Source: Christian Aid Mission, August 31, 2022
The parents of a young woman on the verge of death asked a ministry leader in North Africa to minister to her, and only after he arrived did he realize that at one time she had often attended his church.
The leader and some team members had arrived to say farewell, pray for her and, at the parents’ request, baptize her, he said.
“When we entered the house, we found a sick girl who was extremely thin, looked very desperate, and was just waiting for death,” the leader said. “She was aware that she had a few days left before she would die and had no hope for healing. Although we didn’t know anything about the medical reports of her illness and what it was, I had a feeling that this could be an evil spirit.”
They also didn’t know anything about her faith. Requesting anointing oil, the leader asked for some private time with the young woman, “Anila.” As he spoke to her about salvation in Christ, he said, he realized that for a season she had frequently attended his church, but then stopped.
“When I asked her if she was a believer, she said that she was not sure about it,” he said. “So I asked her to pray with me to give her life to Jesus, and that baptism should come after being a believer. Then we prayed, and she gave her life to God.”
The team encouraged her with some Bible verses, including a passage from James’ epistle about how the Lord can heal illness, and they prayed and sang worship songs. He anointed her with oil and prayed for healing.
After 15 minutes, he said, her fever shot up and she began shaking.
“I felt that something was happening, so I asked the team to turn our prayers from asking for healing to giving thanks to the Lord, because healing was happening,” the leader said. “I asked her to sit up in her bed, but the surprise was that she stood up by herself.”
Anila had been unable to move for six months, but suddenly she was able to stand and move with ease, he said.
“God healed Anila, and after a few days she was able to go outside her house. She came to church and was completely different; she looked healthy and healed. Now she is in the baptism class. Praise the Lord.”
The full story reports that Anila’s testimony encouraged and reminded church members of the importance of reaching out to the community.
See also the latest edition of Mission Frontiers, which is focused on “healers and preachers.”