A Father’s Letter

Mahmoud realized his brother, Hossein, was reading the Bible their father had thrown out of the house.

“Do you know what will happen if Dad catches you with this Bible?” Mahmoud asked him. “Do you want me to get in trouble?”

Over time, and after continuing to read the Bible in secret, Hossein placed his faith in Jesus Christ.

Months later, when the boys’ mother was unable to have a needed surgery, Mahmoud felt helpless watching her groan in pain and remembered that Ehsan’s grandmother had been healed through prayer.

With Hossein’s help, Mahmoud took their mother to Ehsan’s home where the family surrounded their mother, praying for her in the name of Jesus. Hossein, as a new believer, joined them in prayer.

When the three of them returned home, Khodayar scolded the boys for taking their mother to the Christians. “It would have been better for your mother to die than for you to bring shame to our family!” he yelled.

That week, Ehsan encouraged Mahmoud to read his Bible. Eventually, Mahmoud, like his brother, came to faith in Christ. Mahmoud prayed for his mother and the rest of the family daily, and within weeks his mother was free of pain.

When his sister took their mother to a doctor’s appointment a short time later, they learned that she had been completely healed.

Read the full story – and others focused on Bibles in restricted nations and hostile areas – in the April 2023 VOM magazine.