A Door Opened

A group of First Nations people sat on the corner I walked past each day. Their hands were often out in hopes of assistance and I helped them when I could. My desire though was for their community to accept me and I prayed to that end regularly.

One day a woman from our church asked me to come to the hospital to pray for her sick daughter. When we arrived in the ICU, I recognized the young woman, Florence, as one who often sat on the corner. She was on life support and her condition was deteriorating. I anointed her with oil and prayed, as the Scriptures teach – and left. That was on Sunday.

Tuesday I arrived back at our corner – there she sat, healthy, hand out again. I knelt down and said, “Florence we need to talk.” Her face lit up, she had been informed that I had prayed for her. Later that day, one after another from this First Nations community came into the church for the very first time saying, “You went and prayed for Florence” or “You prayed for my sister.” Word had spread through the streets that I had been there. Her mother had told them what God had done.

From that day, I was welcomed into this community and have had the opportunity to lead many to faith in Jesus. We have done many of their funerals, often now with people expressing their faith in Christ. Only today, another spoke with me of his faith in Jesus. All of it, flowing from a door that God opened when He healed Florence. Florence herself came to faith about six months after her healing. She has now gone to be with Jesus.

This story is taken from the Fall 2018 Alliance Connection magazine. You can get a free copy of the Alliance Connection at Alliance churches across Canada or view the digital copy online. We hope you will be encouraged and inspired to go deeper in Jesus and as a result, further on mission.