[Today’s Prayer] Former Iranian Revolutionary Guard turned U.S. pastor: “I heard the voice of God”

The story has been shared of an Iranian Shia Muslim, once deeply versed in radical Islamic ideology, who met Jesus Christ and became a pastor.

According to CBN News in the United States, Reza Safa was a man well-versed in radical Islamic beliefs that regard Israel as the “little Satan,” the United States as the “great Satan,” and all non-Muslims as pagans. He said, “The ultimate goal of the Iranian regime is the destruction of Israel and the United States.”

Raised as a Shia Muslim in Iran, he recently testified in an interview with CBN, saying, “Before I met Jesus Christ, I believed the same things, but now I have been changed.”

A devout Shia believer, he moved from Iran to the United States as a college student in 1978. A year later, he returned to his homeland to participate in the Iranian Revolution led by the radical cleric Ayatollah Khomeini. At that time, Iran was in extreme turmoil as Khomeini overthrew Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and in the midst of this, he made a life-changing decision.

He said, “One day I told my mother, ‘I’m leaving Iran. I don’t think I’ll ever come back.’ So I left Iran and went to Sweden, where I met two Swedish missionaries. They took me into their home, showed me hospitality by serving me food, and gave me a Bible in Persian. From that moment, I began reading the Bible.”

As Safa studied the Bible deeply, he experienced a divine encounter with God.

“For the first time in my life, I heard the voice of God. It wasn’t an audible voice, but it felt as if I could hear it. It was as vivid as hearing you speak right now. In perfect Persian accent, like my mother calling me, He said, ‘Reza, you don’t need to pray like this anymore. Your sins are forgiven. Pray to Me.’”

As his faith deepened, Safa eventually became a Christian pastor and founded TBN Nejat-TV, a Persian-language Christian channel broadcasting throughout Iran and the Middle East.

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He said, “This is a very important time when we must accomplish this mission and bring down this regime. In the past, I did not fully understand the value of freedom. But we must reflect on how precious freedom is and how we are receiving it.”

Source: Christian Today

“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14)

Lord, thank You for allowing Pastor Reza Safa, who once lived as a devout Iranian Muslim seeking the destruction of Israel and the United States, to meet Jesus and decide to live according to Your will, and to share his testimony.

Just as Pastor Reza Safa came to believe in Jesus while studying the Bible, please continue to send missionaries to the people of Iran so that Iranian souls may read and learn Your Word.

God, there are leaders in Iran who still live with the same thoughts and ideologies Pastor Safa once had before meeting Jesus. Please let them come to know that our Lord is the God who saves.

Like Pastor Reza Safa, let Iran’s leaders also hear the voice of God and repent before the cross. Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and belief in the truth, grant them salvation.

Let the Iranian church, which is praying with tears, rely even more on You, and become a church that overcomes by faith in the Lord who hears our prayers. Let Your will be accomplished in Iran through the Iranian church.

We also bless the Persian-language Christian channel TBN Nejat-TV. Let it become a channel through which many Iranian souls watch and receive Jesus.

Let all Islamic regimes in Iran fall, and let the eternal kingdom of God come. Drive away every evil power that opposes this.

And let the people of Iran rise up as a people who carry the gospel to the ends of the earth for the glory of Jesus Christ.