Prayer is integral to indigenous ministries in Africa

Prayer is an integral part of ministries partnered with Intercede International in Africa. Some of these ministries have witnessed God answer their prayers and intercession in dramatic ways over the years. 

“Thank you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus for the good work you are doing as we together preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God,” wrote Kenya Evangelism Team leader Rev. Felix Misiko Murunga. “Through your support financially and with your prayers, we are able to travel to different places near and far to spread the Gospel and we have seen the power of God working miracles of deliverance, healing and revival – and people glorifying God for His mercy for all that He is doing in the name of Jesus Christ. As a team we are grateful to see what God is doing in our midst wherever we go. May the Lord our God reward you for everything you are doing to advance His Kingdom.

“We also thank God for everything He has done through us as a ministry as we preach the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven. More souls have been won to Christ, we have witnessed deliverance to those who were bound by demonic powers, others healed from chronic incurable diseases. We have held several evangelistic meetings in different places – for instance ladies’, youth, children’s and pastors’ seminars and also revival meetings in our churches, open air and tent meetings. Throughout these the power of God has been manifested. The youth and women ministries have also been very active in ministry work as they have been spreading the Gospel in villages through house-to-house visitation and open-air meetings in marketplaces. We have had water baptism for the new converts. There is much revival in the body of Christ. 

“Also, in funeral services we attend, we preach there the Gospel and many people have accepted Christ as their personal Saviour,” reported Murunga. “We managed to reach the sick in hospitals and in homes and we prayed for them and they were healed. Through the support we receive from you brethren, the Lord Jesus has done much more than we can tell. We give all the Glory to God for His Grace in all. 

“As we reach out to people in different places in villages and urban areas, we meet people who are harassed and helpless as they are bound by the powers of darkness in different ways – we have witnessed deliverance of those we have prayed for as we rebuked the devil. By faith, they have been freed in Jesus’ name!” 

The result of ten challenging years

The director of a Nigeria-based ministry partnered with intercede (names protected for security reasons) reported some years ago about one fellow missionary, Joseph Samuel, who waited for ten years to see answers to some of his prayers. He ministered in the Dirim Field of eastern Nigeria. “The missionary laboured there for about ten years,” reported the leader. “Each time he laboured, there was no fruit — nobody — not even children. It seemed that the place was completely dry, and there was persecution. Each time we got there, he wanted to pack. He insisted, is there somewhere else he could go — without staying and wasting his life in this place for all these years? So when he couldn’t be convinced anymore, he packed and was about to leave. The next day, he was going to leave the community. 

“Now, one of the reasons why he was never able to get converts was there were some people who stood against him,” explained the leader. “They were the opinion leaders of the community, the people that provided for the community, so whatever they said, people would listen to them. They were the ones who stood against him and resisted the Gospel for all these ten years. The day he was about to leave, they came and knocked on his door. He opened the door thinking that now they heard he was going to leave, they were going to attack him or say some nasty thing to him, or they were going to mock him. As soon as he opened the door, he saw these people who had been against him – nine of them.

“But that time they were so sober and they came in and they looked frustrated. They started crying. They knelt down and said, ‘We have sinned against you; we have sinned against God. We want you to forgive us. We want to accept your God. We now believe in Him — and they genuinely gave their lives to Christ. 

“That was the greatest celebration that missionary had for ten years. He couldn’t imagine how it had worked — how God could have brought these people before him now. So he celebrated and rejoiced for hours with his wife! At the end of their rejoicing, they went to bed, and there he saw, as if in a trance, Jesus appeared to Him, and He looked real. He said, ‘Why are you rejoicing for nine people? Don’t you know that out of the nine people you say you won, you won only three?’ 

“This man looked frustrated again and so sad that nine people came and he prayed for them, and now there were only three. The Man told him, ‘This is what happens when you win souls. You are not the only one who wins them. There are other people who stood with you. There are people who have been praying for you. There are people who have been supporting you financially. You are all doing the same job. You are on the same level. Now, each of them have three converts.’

“That made him so excited that those who are supporting and praying for him are also involved whether they are in the field or not.”

Please intercede for these ministries – that their missionaries will see

INS- Intercede International, Fort Erie, ON