Marilyn Hickey’s obedience to God reaps a great harvest
Originally published in Charisma News
Marilyn Hickey, 85, preached to over a million people in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, earlier this month. The momentous meeting came during an eight-day missions trip to Pakistan. But that trip and the millions reached for Christ were the fruits of seeds planted years before.
In 1995, Hickey said she felt called by the Lord to minister in Muslim countries, specifically in Pakistan. She held healing meetings in Lahore, the capital city of the Punjab province, and attracted thousands.
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“It was absolutely a destiny time,” Hickey said. “So I went. The first night, I remember we had 4 000 people. By the fourth night, we had over 20 000. Lots of people [were] saved. Lots of people [were] Spirit-filled, delivered, healed. So in that timing, a man was saved called Anwar Fazal.”
Fazal became a pastor and launched Isaac TV, a Christian television network that reaches every home in Pakistan. Over 96% of Pakistanis are Muslims, and Isaac TV has had an enormous impact in spreading the gospel.
Gathering a million people
When Hickey planned her seventh trip to Pakistan last year, she reached out to Fazal and shared her vision for the trip. She wanted to gather 1 million people. Without hesitation, Fazal said, “That’s possible.”
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Hickey and Fazal’s ministries worked together, and the event was scheduled in Karachi for November 12. The ministries secured a 50 acre space for the Karachi meeting and covered the entire area with rugs. Isaac TV promoted the event, and Marilyn Hickey’s own reputation in the country helped attract a crowd. Believers flew in from across the country. But no one knew if they would fill the entire space.
When the gathering began, Hickey says the 50 acres could barely fit all the people.
“People come and they sit almost like sardines on the ground, all squished together,” Hickey said. “So for 50 acres, we had people. They’re very open. I’m going to guess a third of the crowd maybe was Islamic, and the rest were Christians, because the television is really, really getting hold of people’s hearts in Pakistan.”
Leading people to Christ
She taught on the miracles of Christ and discussed what it means to be healed by the Word. Then she says she used words of knowledge to call out healings in the crowd, and miracles took place accordingly. Finally, she explained the gospel — Jesus’ life, death and resurrection — before leading people to accept Christ.
During the eight-day trip, Hickey brought that same message to other venues, including an interview with the governor and a sermon at Fazal’s church. At a meeting in Lahore, Hickey says she saw many people healed of deafness, cancer and back problems.
And even though she’s 85, Hickey has no intention to stop anytime soon.
“At 81, I had my biggest meeting in Pakistan — at that time,” Hickey said. “And if you’d told me I was going to, I would have thought, ‘You’re crazy.’ But we had 230 000 people. … This is how I take retirement. Retirement is doing what you like. So this is what I like. I like to do this. It doesn’t make you idle. It makes you supernatural.”
