We set off for another night in village ministry, not knowing where we were going or whom we would be interacting with. Our driver (lets call him Jack for security reasons) is probably the only timely man in India and allows us to make the most of each night. The longer we do ministry the more expectant we are that God is going to show up in miraculous ways. We are expectant that people will be physically healed and for many people come forward asking for prayer. This is a story about something glorious we were not expecting to occur.
We pulled up to a home to pray for a family. We’ve entered to homes of many families for prayer, but we sensed something big was about to happen. In India the culture is very family-centric, meaning that parents, grandparents, kids, cousins, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live in the same home. As we were praying over people we soon realized that some of the people in the family were Christian and some people were not. That soon changed as one after the other people were coming forward to accept Christ and be healed. Two people came forward on their own and the women on our team prayed with them to receive Christ. Another man stood off in the distance interested in what was going on. My teammate Jacob felt lead to talk to him, while I was talking to an elderly woman with our translator. Next thing I knew there was Jacob and that man next to me and he said he wanted to become a Christian. He said that he had knee pain, back pain, and poor eyesight and he wanted to be healed of it. Before we prayed for his healing, we shared the gospel with him and he prayed to accept Jesus into his life and to abandon the Hindu faith. We asked him after if we could pray for his physical healing, but he said he didn’t need it! When he accepted Jesus into his life his vision was restored and the pain from his back and knees had vanished! The new believers will begin attending our translator’s church and being disciple in their faith.
In India, churches double as hospitals. I’ve experienced and heard of more healings in these last few weeks in India than my entire life back in the states. I’m blessed to participate in them and humbled that God would use my own hands for these healings, but it also raises a lot of questions for me. I’m perplexed why there are not more healings in the United States. I’m confused why although often times the villagers we pray for are healed, sometimes they aren’t. It’s been a matter of trusting God’s bigger plan when things don’t work out the way we expect. Maybe there are more miraculous healings as a result God’s mercy to the poor in India. There are so many sick and hurting people that cannot afford medical care- so they come to the churches for divine intervention. While many questions are yet to be answered, one thing is certain- God has a huge heart for India.
Pray for these new believers to grow in their faith and experience true intimacy with God. Pray that God will use them to reach more of the unreached in India.
