The street market in a famous Thailand city provided the perfect spot for dinner with my wife and friends. Stalls lined the streets and tourists and locals alike shopped among the trinkets enjoying the aroma of the local Thai food. As we walked, a small drink stand caught our attention. After paying for our drinks, the Holy Spirit nudged me to ask the vendor whether he suffered any severe leg pain resulting from hard work. Through our Thai translator he told us that that very morning he had woken up with excruciating pain in both legs, making simple movements and walking extremely painful for the early hours of each day. After hearing his condition we asked if we could pray for him. He agreed to our unusual request.
After praying for the vendor’s legs he said that the pain had gone, but that the real test would come in the morning when he woke up and tried to move them. He took our Thai friend’s number and promised to call the next day if anything happened. The next morning, my phone displayed ten missed calls from my Thai translator friend. Curious, I returned the call to see what was so urgent. Over the line I heard his voice crack with emotion as he explained how the Buddhist drink vendor had called him and shared an astonishing story.
All night as the man had closed his eyes to sleep he would hear Jesus’ name and be reminded of the prayer. Curious to learn more he spent the entire night watching videos about Jesus Christ until he fell asleep. Then, when he woke up and tried to move his legs he realized that the stiffness and pain had completely gone! He couldn’t believe it. Had this same Jesus personally touched and healed him? Overjoyed he called my Thai friend and asked how to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior! Not wanting any of his family to miss out, he brought his entire family to church that Sunday for them to also learn about His new found faith. Within a few weeks his whole family had given their lives to the Lord and were all baptized. Today the family continues to share their faith with others, proclaiming the power of Jesus to heal, but also to draw us into a loving relationship with a living God.
