There was a young man who hailed from Germany. He had a big passion in doing God’s work and thus, he enrolled himself in a missionary school. It is a place where he hoped to be groomed to be a powerful servant of God.
Having graduated, he was sent to the land of Africa to be a preacher in a small town there. The whole scenario was not exactly what he hoped to be. He was pastoring a very small church where the congregation can hardly be considered a crowd. But with a heart for God, he soldiered on.Years past and his church never seemed to grow. Naturally, he began to feel dejected and began to question God why he has been sent in a remote land. He wanted to do something incredible but he just couldn’t do so. He asked God to give him a big chance.
One day, when he almost calls it quit, he decided to organise a big rally in the big city in the country he was in. But then again, he was not a very famous preacher and surely, he will not be able to attract a good crowd. Further, even if there was a big crowd, he has never preached to a congregation of such before. He thought he could never do it. Hence, he tried to invite a famous speaker to preach at the rally; and he managed to do so.
The day came when the rally was to be held and this pastor was feeling really excited. Though he was not going to preach, he was happy to have organised such an event. Just as the rally was about to start, he got a phone call from the famous speaker who was supposed to preach that day. It was bad news, the speaker was not well and will not be able to make it.
“Why don’t you speak instead?” the famous speaker said.
“I don’t think you can do it”
“Just pray and ask God for his guidance”
And so, he was left with no choice but to take centre stage that day. As he walked up the stairs to the stage, he could felt his knees almost buckled under him. But he dug deep into his courage reserve and managed to drag himself to face the crowd. As he looked at the crowed… he saw thousands and thousands of people, looking at him; expecting something.
For a while, he stood there not knowing what to do; he could not even begin. Since he did not know what to say, he decided to just pray hoping that God will speak and not him. And thus, he bowed down his head, closed his eyes and began to pray. He tried to pro-long his prayer so that he does not need to face the crowd.
A few minutes into the prayer… it began to rain.
“This must be the worst day of my life”… He thought to himself as he could hear people began to leave due to the rain. But he didn’t give up; he continued to pray and asked God to stop the rain. What happened?
The rain got heavier… and heavier… and heavier… and he could hear more and more people leaving the rally.When the finally finished his prayer… he opened his eyes… all he could see was an empty space in front of him. Those who came were all gone; he was the only person left there…
It was then when he looked to the heaven and a big smile came upon his face. He know he has done something amazing that night… he has finally been able to deliver God’s powerful message…
Why?
Well… 9 lorries were deployed to collect all the walking sticks and wheelchairs and mattresses that were left behind. The thousands who came were those who were limps, those who were sick and bedridden, those who were wheelchair bound… and when the rain came, the thousands who came just got up and started running.
The name of the pastor is Reinhard Bonnke (hope the spelling is accurate). Since that fateful day, he became a very powerful missionary who performed many wonders in the land of Africa.
Another outrageous story? Well, only if you choose not to believe it. And hey… isn’t this world filled with outrageous stories?
