MIDDLE EAST - Maybe we should dream more?
11/10/05 - 14-year Samira was healed after she had a vision of Jesus in a dream
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Stories of Jesus coming to people in dreams and experiencing miraculous healings, visions and extraordinary miracles are quite commonplace in many of the 45 countries throughout the world, where Open Doors supports the Suffering and Persecuted Church.
The story below, of Jesus healing a young girl in a dream as local Christians prayed, is told by Ameen whose family have been witnessing of their Lord to friends and neighbours in the Middle East for more than 60 years.
A father’s distress
It was Thursday night and like all other Thursday nights we were gathered at our home for a Bible Study and prayer meeting. It was a routine meeting and no-one had any great expectations. Suddenly, a friend, Mazen, opened the door and greeted us in Arabic but his sad and desperate-looking eyes got us all concerned. We went on with our Bible study as usual but when it was time to pray, Mazen couldn't keep quiet any longer. He started telling us how he had just been to hospital where he had received test results for his daughter Samira, and they were even worse than those taken some weeks earlier. They confirmed that Mazen's fourteen-year old daughter Samira had leukemia. She had already spent six weeks in bed during which time the family saw her slowly fade away. Mazen didn’t know how he was going to break the news to his family.
Samira herself, like most cancer patients in our countries, would never get to know the seriousness of her condition. On his long way home Mazen would come up with something to say.
Does God heal?
After Mazen's news we looked round at one another with consternation. Then we started reading passages in the Bible proving beyond any doubt that "God is our healer" and how it was so much on Jesus' heart when on earth to heal people. When we started praying, we knew we were touching God's heart, and felt as if Samira's life was in our hands.
At the end of the time of prayer, we were happy to see that at least Mazen was encouraged in his faith. He also told us to come for a visit the following Saturday and that we mustn't forget to bring ‘the oil’. Although a young believer, he somehow knew the Bible teaches us to anoint the sick person with olive oil before praying for them.
On the following Saturday morning we all got into my car and set off. It felt like ages before we arrived, but I had promised myself never ever to say that the road made me tired, as my mother had once admonished me: "What are you complaining about?. Your Father used to come here on the back of a donkey! It would take him three days – and he never used to complain."
But whatever she’d said, it was tiring to come all this way just to anoint Samira with oil and pray for her. However, it also helped remind me that here I was really on "holy ground" following in the footsteps of my father who, more than fifty years ago, had spent so much time telling Muslim people about Jesus – our Lord and Saviour.
Yes, it was a real privilege to see how the Word of God had changed the lives of this tribal family since Samira’s great grandfather had responded to the Gospel that my father and others had brought. We really were eyewitnesses to God's amazing grace.
My thoughts about my father were brought to an abrupt end, when we saw a young and beautiful girl walk in front of her primitive house on the side of the hill. No, it couldn't be Samira – but it was! Samira was there in all her youthful splendour!
The brakes screeched and within seconds we were all standing in front of her without knowing what to say. Despite our prayers, days previously, we were amazed to see her well and healthy! We couldn't say anything until Samira was serving us tea and she herself started telling us what had happened that Thursday night.
I saw Jesus!
Samira recounted: "Like all other nights I was lying in the dark feeling so weak. I must have fallen asleep when I suddenly saw a bright light and a man dressed in white. Even before He told me, I knew He was Jesus. He announced: ’Samira I've come here to make you well.’
“At that moment I started feeling as if a hot stream of electricity was moving through my body. My strength started coming back to my body. It was so beautiful!
“I wish my father had been here, so I could have told him all about it."
We couldn't say anything. We rejoiced that God had used our feeble prayers to be part of His wonderful way of healing young Samira.
A few days later they went to see Samira’s doctor who inquired, "What's up, Samira? Why have you put so much makeup on today?"
Samira replied: "Today I'm not wearing any makeup at all. This is what I look like since the day Jesus healed me."
The doctor swallowed hard as he carried on with his tests. A few days later the tests were ready: no trace of leukaemia. Mazen asked for a written statement that Jesus had healed Samira. The doctor refused saying, "Such a statement would be devastating to my ‘business’. But come back after 3 months. If the tests are still negative, I will become a follower of Jesus, too!"
God is so good
I'll never forget Samira walking down the road on that Saturday morning. And I will continue remembering that the Word of God doesn't return without having done what it was sent to do. My father listened to that heavenly voice and was obedient when he went to see Samira's great grandfather, who had also seen Jesus in a dream. When reading the Bible I realise how much God uses dreams to talk to His people. Maybe we should dream more?
Yes, Samira had got up off her death bed, completely healed. Hospital tests later confirmed also, that there was no trace of cancer left in her body.
To regularly receive stories from the Persecuted Church, ask for Open Doors’ free magazine Frontline by calling Open Doors UK & Ireland on 01993 885400, emailing info@opendoorsuk.org or go to the UK website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
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Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by
1. Training Church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the western world.
For other articles/press releases on the Persecuted Church, go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm