Persecution Blog: Mohammed Part 2: "God, Save Me"

This week we are sharing excerpts from the testimony of “Mohammed,” a former Muslim who decided to commit his life to Christ, even if it meant he would face rejection and persecution in his native Iran. The words are his, unless otherwise noted in italics. Come back to the Persecution Blog throughout the week to read more of Mohammed's amazing testimony. You may want to read Part 1 prior to reading today’s post.

One day I was high on drugs and I turned on the television and was checking out the channels on satellite. For just a few seconds I was on a Christian channel and I only heard one sentence. The only phrase I heard was a brother saying: when I give my heart to Jesus — and I switched [the channel]. I only heard that phrase before I changed the channel.

I thought, “Christians are crazy they give their heart to somebody.” These days nobody gives somebody even a pen. [Ed’s note: the Farsi words for heart and pen sound similar.]

Ten days later I got drunk and again I turned on TV. And I was just flipping channels. Again with the Christian channel I just heard a lady say: when I gave my heart to Jesus — and I switched. These Christians are crazy just sitting down and giving their hearts away. I know this was God’s timing and miracle because I never heard that phrase [before].

It was 2 a.m. I was tired of taking drugs. I was taking drugs on the roof of my house. I was taking crack and it was the end of it in the glass. Just a few days before [that night], my family was going somewhere and said, “Let’s not take him, he doesn’t look good.” I hated to hear that. So that night I was on drugs and I was tired of life. I realized I may be powerful over many things but I have no power over my drug addiction.

So I lifted my head and said, “God, save me.” I asked him to save me from my addiction to drugs. I couldn’t even imagine that I could live without drugs for even one day. Because I had tried before to be free from drugs and had failed. I told myself even if I could put away drugs, I would just live a little bit longer so what was the use. I said, “God, this is like another accident I am in. Would you save me again?”

Suddenly I found myself in the memory of the accident 15 years earlier. All the things in these 15 years came together. I didn’t know what hand saved me 15 years earlier but I tried to hold on to that hand. I always said there was a hand that saved me. So I realized it was the hand of God that saved me. The hand of God that saved me from this accident today saved me from this. It was revealed to me that night that it wasn’t my brother or the prayer of my parents, but it was God who saved me.

I fell on my knees and I repented. I said, “God I am sorry. I repent of saying that the prayers of my parents saved me or the spirit of my brother saved me.” I said, “God you have to save me from these drugs tonight.” I was praying and lifting my hands for two hours and my hands were numb. I expected to hear a voice or that I might see a light. I didn’t see that and I was really disappointed. I went back to sleep in my bed.

Before I went back, I looked in the sky and said, “God it doesn’t match your character to let me go empty handed. Either you are not real or I am too sinful that you would do anything for me.”

I got back and I turned on TV. I was changing channels. A few minutes before that I was on the roof asking God to save me and then I was flipping channels and again [I came to] this Christian channel and I heard, this time the whole sentence: when I gave my heart to Jesus I was saved. Exactly the same word – save; because I was asking God to save me when I was on the roof. All my life I was paying attention to these details. Pray for salvation, and the same words were used here in this sentence. I was always looking for main points of things and I would use them in my life. So suddenly it was revealed to me that salvation is in this.

So I continued watching that channel, and when I heard the testimony, I realized the person giving the testimony had a similar life to me. And his face, you know, to me he didn’t look like a drug addict, and I wanted to be like him. So he finished his testimony and then the pastor was talking and said, “Those who are watching this program, God wants to save you. You are in bondage to drugs and Satan and this is the way of salvation.”

I was a person testing everything and I tested that. The person said whatever heart and expectation you go with to God he will fill it. If you go with a small heart you will get small things from God, if you go with a big heart you will receive big things from God. I want to follow my heart completely. I prayed the prayer of salvation and I repented from the ignorance of my ancestry. I repented because I was following [Islam] without doing research. It might be strange for you but at that point I gave everything. I wanted to experience the whole thing.

When I closed my eyes to pray, I felt the presence of Jesus beside me 100 percent. I felt if I had opened my eyes at that point I would have seen him. I was too ashamed of myself and my sins to open my eyes. As a sinner, I don’t deserve to see him but my feeling was telling me God is here.

When I opened my eyes, a power inside me told me it was finished. "Your old life is finished."

Read Part 1 of Mohammed's testimony. Come back tomorrow to read how Mohammed became a powerful witness for Christ in Iran...even in police stations and jail cells.