Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For He is our God."
(Psalm 95:6)
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul! Worship His holy name."
This is the opening lyric of an incredible worship song and video by contemporary Christian artist, Matt Redman. This song is also on my ipod and I find it hard to stop listening to it. I find myself adoring God in worship and praise through this powerful little song. Just recently I uploaded it to my Facebook page to share it with all of my friends. One of the first persons to "like" it was my dear friend in Iran. He will remain anonymous because of security reasons.
After he watched the video, we began to have a chat together. I was on my smartphone and he was on his pc at home in Tehran. I asked my friend what he thought of the video and he quickly responded that it was beautiful. What he said next was the cause of a profound worship experience.
My friend said, "Randy, it is my dream to go to church someday with you without fear."
I cannot adequately describe the emotions I had when he said that. I began to think of the song again by Matt Redman entitled, "10,000 reasons." In what I can best describe as a flash of light or vision, I could see myself and all of my friends in Iran, together worshiping God without fear.
I quickly texted my friend back and told him, "You dont have to be afraid..We are together now in heart and spirit. We may be miles apart but we are together worshiping God in spirit."
I told my friend to watch the video again as we chatted. Then I said, "Lift you voice and heart in praise with me right now. We are worshiping together. "
The I boldly told him. "There is no government in Iran that can stop our worship together."
My friend agreed with me and then told me, "My biggest dream is to go to church."
My heart goes out to my friend. His greatest dream in Iran is to worship Jesus without fear. Muslims in Iran are forbidden to convert to any other religion. It can cost them their life and that's why my friend lives in constant fear. A few years ago he became a Christian and because of that he must practice his Faith secretly.
I told my friend, "Your dream is coming true right now. You and me are in church together as we worship. There is no distance in our worship."
I can sing with Matt Redman "Bless the lord O my soul. Worship His holy name." For a few minutes, one night after work, God answered the prayer of my friend in Iran. It is moment that I will never forget.