AS TOLD TO JULIA O'CAREY by Nelson,* a new ASAP church planter in a closed country.

Is the God of the Bible really the true God? Does He really answer prayers? It was eleven o’clock one night when I finally knew in my heart that the answers to my questions were a resounding YES!

It all started with a phone call, “Nelson,* come quick! Something is wrong with my mom!” It was my cousin, Pete,* on the other line. I quickly got dressed and rushed to his home on the other side of our village. As I ran along the moonlit path, I worried that we may need to take Auntie back to the hospital due to a complication from her recent appendectomy.

Right when I entered the house, I knew her appendix was not the problem. It was something else just as serious. Auntie’s eyes were fluttering and rolling back in her head as she muttered to herself, “Someone is walking around our house,” she repeated with fear on her face. I knew it was the spirits. Were they angry that the pastors had come and burned the idols in our homes a few days ago? I felt certain they were. But the pastors were not here now.

“What are we going to do?” Pete whispered to me. “Let’s call all our relatives who made a stand to be Christians,” I said with God-given confidence. Within minutes Auntie’s room filled up with men and women ready to stand against the powers of darkness. You should know that we all were baby Christians. We didn’t know how to pray. In the past, we had only witnessed the pastors pray twice when they cast the demons out of two other aunties of mine.

In desperation, I quickly searched “How Christians Pray” on YouTube and watched the first video that came up. I calmly told my relatives, “We believe God is a powerful God, don’t we? Let’s follow these instructions and see what happens.” I am not a talkative person but I lifted my voice to God. “I pray in your name, Jesus, that you free my auntie of the evil spirit in her. You are the Creator of Heaven and Earth. There is nothing too hard for you.” Other relatives also said simple prayers from their hearts. God honored our mustard-seed faith and within minutes my auntie was set free from Satan’s grasp!

Her eyes now shone with peace. Her speech returned to normal. She smiled and so did we. I quietly walked home that night, meditating on the miracle. Before I went to bed, I opened the Bible and felt the love of God come right out of the pages and into my heart. I knew that my family had chosen the right path and in that moment I committed to follow Jesus the rest of my life.

* Pseudonym