For Christ in the wilderness - The true story of Prabhu Isaac

[benny_MD]

hello friends,
i decided to start a thread, in which i am going to share the testimony of my dad, in his own words....he was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in 2001 for over 200 days, for the 'crime' of organizing underground christian activity. As some you might be aware, Saudi Arabia does not allow any forms of worship or practicing faith, other than Islam. So, he was arrested in a midnight raid, one week before he was due to leave the country for good. The following excerpts are from his book, 'For Christ in the wilderness'. Every week, i will publish a part of his testimony in this thread. Hope this testimony will strengthen your faith and encourage you to stand firm for the name of Christ, wherever you may be!
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It was around midnight on the 18th of July, 2001 when the sound of my doorbell shook me out of my quiet thought. I was then in my prayer room, preparing a sermon for a meeting, the following day. My wife and I had just returned home around 10pm after attending a house prayer. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where I lived, house meetings were the only source of fellowship and edification for Christian believers. When I opened the door, I found a young Saudi man standing there, who asked me in a rough tone if I was ‘Izaak’. When I replied that my name was Isaac, he apologized and left immediately. Although I was disturbed, I went back to preparing my sermon.


After about 10 minutes, the doorbell rang again and this time I found two Saudi men at the door. They told me that they had come to search my house with a warrant and to ask some questions. When I hesitated, the older man flashed his secret police ID card. Fear, shock and dismay filled my heart, but I just praised the Lord and prayed for protection. The policemen sat in our living room and started questioning me. I thought they would leave after the usual round of questioning; instead, in the next few minutes, thirteen other policemen entered our house.


My wife, who came to the living room, stood by a door leading into a prayer hall, in the hope that the policemen would not discover it. The policemen, though, insisted on checking all the rooms, and barged into the prayer hall.


Our prayer hall resembled a small church. The room was soundproofed and beautiful curtains covered the room. The name of our ministry, ‘Voice of the Solid Rock’, and a few other bible verses written on placards, were hung over a small make-shift altar at the front of the room. The policemen stood there for a moment, taking stock of the room in which they were standing. The next instant, they started to turn the room upside down. They tore the placards to pieces, broke the musical instruments, and confiscated the songbooks and other church literature. They were furious to see a small church, in one of the major commercial cities in the country, just a few kilometers from the holiest cities of Islam.


Even as they raided the house, a few men conducted my interrogation. I was questioned about the church and two other evangelistic programs which had taken place in the city recently, including the people who attended these meetings. Initially, these meetings were supposed to be farewell meetings for my wife and myself, as we were leaving Saudi Arabia for good after 17 years of service in a government hospital there, and returning home to India; but we decided to convert it into a thanksgiving service combined with a miracle crusade to give thanks and glory to God for His amazing provisions through the years.


I claimed total responsibility for the conduct of these meetings but they insisted on knowing the names of the other people involved. The police officer threatened to beat me up before my wife’s eyes, if I did not reveal the names of the Christians. I remained silent but continued to praise God in my heart. I shut my eyes tight, expecting the first blow to land on my face and to avoid seeing my wife’s agony; but then the officer’s mobile phone started to ring, and after speaking for a few minutes, he abruptly stopped the interrogation and said that I was to accompany him. I believe God saved me that moment as a sign to prove that He was with me and my wife. Yes, the praise brought victory!


The raid went on till about 3 am. The policemen seized my personal computer, CDs, audio and video tapes, copier and printer. The officer in charge assured me that I would be held for interrogation only for two days, during which time, my wife could stay with a family friend or be put up in a female prison. I contacted a close friend, who came within 15 minutes of the call, to pick up my wife. Before I left with the policemen, I embraced my wife, comforting her with the words, ‘Do not fear. God is with us’. Even though she was in tears, she showed tremendous strength and fortitude.


I was told to carry all the seized items in a large carton, to the police vehicle. Amazingly, a collection of video tapes and bibles in Arabic, went unnoticed by the police. If they had been noticed, they would have served as incriminating evidence and they would have imposed severe punishment on us. The Lord had miraculously closed the eyes of the policemen to this and saved us from further danger! I believe that the God we serve is an almighty and all powerful God who understands the deepest cries of our heart and is able to save us from the attacks of the evil one. His word says that those who hope in the Lord will never be put to shame. It was this fact that gave me courage to keep going, while He continued to deliver me from difficult situations such as these to prove that He is the same yesterday, today and forever!


I recalled the story of a certain believer, who when he smuggled Bibles into communist Russia across the border, he would pleas with God to close the eyes of the guards, so that they would not see the packages in which the bibles were smuggled. God was gracious to him, and blinded the eyes of the guards, and protected him from interrogation. In the same way, God protected us by blinding the eyes of the police officers, so that they might not see the important tapes. It was truly a miraculous act by God!

 

[benny_MD]

From my home, I was taken directly to the prison of Ministry of Interior. There, I was made to wait in the cubicle of the officer who had arrested me. In the carton of video tapes and bibles I carried, there was a book ‘Tortured for Christ’, written by Richard Wurmbrand. Till today, that powerful book remains as a strong reminder to keep trusting the Lord, in the midst of persecution. It reminded me that it was necessary to suffer for the sake of Christ. All of us who believe in Jesus Christ, are called in some way, to bear His name through difficult circumstances as well. At that moment, I realized that God was preparing me to face the events which were going to happen hereafter.

After a few minutes, a policeman walked into the room, and proceeded to shackle my hands and feet with heavy chains. From there, they took me in a jeep, to a solitary confinement cell in the same compound. I felt humiliated, and I cried out to God, ‘Lord, what have I done to suffer this? Was preaching your words to lost souls, a crime?’ It was then, that I heard a still small voice asking me, ‘Do you know my sufferings on the cross? Do you know the shame I endured, when I walked to Golgotha carrying the cross? Are you suffering more than that?’ Yes, I was reminded in a painful way of the sufferings, my dear Savior had endured for me, that I may be saved by His grace and made whole. I was encouraged by the thought, that my predicament was nothing compared to the agony of my Lord on the cross. I decided to place my trust in Him, and moved on with praises in my lips.
When we arrived at the confinement area, there were sixteen solitary cells lined up and I was thrown into Room number 8 at 3:30am, and the metal door closed shut behind me. The room was 7 feet long and 3 feet wide. The size of the room was the size of a pit, dug for a coffin. It seemed to me that, trusting in the Lord was going to be tougher than I thought! One thing I knew though, was that the Holy Spirit was interceding for me. Only by His spirit, I had a grateful heart to thank the Lord for the little comforts like a mattress and pillow which they had provided.
The solitary cell, literally and metaphorically, cut me off from the outside world; and I was left with two choices to contemplate. I could either will myself to die, or stand strong, believing that when God is for me, none can stand against me. The room had steel walls on both all sides, and there was no window or proper lighting. The prison had a central air conditioning facility, and food was served thrice a day, at regular timings. Although shock, fear and loneliness plagued me, I thanked God for these facilities, in the midst of such troubles. I remembered the words of David in Psalms 34:1, “ I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my lips”, and of Paul in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything, give thanks”.
In the night, however, I was very disturbed, and unwanted thoughts robbed me of my sleep. My only recourse was to get down on my knees, and I prayed, “Lord, there were only ten days for us to leave this country and return home, and I know that nothing takes place which is not your will. For 17 years, we lived safe under the shadow of your wings, using the resources we had, to minister your gospel in secrecy. You blessed us with an effective ministry and gave us all that we wanted, but I want to understand why you chose to remove your hand of protection now when we were less prepared for it”. Immediately, the Lord showed me the verse of Revelations 2:10, “Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you in prison that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation for ten days: be thou faithful unto me”. This gave me new determination, to accept the sufferings for the Lord and to overcome the plans of the devil, and to be faithful to Christ, till my last breath. That night, I slept peacefully forgetting all my troubles.
The next morning, at around 5:30am, the officer on duty knocked on the door of my cell, and through a small opening, pushed through a breakfast packet. After much pleading, I was allowed to go to the bathroom to rinse my mouth. The food served in this prison was not bad; but the inmates of this prison were treated like animals and were not allowed to even see each other. We had to take turns to use the bathroom, and one had to wait for 15-30 minutes but God gave me grace to face such hard conditions.
To add insult to injury, they permitted neither my wife nor any of my friends to visit me in this prison, and I was thus deprived of any encouraging words. It was later when I came to know, that after two days of my arrest, my wife had contacted the prison authorities for permission to visit me. They lied to her, saying that there was no prisoner by the name of Prabhu Isaac, and was told to go away.
She repeatedly applied for permission to see me, but she would be denied every time. The authorities deceived everybody by simply stating that I would be released soon.
FIRST INTERROGATION
At 9:30am, they brought me out of the cell and with shackled hands and feet, they took me to the room of the interrogating officer. This officer was middle aged, dressed in the traditional Arab dress and spoke good English. He asked me to sit down and subjected me to a barrage of questions.
“Why were you acting against our religion? Why did you contact such big services? Where are the two Saudis who attended your meetings? Who brought them to your meetings? Who are the other Christian leaders involved in this?”
He assured me, that if I furnished these details, he would release me in two days and allow me to see my wife on the same day. I discerned that his plan was to elicit information from me by speaking softly, and lulling me into a false sense of security. I knew that he had no intentions of releasing me. I told him firmly, that I did not know the details of the two Saudis. He then directed his subordinate officer to conduct a thorough inquiry and submit a report. After that, I was taken back to my solitary cell.
In the thanksgiving meetings, which were held a few weeks prior to my arrest, we had invited the well known evangelist Dr John Solomon, to be the special speaker. In the first service, we had a young Saudi man who came forward to testify that he had accepted Christ as His personal savior after secretly watching the ‘Jesus’ film in Arabic. In the second service, there was a middle aged Arab man who came forward during the altar call. He had heard of the meeting from his Filipino maid, and decided to come. The day after the service, he called up to testify that he had been suffering from chronic kidney failure, but during the altar call, he saw a bright light shining before his eyes, and felt two hands touching his back exactly on the kidney portions. The next day, he went to his doctor, only to find out that he had been completely healed! Consequently, these two crusades were the first of its kind with an attendance of 2000 and more, a gathering which is considered pretty huge in Saudi Arabia. The authorities who interrogated me were informed about these two Saudis in particular, and this was a major cause of their anger towards me. They accused me of converting their people and demanded to know the details regarding these two Saudis.
The next day being Friday, a holiday (Thursdays and Fridays, being the week-ends in the Arab world), I was anxious regarding the enquiry scheduled for Saturday, and several questions ran through my mind. “How can I divulge the names of other Christians? If I do, what would happen to them? If I reveal the names of the Saudis, would they be beheaded? (since their law prescribes this punishment for conversion) “.
As expected, on Saturday, they once again shackled my hands and feet with chain and dragged me to the next building for interrogation. My ankles and feet hurt a lot, as the inner rings of the chains were sharp edged. It grazed my skin and caused bleeding. They interrogated me at least four or five times a day, and it was a painful experience to walk with the chains. The officer who conducted the enquiry, was a young man, who asked about the details of the prayer meetings held in our house. I was very particular about not divulging any names, and I pleaded with God to speak through me, by claiming His word in Matthew 10:19-20, “But when they delivered you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be a given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you”. I committed myself to God’s hands and decided that even when threatened with false accusations, I would remain a true witness and use the occasion to give answers that would bring glory to the name of the Lord.
During the enquiry, I gave them details of how I came to Saudi Arabia, and how I accepted the Lord. I was a young man from a small town in India, and was raised up in a God fearing Christian family, but had no personal relationship with Christ. I received my bachelor’s degree in Radiography from a reputed Christian college, and in 1984, a year after my wedding, I was recruited to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and joined a year later by my wife, who was a nurse. For a few years, we led a quiet, normal life that was for the most part, worldly. We were nominal Christians till 1987, when one day, Jesus came into our lives and changed everything. Since then, we have been serving the Lord with all that we have; and in 1990, we were called into His service.
At this point, the officer interrupted me and accused me of transgressing the law of the land by conducting home church meetings and prayer services. I explained politely, that the meetings were for the Christians who were away from their own countries, and not specifically for the conversion of any Muslims. There were no huge prayer halls or churches, for them to gather and pray, and because of the lack of this facility, they were wasting their lives, going after aimless pleasures. These churches were for their spiritual growth and always held in sound proofed rooms, so as not to disturb the neighbors.
The interrogation lasted for a couple of days, lasting several hours each day. A charge sheet was prepared, based on my replies, with my signature and thumb impression. Some tapes of our prayer meetings were played, and questions were asked. Through answering their queries, I had the opportunity to witness and present the gospel. I boldly affirmed my faith in Jesus as the Savior of the world and that He is the way, the truth and the life. Even under pressure, I did not divulge the names of those who attended our meetings.
Finally, a four page charge sheet was presented to the superior officer who was furious at the fact, that I had not revealed any incriminating information. I was threatened with dire consequences and ordered to face further inquiry. My lock up in the solitary cell was extended. This nearly broke my spirit.

 

[benny_MD]

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 not…be 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.

Arrest of an Ethiopian elder and further interrogation


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.

 

[theodre]

I am inspired by this story and I realise that God works everything for the good!!!!

 

[benny_MD]

I'm glad to hear that. This is not the entire story. I intend to post the remaining part, in the next few days. God bless!