He Was Deaf and Mute, and No One Knew His Name

I was making a list of big prayers the second day I interceded and my last big prayer was to see a physical healing. I prayed over my list and then just as I finished, a teammate walked over and said, “Hey, pray for this dude I’m playing basketball with, he is deaf and mute.” I acknowledged it a few minutes later because I was caught off guard. I just prayed for a physical healing and now this guy right in front of me is deaf and mute. With my thoughts scrambling, I was trying to figure out what to do next. It is way outside of my comfort zone to just walk up to random people and pray for them, but I was bothered with the thought of not doing it. So, I did. I got up and walked over and we kind of asked nonverbally if we could pray for him. He denied it. I felt defeated.  

 

 

Every time we would go to the courts that were the middle of the village to hang out and play sports with the community, he was there. I started asking around to see if anyone knew his story, but no one did. I asked what his name was, but no one knew. This man has no way to communicate, but brings such joy to this whole community. Off in the distance he would be playing with the little kids. He would spin them around play basketball with them. With the adults, he would laugh and joke around with them the best that he could. 

 

I felt it. God is going to move in his life while we are here. God is going to heal him and we are going to find out his name. He will know that he is loved and known. 

 

I’m reading through Matthew and chapter after chapter someone is healed. It talks about having faith as small as a mustard seed and that nothing is impossible. My belief was rising along with my excitement. 

 

 

I read story after story of where Jesus healed people. I couldn’t get enough of it so I read every single incident in all of the gospels where someone was healed or a demon was casted out. I believe God is going to do the same with this man. We will know his name. He will let us pray for him. He will be completely healed. He will be on fire for the Lord and ignite this whole community. 

 

A few days later before we split up to intercede or evangelize, we all did a devotion together. Kayla talked about having faith as small as a mustard seed and what it could do. Then, we all went around and shared what we’ve been praying about this month. My prayers were for this man. This man who is deaf and mute. We prayed those big prayers out loud and then went our separate ways. This particular day I was going out to evangelize. Hannah came up to me and said the Holy Spirit told her to go with me. So we prayed and went out. I felt lead to go to this man’s house, so we did. 

 

There was a teenage boy who went inside after we approached the house and then we didn’t really know what to do. He knew we were there and kept walking by the door, but then he hid from us. A few minutes later the man I’ve been praying for walked up to the house, acknowledged us, and went into the house. Hannah and I still didn’t know what to do. We were awkwardly standing outside of this house, the two people inside knew we were there, but no one was acknowledging the fact that we are still standing here. We actively listened to the Holy Spirit and asked what to do, and both of us got, “Be patient.” So we were. 

 

We prayed. We sang. We read scripture and we prayed some more. We prayed for a name for this man. We prayed for their house and family. We prayed against impure spirits and evil. We prayed that he would know he is loved insanely by God. We prayed the Holy Spirit would communicate all of this to him. About 20 minutes passed and we prayed that the Lord would reassure us. We were told again to be patient. I jokingly said maybe he just has to shower or something. Well, just after that he walked out saying that he is going to shower. But, we still waited. About another 25 minutes pass, and he returns. He showered and did his laundry. He waves to us and then goes back inside. A while later Hannah and I look at each other and question what we are going to do next. We actively asked the Lord, and a few minutes later we went for it. We asked if we could come in and he invited us to take a seat. We tried to communicate nonverbally and then he went to go get something. He came back with his disability card which had his name on it! 

 

 

The Lord answered my prayer! We know his name!!! I was thrilled! I now know a name for this man who has been on my heart and in my mind. 

 

I took out a bible and opened it to the story where Jesus heals a deaf and mute person. He shakes his head saying he cannot read. I try and tell him with my actions and gestures what the story is about. A few minutes later I asked if I could pray for him. He shook his head yes. I asked if I could put my hands on his ears, he said yes. So I did. My hands are covering his ears, I’m praying out loud, and Hannah’s hand is on my shoulder as she is praying, too. We prayed bold things. We prayed big prayers. I took my hands away, and nothing. No difference. We sat back down not knowing what to do next, and Hannah asked if we could pray again. We asked Dennis, and soon enough we were praying with him. Dennis still cannot talk or hear, but I still believe it will happen before we leave here. 

 

As we walked away from his house, we celebrated the fact that HIS NAME IS DENNIS! The Lord answered our prayers for a name! We also got the opportunity to pray for him not once, but TWICE! Later that day while we were playing sports with them, we looked up into the sky. On one side was an amazing sunset, and on the other was a beautiful rainbow. It was the perfect reminder of God’s promises, and that was just what I needed. 

 

Yes, we stood in front of their house embracing the awkwardness for over an hour, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.