Pray for Nabeel

Friends, join me in praying for Nabeel Qureshi. If you don’t know his story of faith in Jesus Christ, you can read a summary of it here or listen to him share it here. It is an amazing testimony!

I thank God for his powerful, soul-transforming work in Nabeel’s life, as is documented in his book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, and in his numerous other writings and talks and interviews.  And I thank the Lord for the powerful spiritual impact that has come, by God’s Spirit, on countless people around the world through the brilliant, kind, thoughtful witness of brother Nabeel Qureshi.

You may be aware that about a year ago Nabeel was diagnosed with a very serious form of stomach cancer.  He’s undergone a series of aggressive treatments to fight this disease.  But the long and the short of it is that, as of today, at age 34, Nabeel is gravely ill and receiving only “palliative care”—just comfort measures, that’s all the doctors can do for him.  They expect that his life is nearly at its end.  So, apart from a mighty work of God, Nabeel’s prospects for a future in this world are indeed very grim.

But, of course, a mighty work of God is possible!  After all, Nabeel has already seen the Lord do a magnificent heart-changing, eye-opening, hope-giving work to bring him to saving faith in Jesus.  Who’s to say God cannot also perform a miracle of healing?  He’s done it before (the Bible includes many accounts of this, as does the history of the church).  What’s more, Jesus tells us to “Ask, seek, knock” and it will be given to us (Matthew 7:7)—to pray, and trust the Lord.  The ability of God is more than sufficient to calm raging seas and raise the dead and eradicate every cancer cell in a human body (and note Ephesians 3:20).

But that doesn’t mean that God always uses his ability that way.  He can heal.  Sometimes he does heal.  But often he does not.  We’re called to pray with faith—the kind of humble trust that’s wide open to God’s act of healing now or healing later (and remember, all Christians are healed—the only question is when, whether in this life or in heaven).  Physical healing today would be a great gift, of course, but just a temporary one; holding on to this mortal life is only a short-term plan.

In Nabeel’s latest video from his hospital bed, in which he tells about the transition to palliative care, he asks for prayer.  And so I relay that request—let’s pray for him! Pray for healing—he mentions that desire several times.  Pray also for the sustaining and strengthening of his faith in glorious ways, and for a peace that passes understanding.  Pray also for his wife, Michelle, and their young daughter.  And pray also for the hearts and souls of millions of people watching all of this (including many Muslims), that they would recognize the powerful spiritual reality of God’s grace in Nabeel’s heart, and that many would turn to Jesus and receive the gift of eternal life in his radiant presence—a life that death can never threaten (Romans 8:38-39).

In this recent video Nabeel mentions his realization that it may not be God’s will to heal him here and now.  He’s trusting the Lord with the timing of it all—whether the healing is in this world or in the life to come.  He professes his love for Jesus, regardless of how things turn out.  So, again, pray for him—for the outworking of God’s good and gracious purposes in and through Nabeel’s life.

As I step back and consider the ministry of Jesus, I’m struck that the greatest need of the paralyzed man lowered through the roof into his presence was not for healing but for the forgiveness of sin—that was priority one (Luke 5:17-26).  And I’m also moved by the truth of Luke 10:20:  Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. When the disciples saw the Lord perform dramatic signs and wonders, Jesus points to the greater wonder, the higher good, the ultimate joy—namely, that of belonging to God and receiving the priceless gift of eternal life in his presence!

How about you—what is it that gives you the greatest joy?