The Night the Holy Spirit Visited Me
After years of guarding this sacred memory, today — in 2009 — I finally find the courage to share it.
It happened in 2002, and not a single day has gone by that I haven't remembered it.
It changed everything. It changed me.
"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for my soul." (Psalm 66:16)
A Life in Waiting
I was born and raised in Iran, gifted with a belief in God through culture and tradition — but in my family, religion was distant, and so was I.
Loneliness shaped much of my early life: a family divorce scattered us, and from a young age, I learned to stand alone.
Yet at 21, something stirred deep within.
In my quiet hours, I began reading the Quran in Arabic — two hours a day, day after day, year after year.
Over three years, I completed it five times.
And the more I read, the more my heart awakened to a hunger — not just for knowledge, but for something living.
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
The Day I Dedicated to God
One October morning in 2002, a simple conversation with my younger brother planted a seed.
He spoke about a kind of Christian fasting — dedicating a day entirely to God, doing only good, thinking only pure thoughts.
My spirit leapt at the idea.
"Tomorrow, I will live for God alone."
So I did.
I fasted from my desires, my distractions, even my personal worries.
I forgave everyone.
I forgave myself — including my lifelong battle with stuttering.
I spent the day loving, serving, praying for friends, family, and even strangers.
My heart grew lighter with each hour.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
The Night of Divine Encounter
That night, around 1 AM, the house was still.
I turned off every light, laid down facing the sky, and smiled, eyes closed.
I felt a joy I cannot describe — a pure, glowing peace.
I began to pray:
"Lord, I love You.
I know You are here, alive, and listening.
Please, bless me to see You.
Nothing is impossible for You."
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)
I prayed like a child — with full belief, full love, full longing.
For 10 minutes I poured out my heart.
And then...
Suddenly, my room flooded with a presence — not seen with eyes, but known with the soul.
A Holy Spirit.
The room itself shimmered with an unearthly brightness.
The Spirit enveloped me — warm, living, loving beyond description.
And then I heard Him —
A voice, tender and strong, full of overwhelming love.
He called my name:
"Pouya."
Without hesitation, from the depths of my heart, I answered in Persian:
"Jonam?" ("Yes, my dearest?")
There was a holy silence.
Then again after 30 seconds!
"Pouya."
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)
His voice — how can I explain it?
It was like being bathed in love itself — a masculine, kind, infinitely tender voice.
I felt He wanted to speak more... but He spoke no other words.
After about a minute, the Presence lifted, and darkness returned.
Was It Jesus Himself?
For years I wrestled with the question:
Who was this Spirit who visited me so intimately, so lovingly?
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Was it an angel sent by God?
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Was it a prophet like Jesus or Mohammad?
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Was it a messenger?
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Or... was it Jesus Himself — the Son of God?
I don't claim to know for certain.
Only God knows.
But in my heart, the possibility lingers — it could have been Jesus, the One so deeply praised in both the Bible and Quran.
The One who says,
"Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
Was it He who spoke my name with such unfathomable love?
Perhaps.
Only Heaven knows.
And I am at peace with the mystery.
The Aftermath
I lay there for minutes, stunned and trembling, realizing something holy had touched me.
Fear and wonder gripped my chest.
I turned on every light in the house and prayed:
"Lord, please... in the future, visit me gently, in dreams. I am not strong enough for such glory."
Sleep did not come until sunrise.
I kept this memory secret for a year, sharing it only with a few close friends.
"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)
What This Divine Encounter Gave Me
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I now live with unshakable certainty: God exists.
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I know love is the bridge between the human heart and the divine.
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I know the voice that called me was from God — whether it was His Spirit or His beloved Son.
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And I know, with all my being, He was telling me:
"I know you.
I love you.
I hear you.
Never doubt Me again.
I have plans for you."
Certainties Etched on My Heart
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God knows us by name.
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God hears the deepest cries of our hearts.
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God's love is beyond our comprehension — warm, personal, alive.
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Perhaps, just perhaps, He is inviting us to know His heart through Jesus, His mirror to the world.
"The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth." (Psalm 145:18)
Like Moses, like Samuel, like Saul — God called me by name, twice.
Not because I was holy — but because He is merciful.
And His voice, full of infinite kindness, will never leave my memory.
**Thank You, Lord.
Thank You for blessing me with Your Presence,
Your Love,
Your Voice.
Forever I am Yours.**
