So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God
for him. Acts 12:5
Nadia was in a prison in the Middle East for some months because she was a
believer from Muslim background. She told the prison officials that she would
not give them any information about the people she knew or about her husband,
only about herself. This led her to being placed in an isolation cell for four
days. The cell was small and extremely cold. There was no toilet or washing
facilities at all.
“At one point,” Nadia reported, “I was feeling very cold and found the whole
experience tough. Suddenly though, I felt warm air blowing in my face. So warm,
in fact, that when I breathed in and the air hit my lungs I had to cough.”
She had no idea where the warmth was coming from and at the same time she
became very joyful. This sense of joy overwhelmed her so much that she began to
dance in the cell. Yet, at the same time, she also felt confused. How could
she feel warm and joyful in a cold prison cell, she asked herself?
“Then I heard a voice,” said Nadia. She emphasized that it wasn’t an internal
voice but audible, “as if someone in the cell was saying, ‘That is because
people are praying for you. This is the Spirit of happiness that has come upon
you. Receive it.’”
Later on, after her release, Nadia shared her amazing experience in the cell
with her sister. Asking when it had happened, Nadia’s sister mentioned the same
exact day and time when thirty-two believers had met to pray for Nadia and
another believer in prison. Two of the participants had been appointed to
represent Nadia and the other Christian. The remaining thirty believers gathered
around them to ask God to comfort them, to fill them with joy and send His
Spirit of happiness upon them.” They were deeply encouraged to hear Nadia’s
experience.
Pastor Gambo Boka from northern Nigeria was falsely accused and sentenced by
the Islamic court to three years of imprisonment. When he was put in prison,
together with five other falsely accused Christians, he said, “God has a purpose
in all of this. My soul is at rest.”
Though he lost weight and became weak, his faith became increasingly strong.
He shared the Gospel with many fellow prisoners, who were almost all Muslims. “I
experience comfort in this terrible place.” said Gambo. “I know that God’s
promises are true.”
The Islamic court gave Pastor Gambo thirty days to appeal. While members of
Pastor Gambo’s church prayed, God performed a miracle. Gambo and the other five
Christians were acquitted by an Islamic court because of a lack of evidence.
“This is God’s grace,” said one of the church members. “Our prayers have been
heard and my faith has been strengthened. God’s promises are so special!”
Pastor Gambo and the other five Christians left the court singing, thanking
God for His intervention.
RESPONSE: Today I will remember that God’s promises are true and He still
performs miracles.
PRAYER: Pray earnestly today for Christians around the world in prison for
their faith.
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