Banishing Nightmares

In celebration of SEAPC\’s 30th anniversary, throughout the next 12 months, we will be sharing stories and testimonies of God\’s goodness and faithfulness from friends around the nations! Each of these testimonies is like a stone of remembrance (Joshua 4) for all that He has accomplished. We are taking this year not just to look to the past, but also to praise God for what He has in store for us and those we serve in the years to come. We hope you enjoy these stories our friends have prepared each week!

I’m not a medical person.

The bodies I fix are cars, not people. But I went to Nepal as a member of a medical mission team to provide the important component of prayer. The doctors and nurses who travel for SEAPC all agree: prayer is the most important gift the team brings because, for everyone, it’s all about Jesus.

LC, a Bible student who spoke English, helped me during the medical outreach. She brought people to the prayer area one at a time and translated. One such person made an impression on me that day.

After seeing the nurse and doctor and going to the pharmacy, a young Hindu girl named Narita came for prayer. She was shy and made no eye contact with anyone. Her misery was palpable. Her friends said she hadn’t even spoken for two months. They shared that she had been seeing a demon every night, standing at her doorway and threatening her.

I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder, and began to pray. Tears flowed down her face, making dark droplets on the floor below. When I finished, she staying seated beside me. Others came for prayer, and I lifted them to the Lord. In-between, I continued to pray for Narita.

Eventually, she stood up. Her tear-stained face lifted, and her eyes met mine. She offered a tentative smile…and spoke to her friends! It was beautiful, a visible picture of peace restored. Then she left.

I asked LC if she believed God heard our prayers. She was skeptical in spite of her Bible training. As her first in-the-field mission experience, she seemed overwhelmed.

Later in the day, Narita returned with her mother and her brother. She brought a small gift of thanks for LC, who had brought her for intercession. And her family, after receiving medical care, also came for prayer.

LC’s skepticism fell away, replaced by faith in the awesome power of prayer. The Word was plowed in prayer for Narita, even as LC received a watering of her faith. 

Sometimes, God’s plan isn’t made known to the intercessor. But he has one—and it’s always perfect!