From My Heart…
God Helps a Believer to Persevere through Prison
By Byron Garmo, President
I read somewhere that prison changes a person.
But I saw it firsthand in 1998, when, through a series of God-ordained events, I found myself in Central Romania, on a summer-long mission trip. There I met Nicolae Moldoveanu, an amazing man of God.
During my brief time with Nicolae, I listened intently to his testimony of suffering. He had endured over ten years of prison—all because he followed Jesus Christ.
“I have three flowers in my heart: Faith, hope, and love,” Nicolae began. He continued to share about occupying a prison cell with Richard Wurmbrand. He shared about asking God to preserve his mind while in prison so that he could write more worship songs. Nicolae recalled the long winters. During the cold nights, he and the other Christian prisoners huddled under their cots in order to keep each other warm. And while on their stomachs, they sang praises to God. It was during those dark nights that God’s grace inspired many of Nicolae’s worship songs and writings.
He came out of prison with a lifetime of praise songs. Over 6,000 of them. Although Nicolae is known for writing so many hymns, he diverted attention away from his gift and onto to his Savior, insisting, “I have no talent, only Christ.”
When I heard Nicolae say, “Grace is given by God not just to believe, but to suffer,” my notetaking stalled, and I waited for him to complain about being mistreated for his faith. But no. Nicolae only talked about one thing. Praising God in song.
“Grace is given by God not just to believe, but to suffer.”
– Nicolae Moldoveanu, 1922-2007
I was 22 years old that summer. While my peers were learning how to put their college degrees to use, I was learning firsthand about suffering from a Christian who’d been imprisoned for his faith about as long I’d ever been in school.
Nicolae’s testimony became a lesson of pure gold for me. I still can’t relate to the depth of Nicolae’s suffering, yet I’m thankful for the lesson I gained from his testimony. He showed how God’s grace enables any believer to endure the darkest nights … with a song.
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Revelation 12:11
