uponthesolidrock.wordpress.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |