The wife of Saeed Abedini, the Iranian-American pastor imprisoned in Iran since September 2012, has started a three-week fast at the beginning of the new Year in an attempt to draw closer to the Lord.
"Tomorrow I will be starting a three-week fast. The focus of the fast is to spend more time in the presence of the Lord and to draw closer to the heart of God. I will be sharing scripture and what the Lord lays on my heart for each day," Naghmeh Abedini posted on Facebook on Monday, January 4.
The mother-of-two also reflected on her conversion experience, revealing that it required great sacrifice.
"It can mean letting go of everything you have been taught and have believed to be true. It might mean losing your community, friends and your family. When I became a follower of Jesus at the age of 9 I had to let go of all I had been taught as a Muslim despite the cost and the rejection and persecution that came from my own family," she wrote.
"In the same way if you want to follow Jesus, then you will have to let go of all you have been taught and have believed and be willing to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and accept the Bible as God's Living Word and the final authority in your life despite the cost," she added.
Naghmeh also emphasized the importance of never losing sight of Jesus, writing, "Whether you are Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, LDS or any form of man made religion, you have to realize that the there is a separation between humanity and God that can ONLY be resolved through JESUS CHRIST."
"Man made religions are all empty labels that will not give us access to God. Access to God is only possible through Jesus Christ," she continued.
In a follow-up post, Naghmeh contended that "God's story with us is a love story. It is the Love story that we strive so hard to find in other people. It is something that we long for. It is only when people fail us that we realize that this deep longing can not be found in another human being."
She went one to encourage readers to remember that "The best marriages and friendships can not fulfill the deep longing in our hearts. We were made for a deep intimate love relationship with our Maker."
Pastor Abedini was imprisoned in Iran allegedly for endangering national security, though groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice have stated he is being punished for his Christian faith. He is an American and a former Muslim, who converted to Christianity in 2000.
As reported by the Gospel Herald, Naghmeh previously stepped away from social media and halted any public support of her spouse, citing continued psychological, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, especially his addiction to pornography.
However, in November, she revealed that despite past grievances, she will continue to advocate for his freedom.
"The truth is that I still love my husband more than ever and my advocacy for him has taken a new form of interceding on my knees. The truth is I can not deny Saeed's love and passion for Jesus and that he continues to suffer in the Iranian prison because of his genuine love for Jesus and his refusal to deny Him," she declared in her first post back last month.
