Miraculous healing:
When visiting Kabilye believers in the east, I met a man from a village where at least one-third of the people are believers. He was in his late twenties when he discovered he had a terminal brain tumour. His sister-in-law, a believer, told him, “This cancer is not for death, but for God’s glory.” She prayed and mobilized others to pray. He immediately began to feel better and, on his next doctor visit, was pronounced completely cured. He and 27 members of his extended family came to faith. He has a long commute by bus every day from his work to this village, and spends it dancing and singing and speaking of God.
A bold preacher has an encounter with the law:
A young brother has a ministry of prayer, fasting and preaching. Like many of the Kabyle, he is utterly fearless and preaches at every opportunity. One day he was caught by police and taken for interrogation, where many of the police mocked him. One senior officer told him to come into his office. He asked him, “Do you pray?” The pastor said, “Yes, of course, and God answers.” The policeman said he had a two-year-old daughter with a terminal brain tumour. Can you pray that God would heal her?” So they did. A few weeks later, the policeman called and said he need to speak with him; could they meet at a restaurant? There he bought the preacher a nice meal. The preacher asked why and the man said that his daughter was completely healed. He then told him, “Go and preach on the streets. If anyone bothers you, tell them to come and talk to me.”
Powerful, long-distance intercession:
A young Kabyle family lived in France. Six months into the wife’s pregnancy, something happened and the doctors declared the baby dead. The husband thought, “My father-in-law is a believer; why not ask him to pray?” They talked on the phone and believers in Algeria prayed earnestly until there was life again in the womb. However, two years after his birth, their son could not speak. When the family next visited Algeria, they went to the church for prayer for the son; his hearing was not only restored but he began to speak freely. As a result, the husband trusted Christ.
God provides:
One family had no work and little money. Eventually, their credit at the grocery store ran out. They had no food. The son was a believer a spent a whole night in prayer that God would provide. His mother awoke in the morning to a knock on the door; when she opened it, there was no one but there was a huge basket filled with all kinds of food. Who did this? She woke up the family to show them. The son confessed his faith and the family is seeking to know more.
More healing through community intercession:
One believer developed massive kidney stones and was in great pain. Surgery was the only option—but the church gathered to pray Jer. 23:29, “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces?” Later that week, as the surgeons prepare for an operation, they found the stones to be like powder. They were amazed, and the man immediately testified about Jesus.
We believe that God is pouring out His power in these ways to strengthen believers to spread the Gospel:
In a western city, the local church is 50 metres from the mosque. The Imam provides all the religious education for the children in a town and is well-respected. The Imam’s daughter, recently married, works a fifteen-minute drive away. The Imam told her that, if she sees the pastor or another leader in their cars, she can get a lift with them. This is unheard of and makes them of equal status to other men in the imam’s family! One day, the pastor drove past the public transport stop and saw the imam’s daughter but didn’t offer her a lift because he was alone. Later, his wife was with him and so he did stop to pick up the girl. He apologized for not previously stopping and explained why. She said that her father said that even if these men are alone, she can go with them but no one else. This is a very public statement when they are seen on the streets: the leader of the Muslims trusts Christians but no one else. This is the power of God at work in the imam’s community.
A sheik cedes authority to Christian leaders in his town while on the hagg:
A Sheik went to Mecca recently and told his family, “If you need anything while I am away, go to the pastor or the other Christian leader—and no one else.” He has publicly declared that they are under his protection, in a society where the Imam is a greater authority than police.
Are you not encouraged by this?
Lord Almighty,blessed is the one who trusts in you.