Nabeel Qureshi, best-selling author and an itinerant speaker with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, has asked the Christian community to fast and pray for him after he was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer.
Qureshi, who famously converted from Islam to Christianity over a decade ago, announced that in light of his diagnosis, he will be stepping out from his traveling ministry work and cancelling scheduled speaking engagements.
"This is an announcement that I never expected to make, but God in His infinite and sovereign wisdom has chosen me for this refining, and I pray He will be glorified through my body and my spirit," Qureshi wrote in a Facebook post. "My family and I have received the news that I have advanced stomach cancer, and the clinical prognosis is quite grim. Nonetheless, we are going to pursue healing aggressively, both medical and miraculous, relying on God and the fact that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."
Despite his uncertain future, the Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward author emphasized in his post that the illness has not affected his Christian faith.
"In the past few days my spirits have soared and sank as I pursue the Lord's will and consider what the future might look like, but never once have I doubted this: that Jesus is Lord, His blood has paid my ransom, and by His wounds I am healed," he wrote. "I have firm faith that my soul is saved by the grace and mercy of the Triune God, and not by any accomplishment or merit of my own. I am so thankful that I am a child of the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed in the Spirit. No, in the midst of the storm, I do not have to worry about my salvation, and for that I praise you, God."
While he will not be traveling or working with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Qureshi intends to blog or vlog about his journey with cancer, in an effort to "encourage others and glorify God." He also plans to go ahead with his next book project, 20 Questions Muslims Ask and the Answers That Convert Them.
"Friends and family, may I ask you to fast and pray fervently for my healing? I do not profess to know the will of the Lord, but many of my close friends and confidants are convinced that this is a trial through which the Lord intends to bring me alive and refined," Qureshi stated. "May His will be done, and may I invite you to seek Him in earnest, on your knees, fasting on my behalf, asking our Yahweh Rapha for healing in Jesus' name."
"And as you pray and fast, 'I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death,'" he concluded, citing Philippians 1:18-20.
On his website, evangelist Ravi Zacharias also issued a statement urging the Christian community to pray for Qureshi as he battles this illness.
"When Nabeel and I shared a meal a few weeks ago, he had talked of terrible discomfort in his stomach. None had a sense of what lay ahead. Life brings its sudden turns," he wrote.
"Our hearts go out to Nabeel and his family, and our prayers for him," Zacharias continued. "No doubt this is a valley that no one anticipates so soon in life. The entire RZIM team and our families are in impassioned prayer on his behalf. We ask you to join us in lifting him up during this time."
