Possible through the Power of God
11/29/2007 5:24:59 PM

From the Intercessor Connector

In sub-Saharan West Africa, this day is like any other. Women pound millet in large wooden mortars. Men beat cloth, smoothing it flat, with hefty mallets. Children laugh as they play on the dusty streets. It’s market day. People buy and sell bright fabrics, plastic containers, used clothing and produce while greeting visitors and talking with friends. Just behind the market stands an imposing mosque. In its courtyard, several elders, most in long robes, listen to a teacher, just as they might any other day. But today the teacher is an IMB worker who is not teaching from the Quran, but from God’s Word. The West African language that he has struggled to learn flows smoothly from his lips. The men listen intently as he reads from Genesis. Occasionally a listener makes a clicking sound, a West African way of acknowledging truth and agreement. This village had forbidden Christians to live among its people. But it has been on the missionaries’ hearts since the first time they prayerwalked through its dark streets with more than 20 mosques. Now they are welcomed. Why is a place that has been deemed unreachable now approachable? A few weeks ago, the Holy Spirit impressed the missionary that there was work to be done in this place, so he went. He boldly explained to the village chief that he was a teacher of God’s Word and wanted to come each week and pray for the people. The chief gave permission, and three weeks later the impossible became possible.