The missionary was serving as a medic in Africa. Periodically, he had to travel by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. It was a two-day trip, so he would camp in the jungle overnight. He had always made the trip without incident, but one day when he arrived in the city he saw two men fighting. One was seriously hurt, so he treated the man, shared Christ with him, and went on his way.
The next time the missionary traveled to the city, the man he had treated approached him. “I know you carry money and medicine,” the man said to the missionary. “Some friends and I followed you into the jungle that night after you treated me, knowing you’d have to sleep in the jungle alone. We waited for you to go to sleep, planning to kill you and take your money and drugs. As we started to move in to the campsite, we saw twenty-six armed guards surrounding you. There were only six of us, so we knew we couldn’t possibly get near, and we left.”
When he heard this, the missionary laughed. “That’s impossible. I assure you, I was alone in the campsite.” But the young man pressed the point. “No, sir. I wasn’t the only one who saw the guards. My friends saw them too, and we all counted them.”
Several months later, the missionary attended his home church in Michigan and told of his experience. A man in the congregation interrupted his presentation by jumping to his feet and saying something that left everyone in the church stunned. With a firm voice, he said, “We were with you in spirit!” The missionary looked perplexed. The man continued. “On that night in Africa it was morning here. I stopped by the church to get some materials for a missionary trip. But as I was putting my bags in my trunk, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. It was an extremely strong urge, so I got on the phone and gathered some other men to come to church and pray for you.” Then the man turned to the rest of the congregation. “Will all of those men who prayed with me that day stand up right now?” and one by one they stood up—all twenty-six of them.
Intercessory prayer is pivotal and essential for corporate and individual deliverance.
Dear Father,
I call upon You and come and pray to You and You listen to me (Jer. 29:12). You tell me to call on You and You will answer me and tell me great and unsearchable things I do not know (Jer. 33:3). May I seek sweet fellowship with You and may you tell me when to pray and what to pray for. Use me in intercessory prayer, Lord! Use me for the glory of Your kingdom! Give me strong urges to pray for Deeper Still—we want to see You show up and be the Great Deliverer! Help me to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made me free, and help me not to become tangled in any yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1). You tell us in Psalm 72:12 that you will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. You will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. Deliver the poor and needy out of bondage at the conference. Let them experience deliverance through Jesus the Deliverer! You, God, are mighty to save! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward it. You are the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17)! May Your Spirit be present in Freedom Hall in a thick and undeniable way.
In Jesus’ strong delivering name I pray,
Amen.
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