"The Door is Open for you!"
There was an elderly Afghan woman who ended up in Athens, Greece through a series of unfortunate events. Her children were still in her home country and she was alone in a strange place. Each week she would walk into a community center, clearly overwhelmed with the troubles in her world.
There she met a Follower of Jesus who prayed with her many times and explained that the answer to all of her troubles was the Lord Jesus (Isa al-Masih). Like many other Afghans, she was not interested in this message because she was Muslim. One day the man asked, “If God reveals himself to you and shows you the truth, will you follow him?” She just laughed, thinking to herself that this would never happen.
A few weeks later during mid-day, she walked by the center but no one was there. So she sat down to rest just outside of the door. Suddenly, she saw a bright light coming from behind her, so bright that she covered her eyes. The light was shining brighter than the sun.
Then she heard a voice, speaking in her own language, “My daughter, my daughter, the door is open for you. Come!” She replied, “The door is closed!” Again the voice called to her, “I am the Son of God, Jesus. The door is open for you, my daughter. I am the door!”
As she later told the story to the Follower of Jesus, she began trembling, and her heart was pounding as she shared the peace and joy that she experienced since hearing Jesus speak to her. She said, “Many times you have encouraged me to pray that God would speak to me. I thought it was blasphemy! But now I know Jesus is alive.”
A Visit from the Prince of Peace
Elif, a Turkish woman, struggled with destructive thoughts about herself every day. She would go to bed thinking these thoughts and even oddly enjoying them though she knew it was wrong. One day, she decided to practice English on an app and started talking to a new friend who happened to be a follower of Jesus. She was warm and kind to her and even said she would pray for her. In order to learn the new language they conversed about many things, but Elif didn’t reveal her secret destructive thoughts out of shame.
The friend also shared some of her music that sang praises to God and she couldn’t help but feel more peaceful when she listened. She shared several stories and videos about Jesus over the next month. Her new friend kept praying for her, although she didn’t tell her.
One night, as she was thinking disturbing thoughts, Elif felt the presence of someone in her room although she did not see Him. He said, “I am here with you Elif, and you can let go of these bad thoughts.” She was shocked. The thoughts left her instantly and she was filled with peace. She knew in her heart that this was not just a dream. She slept peacefully for the first time in a long time.
When she woke up Elif had some doubt about what she dreamed, but at the same time was not able to deny what had happened. She decided to tell her English friend about the bad thoughts and about this presence in her room. Her friend revealed she had been praying for her and told her this was Jesus’ presence in her room that brought peace. She told her one of Jesus’ names was the Prince of Peace and that He wanted to give her peace in her heart and mind and have freedom from evil and destructive thoughts. She continued to ask questions and after learning more over the next month, she decided to follow the Prince of Peace and was connected with other followers of Jesus.
Elif now tells others that if they struggle with evil thoughts they can pray to God for peace in the name of Jesus. The Bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus."
The Man Saved Her Life
There was family on a boat with other migrants traveling from their country to another. On the way they lost their young daughter and it was discovered she had fallen overboard into the ocean. Everyone in the crowded boat was looking over the side for her but couldn’t find her. Suddenly, she appeared on the opposite end of the boat from where she had been and she was saying over and over, “A man who walked on the water picked me up from the sea and put me down on the other side of the boat.” The parents dismissed her words as a result of her trauma but rejoiced in having her back safe.
When they arrived at a nearby island, they met a man who made a fire to warm them and sat down to talk to them. That day, without having any idea what had happened to this family, the man asked if they would like to hear about the God who walked on water. The mother and father started crying in disbelief. The man had never shared that story in welcoming migrants before, but that morning he felt that God wanted him to tell that story about Jesus (Isa al-Masih).
The family asked, “Who are you?” to which he replied, “I’m a Follower of Jesus and He sent me here today to welcome you and tell you that He loves you and is with you.” They said, “What do you mean ‘walk on the water’?” So the man opened the Holy Bible and read the story to them about how Jesus walked on the water.
The family continued crying as they told him the story of how their daughter had fallen off the boat. “We thought she was crazy because she kept saying, ‘It was a man who walked on the water that took me to the other side.’ We couldn’t understand it until you read us that story of Jesus. We now realize we have Jesus to thank for our daughter life being saved!”