The Dead Will Live Again!
By Melody Mason
Let me share an amazing story that happened in Vietnam not long ago.
After experiencing the joy of God personally, lay pastor Hanh and his house-church members were convicted to fast and pray specifically for unreached villages in Vietnam. They began by focusing their prayers on a specific village 150 miles away, a village where not one Christian lived.
Not long after, Yen, a lady from this village who was suffering from terminal stomach cancer, came to their city seeking medical care. Yen’s nephew, who was part of Pastor Hanh’s house-church, invited her to come to their services. She came. It was there that she heard of Jesus Christ and received her own Bible. Yen eagerly accepted Christ as her Savior, and everyone rejoiced—especially her nephew, Mr. Win.
Because Yen was in the last stages of cancer, the doctors offered her no help; her only hope was in the Master Healer. The house-church members began praying fervently for a miracle. After two weeks in the city, Yen returned home to her family in the village. Her condition worsened. About one month later, Yen’s sister-in-law called with the sad news that Yen was about to die.
The Wins, along with their house-church family, had been praying for Yen, as well as for her village, but when they heard this news, they immediately gathered to pray earnestly that God would intervene. They prayed intensely for two hours, claiming Psalm 30 for her life. They reasoned with God: “If You let Yen die, who will praise Your name in her village?” At the close of their prayer, they felt peace and assurance that God would heal her.
After another season of united prayer the next day, Pastor Hanh called to see if Yen’s health had improved. He discovered she was in an unconscious state and was barely holding on to life. Talking to Yen’s sister-in-law, an unbeliever, he pled with her earnestly. “Do you love Yen? If you do, listen to me! We have been praying that God will heal Yen. He is the only One who can help now! Please go get Yen’s book called the Bible, open it to Psalm 30, kneel down beside Yen and read the words, putting Yen’s name in the verses. God is able to heal and restore her,” he persisted.
There was silence on the other end of the phone line. When Pastor Hanh hung up the phone, he
was not sure if Yen’s sister-in-law would do what he asked, but the group continued to join together in united prayer, trusting in the Lord.
A few days later, Pastor Hanh, along with the Wins, went to visit the village. They were met with shouts of joy from a fully restored Yen, from her sister-in-law, and from a host of former unbelievers, all praising the Lord.
“Not long after Pastor Hanh called, Yen died,” her sister-in-law reported. “I had already cleaned her up and was preparing to dress her body for burial when I remembered what Pastor Hahn had said to me on the phone.” Turning to Pastor Hanh, she continued excitedly. “I had no hope left other than your plan. After I did what you said, Yen started to move inside the blankets she was wrapped in. I stared in amazement and fear as she started kicking the blankets off, trying to free herself. She then sat up and asked for some food, which she kept down. It’s a true miracle!”
Yen had not only come back to life, but she had also been completely healed. With this new open door, Pastor Hanh and the Wins, as well as others in the house-church, began reaching out to the village, sharing about the loving Author of life and His powerful words in the Bible. Over fifty people have already accepted Christ, and news of the miracle and of God’s love is spreading to other unreached villages in the area.
Would this miracle have happened if the believers in this small house-church in the city hadn’t been willing to fast and unite in prayer for this village? What would happen if we would follow the example of our Vietnamese brothers and sisters in praying for the unreached in our communities and in our areas of influence?
Melody Mason is coordinator for United in Prayer for the General Conference based in Silver Spring Maryland. This story, originally from A.S.A.P. Ministries, is adapted from Melody's book “Daring to Ask for More: Divine Keys to Answered Prayer.” The names of those in the story have been changed to protect the anonymity of the individuals.
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World Church Prayer Requests
August 25 – September 1, 2019
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for the ministry of Operation Save-a-Youth (OSAY) in Manchester, Jamaica, as they seek to strengthen their youth through serving the community.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Adventists members recently held a free medical clinic in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Please pray for the people who were served—that they will be drawn closer to Jesus and that God will arrange divine appointments for church members to interact positively with their neighbors.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for the Total Member Involvement event scheduled for Papua New Guinea in May 2020. Please pray for all of the logistical details that are being arranged.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for two community centers in Russia that offer a health food store, massage therapy, a preschool, and healthy lifestyle training courses.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for the “Health for Every Day” radio broadcast airing in Tokyo, Japan. Ask God to guide and bless the presenters, bring listeners, and connect those listeners to local churches.
• PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for the Church in Iceland to know how to reach out to and effectively witness in their communities. Pray for the individuals who received one of the 200,000 GLOW tracts passed out by Generation.Youth.Christ. youth this past week.