Last year, hundreds joined us in prayer for Saeed Abedini, who had been assigned to the darkest and most notorious jail block in all of Iran. He had been traveling in Iran to visit leaders of house churches he had helped establish. But then, in what seemed like an instant (but was more like but was more like 14 months of laborious deliberations that sounded more like scenes from a “Bridge of Spies” movie), he was released and at this moment is flying to Europe. Regardless of any troubling backgrounds, this is a big win for religious freedom and we hope it signals the beginning of MANY such releases around the world by multiple governments and regimes. And no matter what, we can all gather together as one, celebrating answered prayer on behalf of thousands.
Giving thanks to God for this–an answer to probably thousands of prayers.
We praise the Lord for the release of this pastor for whom much prayer has been made. We can only imagine the joy that will fill that home. We are concerned about Pastor’s health and pray he will be okay soon. God bless all those who have had a part in his release.
I’m a little concerned. Didn’t Saeed’s wife publically state her husband was an abuser, including being addicted to porn? Is this why there has been very little about him or pictures of Saeed with his family?
Hi Meg. She did indeed write, in Christianity Today last November, that there were problems — and that these problems were prompting her to pull back from a public advocacy role. But being the resilient wife that she is, she continued to pray and seek the Lord personally. In fact, she was on Day 10 of a 21-day fast when he was released. Several faith-filled leaders are committed to helping them get quality care (and helping Saeed get specialized counseling). We have strong confidence that, through prayer and lots of hard work, God will work mightily in their lives.