William and I took a YWAM team of 16 people out to the village of Nhansassa to show the Jesus Film, Preach the Gospel, and heal the sick. As we drove deeper and deeper into the bush, my passengers and I began to talk about how we are off to this village to destroy the works of the devil; the very worst satan can do will be undone.
Karina, a student, preached an awesome message, I followed up by encouraging old and new believers alike in getting to know Jesus more. About half the people gathered together that night under the stars were part of our churches congregation. I shared about the importance of getting to know Jesus who is alive by His Spirit today, living in the hearts of those who have faith in Him! I told them the two biggest tools Jesus has gifted us to get to know Him more in this life: The Bible and Prayer. A relatively impressive amount of people had bibles compared to other villages I’ve been to. It was still less than a quarter of the people. “If you don’t have a Bible, find somebody who has one and work something out during the week where they can help read to you or let you borrow their bible.” I encouraged them that His Word is like bread to our spirits! It also helps us know our Savior and know His voice more and more. “The second tool is prayer. Praying is not just asking for things. It’s talking with Jesus!” I encouraged them to talk with Jesus as naturally as they would with a friend or spouse. “When you wake up; ‘good morning, Lord.’ When you are walking to your garden; ‘be close with me Jesus. I love you.’ I gave many more examples of how to pray.
Another YWAMer, Brady, introduced prayer time. The 16 YWAMers lined up to receive people, the four translators bounced around helping them communicate. I acted also as a translator. Everyone I helped pray for seemed to be legitimately healed and all walked away with the peace of God on their face. At one point I looked down the line of YWAMers and felt that we were crushing the very works of the devil in Nhansassa!
Then I saw a mozambican woman manifesting an evil spirit quite intensely about thirty feet away from me. Two YWAMers, Kohl and Sarah, were praying for her. An intense feeling welled up inside me I could only describe as probably a taste of what Jesus felt for this Mozambican woman. I walked briskly down the line straight to this woman to help these students pray for her as I didn’t know where these young ones were with this sort of encounter or if they’ve ever even seen this before. I reach out my hand and lay it on her forehead and she instantly falls back and I grab her back and laid her down gently. She is convulsing and shaking and making strange noises. The two students and I continue commanding the spirit out and declaring Jesus’ plan over her life. She calms down. “Girl, look at me.” I said in the dialect, Sena. She looks right into eyes. “What is your name?” I asked. “Josefa” “How do you feel?” “My legs hurt and my chest hurts.” “But how is your heart? Your spirit? Did the evil spirit leave you?” “Yes,” she said confidently. “It’s left already… I feel peace.”
I translate all this to the YWAMers who then continue to pray for her physical infirmities. I stand and ask the small crowd of locals watching us closely “does this woman have family here? Siblings? Parents?” “Yes, somewhere.” They all start looking around trying to find someone. “Or just a good friend?” The woman right in front of me says “Yes, me. I am her friend.” “Does she do this often?” “Yes, often.” I grab a translator and the pastor of our church, because Josefa is a member of this church, and I ask him if he and the leaders of this church are confident in caring for this girl in prayer and discipleship, seeing to it that she does not continue in whatever darkness she has fallen into. “Yes,” pastor says. “She actually prays at another Iris church close by. We work together often. Together with the leaders there we will care for her in fasting and praying and discipleship.”
After a discussion with that pastor I return to the altar in the dirt in front of our projector screen to see how Josefa is doing and I find her friend, who I had talked with briefly, on the ground on her face gently shaking, crying, surrounded by YWAMers who are laying hands on her. I ask and none of them are quite sure if it’s Holy Spirit or not. The girl sits up. I ask her what she felt. “My back and my legs were hurting, that’s why I came up for prayer.” “But what did you feel when you fell? Was it good or bad?” “I didn’t feel anything except heat. And then I lost my strength and fell, and I cried. And now my legs and back are no longer hurting.”
It would seem the Holy Spirit overwhelmed this woman here for the first time and healed her. She was unfamiliar with His Presence and didn’t recognize His heat. But couldn’t doubt His healing within this touch.
Overall there was tremendous peace in this village. Everybody listened. Nobody spoke over us. They were greatly encouraged, many received Jesus and those who already had Him were encouraged to know Him deeper!
Thank you Jesus for the honor of walking in Your beautiful Spirit! Thank you for the honor of representing you in rural Mozambique where the devil has come to steal, kill and destroy.
With a final word I encourage the people not to live in darkness, “do not look to another. Not family, not witch doctors, nowhere else can you find true life and peace! Only in Christ Jesus who died to free you from sin and death; free you from slavery to darkness and the flesh; and is jealous for your affection and your whole life. Let Him be everything to you. If you are being attacked in your dreams by evil spirits, do not suffer silently and let it continue. Call out to Jesus, verbalize it to church leaders, let them pray with you and disciple you in the Word of God! If you, your family, or your friends are playing around with witchcraft trinkets, confess it! Share it, do not keep silent. And burn the trinkets. Do not partner with darkness. You cannot serve two masters.”