Two Boys, Two Prayers – Part 1
By Andrew McChesney
Father was excited when he saw a new sign reading Adventist Maranatha School on a street in Conakry, capital of the West African country of Guinea. He wanted his two sons to go to a Christian school, and this might be their chance. He never dreamed that the school would change his life.
Father entered the fenced compound of the newly opened school and found a teacher. “Is this a Christian school?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “This is a Seventh-day Adventist school.”
Father said his sons were studying elsewhere, and he promised to transfer them to this school. “I want them to have a Christian education,” he said.
Soon the two boys, 11-year-old Junior and 8-year-old Emile, were studying at the Adventist school. Among their subjects was the Bible, and the boys memorized verses that Father, to his surprise, had never heard. He was even more surprised when the boys declared that the teachers worshiped in church on Saturdays. The boys asked if they could go to a Saturday program in a church located on the same compound as the school. Father thought it was an extracurricular program and agreed.
The boys went to church every Sabbath for two years. Sometimes, schoolteachers visited Father and invited him to come to church. “Would you like to come to our church on Sabbath?” they asked. Father always refused. “No, I have to work on Saturday,” he said. “I’m busy.”
One Sabbath, the church pastor, Matthew, told the church members, “Today, we will visit the father of Junior and Emile.” A group of 15 church members, accompanied by a delighted Junior and Emile, arrived at the house. “Can we pray together?” the pastor asked Father.
When Father agreed, the pastor asked if he had any requests. He did. Months earlier, Father, who led a nongovernmental organization, had applied to a Guinean government ministry for a grant, and he was still waiting for a response. The pastor prayed about the grant.
Three days later, on Tuesday, the ministry responded. The grant was approved. Father immediately went to the school and told the teachers about the remarkable answer to prayer. He thanked God for the grant. But the answer to prayer did not convince him to go to church on Sabbath. And so the church melightmbers continued to pray... (Story to be continued next week.)
Andrew McChesney is editor of Adventist Mission. This story is printed with permission.
World Church Prayer Requests
May 19- 25, 2023
- Pray for youth and students just finishing up their academic year. Pray that God will lead them in their summer activities or further education plans.
- Pray for the initiative “Christ for Europe” currently underway with meetings and events across Europe. There are currently over 500 evangelistic sites all across the continent.
- Pray for the evangelistic meetings that church president Ted Wilson, along with his wife Nancy, are currently leading in Prague, Czech Republic. Already many have made decisions for baptism. Pray for more hearts to be led to Jesus.
- Pray for our brothers and sisters and those still struggling to survive in the midst of conflict in Eastern Europe. Pray for more doors to open for the gospel as a result of this crisis.
- Pray for those who work with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) as they seek to meet the ever-increasing global emergencies and need.