Wild Hope - Going FAR
The Power Of Prayer
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
– Mathew 18:19 –
We feel so deeply in the power of prayer. In Tammy’s and my ministry here in East Africa, it’s not an exaggeration to say that we have seen shifts in culture and watershed events numerous times through believing prayer. This is why prayer is such a central element at our Wild Hope Prayer Retreat and Training Center and why we mobilize our Intercessory Prayer Team to beseech Heaven for the efforts here in Tanzania.
Discouragement
Recently Solomon and Sarah were with us on the land for an afternoon of prayer. They were discouraged. One of the key churches they had founded in Morogoro, Tanzania was undergoing an attack. Three laibons had moved into their area. Laibons (or Iloibonok in the Maasai language) are shamans or mediums who have a massive influence in traditional Maasai culture. These laibons came offering health, wealth, and fertility, and almost a third of the new church followed after their promises. Solomon had run into the lead laibon on the path one day and told him very bluntly, “You are not welcome here! This is God’s place and we are His people!”
After our prayer time, Solomon and Sarah began the two-day journey back to Morogoro. But before they arrived, their mobile phones began ringing non-stop. Something big had happened!
God Answers!
In Solomon and Sarah’s absence, the laibons had prepared a fertility rite sacrifice and invited the greater community. They are experts at sacrifice and choose their sacrificial animals very carefully. The animals must be unblemished as any imperfection is considered a bad omen and can even reverse the laibon’s libations.
Here, as in most traditional African cultures, children are highly prized and fertility rites quite prominent. The women of the church were torn between their ancient practices and the new way of following Christ. They were very eager to ensure their ongoing ability to bear more children and the sacrifice offered by a powerful laibon proved too much of a temptation to them. The lead laibon carefully chose a pregnant sheep so he could use its amniotic fluid as a libation to shower them with.
When he and the elders ritually slaughtered the sheep, they were in for quite a shock. The sheep they had chosen was completely healthy with signs of pregnancy, but when they slaughtered it, not only was it not pregnant but they could find no intestine, kidneys, or liver. Now if I was butchering this sheep I very well could have missed these organs…but there’s no way that Maasai would…especially an animal being ritually sacrificed.
A Laibon Points Others to Christ
The laibon was completely dumbfounded and many in the crowd that had gathered for the ceremony felt he was struck by fear. He then did something incredible. He stood up and said, “I have never seen a sign like this before. I discern that it is because of your pastor’s God. When I came, he was not happy with me doing what I am doing here. Today I have seen that what he represents is more powerful. I am leaving to go back to my home area and join a church there and I suggest you all return to your church and follow what your pastor tells you to do.”
And they did! Along with a bunch of new people coming to find out about the power of the Gospel because of the witness of a pagan laibon.
The whole area is talking about this event and we got to do a little Holy Spirit jig with Solomon last Thursday when he came to tell us our prayers had been answered.
