We have been hearing from many of our viewers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) about their desire for healthier marriages. While some contact us in desperate need of help, others get in touch to share stories of God’s faithfulness. Whatever their situation, SAT-7 seeks to listen to their needs, provide support, and encourage godliness in our viewers’ relationships.
Behrokh,* a woman from Iran, turned to SAT-7 for support over her husband’s infidelity. “I have been married for 29 years and my husband has been seeing other women and recently has taken a ‘temporary wife,’” she told us. “He has refused to have counseling, and it has got to the point that I don’t want to continue living with him, but I am in a difficult legal position. Please pray for me.”
At Behrokh’s request, our Viewer Support Team provided a professional counseling session. After this, we encouraged her firstly to seek God’s peace in the situation, and secondly to pursue legal advice, encouraging her that through it all she is never alone.
A member of our team then prayed with Behrokh, asking God to reveal Himself to her husband. SAT-7 continues to offer support to Behrokh through prayer, advice, and counseling.
Seeking Help
Alaa, a man in his 40s from Egypt, also sought help from SAT-7 for his marital difficulties. “My wife shows no respect or appreciation for me, especially in front of our children,” he said, before explaining some of the ways in which he is trying to reconnect with her. Our team encouraged Alaa in his efforts and prayed that God would cause their relationship to flow with mutual love and understanding once again.
“Thank you for all the effort you have put into helping me,” Alaa wrote to us recently. “I really needed someone to talk to. It made a great difference to me. I will keep in contact with you and update you on what happens, as I will do everything you advised me to do.”
Escaping Abuse
Tabitha from Sudan married when she was only 16 years old. At first, she saw her husband as a compassionate man, but that perception soon changed. “The attractive and caring person whom I married became a predatory monster,” she stated. His mistreatment of her caused “agony,” and she felt “psychologically harmed” by him.
She escaped to Egypt, leaving her children with her mother in Sudan. Although she was no longer suffering abuse from her husband, Tabitha struggled to build a new life amid the pain of being separated from her family. “I tried to help myself, but it didn’t work,” she said. “I believed I could fix the troubles I am having, but the situation is quite complicated.”
Our team encouraged Tabitha to focus on her faith first and invite God into the complex situation she was facing. She was very responsive to their advice and shared how she wanted to reconnect with her faith. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being in my life. This is a true blessing. I aspire to reestablish my covenant with God, and I proclaim my faith in Him every day of my life.”
Transforming Marriages
Sometimes we support those going through difficulties, but sometimes we simply rejoice with viewers at how God is working in their marriages. Farimah from Iran recently contacted us with a wonderful testimony:
“In the four years since I became a believer, my husband had seen, although not as clearly as I, all the miracles that the Holy Spirit did in our married life. Despite all these things, he often said to me, ‘Believe whatever suits you – I will follow my own god.’ With the encouragement of my dear friends, I did not give up praying for my husband. Then two or three weeks ago my husband had a dream, and, thank God, as a result of that dream it is as though he has come out of a coma. It is as though a new person has been born in him.”
SAT-7 receives many testimonies from people in the MENA of Jesus appearing to them – or those they know – in dreams, and the story of Farimah’s husband shows just how life-changing the experience can be.
“I believe that he met Christ in his sleep because the transformation that I see in him is incredible,” Farimah explained. “I can barely believe the changes I see from day to day and hour to hour. It is all due to the kindness of Jesus.”
SAT-7 continues to encourage married viewers to keep praying for their spouses and to build their relationships on God’s Word.
Farimah added, “I thank God for you, dear friends, who taught me to not give up on praying for my life and for my husband, even in the most hopeless conditions. I’m now seeing with my own eyes all these miracles.”
*Names of viewers have been changed for security.
