Story: Two Japanese students

Story: Two Japanese girls

This story happened in the late 1990s.  I went through a phase where every morning I would ask Jesus if he wanted me to eat breakfast or fast for someone’s freedom.

I really wanted to eat breakfast.  I love food, so I knew very clearly that if I heard a thought to not eat, it probably wasn’t my own idea.

I would always ask the question in my mind so the enemy couldn’t hear my prayer request, and try to throw thoughts at me to deceive me.

If Jesus put a thought in my mind to not eat, I would respond with a question that was something like this,  “Jesus, who do you want to set free?  Show me who they are as I go through my day.”

I was following Isaiah 58 to start my day.

Well one morning, I heard the thought to not eat,  so I skipped breakfast and got ready and went to work.  As I drove I was praying, and wondered who it would be.

If I didn’t find the person,  then I’d go all day without food, only to discover the thoughts to fast weren’t from Jesus.   With a light hearted attitude I begged Jesus to confirm it to me sooner rather than later, so I could eat.

This was one of those mornings where Jesus moved very quickly.  I parked my car in the employee parking lot, and began to walk to the ministry office at the university.

I heard a thought say, “Look to your left. There they are.”

I looked to my left.  Two female Japanese students were walking to class.  One of the girls had a large bandage wrapped around her knee. She was limping and could hardly walk.  The other was slowly walking beside her.

I had only a few seconds to respond, so I went for it.  I walked up to them and asked if I could pray for her knee in less than 30 seconds, so they could still get to class on time.

They smiled and agreed.  I looked at the girl on the right and heard Jesus whisper in my mind, “Have her pray in her language.”  So, I asked her to pray for her friend. She stuttered as she bowed her head and spoke in broken English.  I interrupted and said, “You can pray in Japanese. It’s ok.”

She prayed a short prayer, and raised her head.  We both looked at the girl with the bandaged knee.  I asked her how her knee felt.

Then it happened.  She got that extreme and immediate shocked look.  She grabbed her leg, and lifted it off the ground and bent it all around in disbelief.

She smiled and thanked me. They both bowed to me several quick times.  I responded and said, “Well, I didn’t pray. Your friend did. Thank you for praying in Japanese.”

They rushed off to class.  I watched as she bounded through the parking lot with no limp, and then I asked Jesus if I could go the cafeteria and get breakfast.  Praise God, I could eat again.

When Jesus has initiated an Isaiah 58 fast, I’ve noticed that He always has responded by at least giving relief to someone.  This was proven to me over and over again, and for several years I was addicted to seeing Jesus set people free.