All Written Video
Jul 31, 2018
Finding Joy in Prayer
'If a blind man came into the room, would you despise him for being blind?’

Cherie Doherty, a member at Shepherd Church for 6 years now, felt the Lord put this question on her heart one afternoon while sitting across from a Muslim woman.
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Cherie knew Muslims as followers of a false religion. She never intentionally thought ill will upon any individual regardless of their differing beliefs, however, following the 2001 September 11th attacks, her feelings toward this particular religion began to feel personal.

“Just seeing the evidence of what they were doing,” Cherie says, “they said it was a peaceful religion but they’re not. Their words didn’t match the actions I was seeing.” She found herself hating the injustice she was seeing, the innocent lives lost and effected; Cherie began holding individuals of the Muslim religion responsible.


Cherie’s reaction to despising a blind man was of course no. How could she despise a person for something they couldn’t control? When this question was placed on her heart, sitting across from an innocent Muslim woman, Cherie suddenly felt a revelation the Lord had wanted her to see.IMG_1694.jpg

 “The Muslims are the same spiritually [as the blind man],” Cherie shared, “I should not despise them for the blindness of their hearts, but instead pray for them.”

 “When I see a Muslim person now, I instantly remember that moment, it had such a hard impact on me; I really need to see them as He does.”

Just 6 months later at Shepherd Church, during the launch of our 30 Cities Ministry, Cherie Doherty felt a smile spread across her face when she received the city of Istanbul on her prayer bracelet. She had recently read that Istanbul has become a growing Muslim city. Instead of reverting to her previous feelings towards this community, Cherie found herself thanking the Lord for giving her the initiative to pray for more Muslims.


Cherie has registered her bracelet at 30cities.com and has begun her mission of prayer for her city. “I cannot wait to see what God does through all of us who are praying!” she shares. Cherie will continue in her prayer for Istanbul and is eager to see how Shepherd Church and the 30 Cities Ministry is able to impact the world.