Powerful Prayer

I was just reading one of the books for my missions practicum homework and ran across an illustration I just had to share with you. I'm sure you've heard stories like this before, but I always enjoy hearing them again. This one gave me goose bumps.

This story is from Thomas Hale's book On Being a Missionary. Published by the William Carey Library. Page 347.

"Let me tell you a story. It's about a medical missionary serving in a developing country who had just come home on furlough, and who was asked by the pastor of his home church to give a report of his work at one of the church services.

"This missionary doctor told the congregation about his work at a rural hospital, and how periodically he had to journey by bicycle two days to a nearby city to get supplies. The journey each way required camping overnight at the halfway point.

"On on of these trips he encountered a young man in the city who had just been injured, and so he treated the man's injuries and witnessed to him about Christ. He then journeyed back to his hospital, camping overnight at the halfway point, and arriving the next day without incident.

"The missionary doctor continued his story. "Two weeks later I repeated my journey to the city. When I arrived I cam across the young man I had treated two weeks earlier. He said to me, 'I know you come to the city regularly to collect money and drugs for your hospital. So, on your last trip, some friends and I planned to follow you back to the camping spot where you spend the night and rob you and kill you. So we followed you, and waited until you were asleep. Then as we were about to attack you, we saw twenty-six armed guards standing around you.'"

"The missionary said to the congregation: "When I heard that I laughed. I told the young man that I was absolutely alone at that campsite. But the young man persisted. He said to me, 'No, you were not alone. My five friends also saw the guards. We all counted them, and came up with the same number: twenty-six. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'"

"At that moment a man in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary's story. He said to the missionary, "Excuse me, but could you tell me the exact day and time that these men were planning to attack you?"

"The missionary took a moment to recollect the date and hour, taking into account the change of time zone, and then told the man standing in the congregation.

"The man then said to the missionary, "An hour or so before the attack would have taken place, I was on my way to play golf. But the Lord suddenly put a burden on my heart to pray for you. I didn't know why. The burden was so strong that I returned home, and called some other men in the church to meet together to intercede on your behalf."

"The man paused, and looking around at the congregation, said, "Will all those men who joined me in prayer that day please stand?"

"When they all had risen, there were twenty-six men standing."