THE AWESOME POWER OF INTERCESSORY
PRAYER
Have you ever felt the urge to pray
for someone and then just deferred it and said, “I'll pray for them
later?” Read the following true story (told
by an American missionary returning home from Africa) and it may change the way
you may think about prayer, as well as your sense of urgency about prayer.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about our Lord Jesus Christ. Then I traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident. Two weeks later I repeated this journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had medically treated.
He confessed that he had known I carried money and medicine with me. He said, “Some of my friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you might camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and the drugs. But, just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.”
At this I laughed and said that I was all alone in that jungle campsite. But the young man pressed his point and said “No sir, I was not the only person to see your guards. My five friends also saw them and we counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.”
At this point in the missionary’s sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted him to ask if he could remember the exact day this had happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:
“On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong that I phoned for men to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?”
The men who had met together to pray for the missionary day stood up. The missionary wasn’t concerned with who they were – he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26 men.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about our Lord Jesus Christ. Then I traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident. Two weeks later I repeated this journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had medically treated.
He confessed that he had known I carried money and medicine with me. He said, “Some of my friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you might camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and the drugs. But, just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.”
At this I laughed and said that I was all alone in that jungle campsite. But the young man pressed his point and said “No sir, I was not the only person to see your guards. My five friends also saw them and we counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.”
At this point in the missionary’s sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted him to ask if he could remember the exact day this had happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:
“On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong that I phoned for men to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?”
The men who had met together to pray for the missionary day stood up. The missionary wasn’t concerned with who they were – he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26 men.
“The angel of the Lord encamps
all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7)
OUR GOD IS AWESOME!
This story is an incredible example of how the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways to safeguard and bless God’s people. So if you ever feel a powerful impression to pray for others, please go along with it because their lives or well-being just might be on the line.
This story is an incredible example of how the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways to safeguard and bless God’s people. So if you ever feel a powerful impression to pray for others, please go along with it because their lives or well-being just might be on the line.
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