1.) If Peter (& many of us) Whom Denied Christ Thrice & Far Beyond…
2.) And Now Claim To Be, Or Actually Are, Redeemed,
3.) Shouldn’t We Be Willing to Pray Thrice, (for sure) if forgiveness ranks 70 X 7?
Chapter 33 PERSISTENT PRAYER Pg. 399
1996: VIETNAM
This story was shared at the same time as the prior post of Nguyen’s healing
“Recently, I was returning from my working place to the apartment that Brother Dang and I now share together,” Huynh began. “It was after midnight, and I was really tired. Just before I got there, I heard some strange moaning sounds coming from our neighbor’s house. Obviously, someone inside was suffering quite a bit. Then I felt the Lord directing me to knock on the door. Because it was so late at night, I was nervous to do it, but I obeyed.”
Huynh went on, “Right away after I knocked, a middle-aged lady opened the door. Obviously very worried about something, she seemed grateful that someone would care enough to inquire, and so she quickly invited me in, directing me to her husband, who looked very sick and was lying on the bed. He was suffering from severe asthma or something and was exhausted from the struggle for each breath. He was in great distress. I told the family about the love of Jesus and that God would heal the man if they permitted me to pray for him. They agreed, so I simply prayed for God’s healing power to come. But you know,” Huynh said with an embarrassed grin, “nothing happened.”
I couldn’t believe that this was the end of his story. Maybe in my own life, I would have to end my story at this point, but I could see in Huynh’s eyes that the best was yet to come!
Huynh continued on, his gentle voice and character revealing a humble heart, “Now I really felt embarrassed! I had been telling these people how God cares so much for them and that He would heal the man. But nothing was happening! So, I told them, “Never mind. I’m going to pray again.” After a little while I prayed the second time.
“Can you imagine how bad I felt as I watched this man continue to struggle for each breath after the second prayer? He said it was of no use, that he felt no improvement at all. Well, I decided I wasn’t going to give up. So, I insisted on praying the third time. I really didn’t have much faith at all by this time, but I did my best. This time the man said he felt a fifty percent improvement though I thought he was saying that just to get me out of their house.
“So, I decided to accept his invitation and get out while I could. I was glad to get back to my own house and just forget the whole matter in my sleep. Guess what happened the next day?” Huynh said, exaggerating a gesture of relief. “That man came to find me, and he was completely healed! There was of a difference in him physically that he knew without a doubt, something had really happened from the prayers.”
“You know,” Huynh continued, “this man was the leader of an illegal chick-fighting gang. As a result of his healing, not only did his whole family begin to follow Jesus, but many of the men from the chicken-fighting gang did too. After he destroyed all his idols, he opened his house for a morning prayer gathering, and now a house church is starting to develop. I’ve been going there regularly to help teach the Bible.”
BOTTOM LINE:
I looked at Daisy and just shook my head. What we were hearing seemed almost too good to believe. Yet, without a doubt, it was absolutely true. God’s kingdom, like we read about in the book of Acts, was happening in 1996. We were witnessing its reality here in Vietnam! God’s kingdom was here, like a newborn baby, so pure, vulnerable, and humble, without selfish ambition. (Key Observation Indeed!)
From Wendell & Daisy Martin’s book GO NOW! From the INNERMOST PARTS OF THE HEART to the UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE WORLD Plus Forty Stories of Faith, this being #33.
NEXT UP: The $300 Miracle… For Sure Better Than Bitcoin!!!