Your Name Is Freedom

Shah gripped the peeling seat of the old Toyota as he and Tony, a Frontiers field worker, rattled down the bumpy road to Shah’s home village.

He pointed to the left. “Turn here and you’ll be at my uncle’s home.” The weathered house came into view between the thick vegetation that crowded the road.

Shah’s extended family still lived in the area, although he and his parents had moved to a nearby town. Shah and his father had begun working with Tony three years earlier, and since then Tony’s prayers in Jesus’ name had led to the inexplicable healing of his mother’s leukemia and his father’s liver failure.

He hoped the prayers of his foreign friend would drive out the evil spirit that had plagued his uncle for a decade.

Shah wished he could follow Jesus, who seemed to heal the most impossible of illnesses, but he knew his family could be hurt or killed if they left Islam. Still, he hoped the prayers of his foreign friend would drive out the evil spirit that had plagued his uncle for a decade. If Jesus couldn’t help, then nothing would.

When they walked into the house, Shah introduced Tony to his aunt and then led him to the place where his uncle could often be found. For ten years, his uncle had spent most of his time at the edge of the village, sitting in rubble and screaming at anyone who passed by. Although his aunt had asked Islamic healers and holy men for help, he only got worse.

“He is usually over here,” Shah said as they walked through a graveyard of rusted car parts and broken-up concrete blocks. They followed the sound of incoherent raving and found his uncle sitting barefoot on a pile of dirt in the middle of the mess.

Shah’s heart twisted at the sight. His uncle’s hair and beard were matted, and his clothes were torn and soiled. Even from a distance, Shah could smell him.

“Oh my.” Tony’s whisper came with notes of sorrow and compassion, not the horror and judgment that most showed. Shah glanced at him, still worried he might turn and leave if his uncle became violent.

Tony moved forward and stared straight into the man’s eyes. “Evil Spirit, in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave this man alone.”

Shah’s uncle caught sight of them and leapt to his feet. He laughed maniacally and shouted insults at Tony in a deep, unfamiliar voice that made Shah wince.

Tony, undeterred, marched toward the man and asked,  “What is your name?”

Shah’s uncle grinned wickedly, revealing broken teeth. “My name is Evil Spirit.”

Gasping, Shah took a step back.

Tony, however, moved forward and stared straight into the man’s eyes. “Evil Spirit, in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave this man alone.”

The bedraggled man’s eyes shifted bizarrely from mirth to rage to fear. “But where can I go?”

“I don’t care.” Tony raised his voice. “But you have to go now.”

Shah’s uncle let out an inhuman-sounding cry and collapsed to the ground. For a moment, he remained limp. Then he sat up, looked at his dirty hands and clothes, and began to sob.

“Your name is Freedom now,” Tony said.

Rushing to his uncle’s side, Shah placed a hand on his shoulder. He hadn’t seen his uncle show any emotion other than anger in a decade.

His uncle looked up at him. “Shah?”

Now Shah couldn’t help but weep too. His uncle had not recognized him for years.

“Your name is Freedom now,” Tony said, crouching down beside them. “In the name of Jesus, you are free.”

To Shah’s delight, his uncle went straight home, cleaned up, and stayed in his right mind. Within days, he had started a small business selling vegetables, removing the financial burden his wife had carried alone for so long.

“There is no greater power than Jesus.”

The next time Shah came into work and saw Tony, he had good news.

“My entire family has decided to follow Jesus. They can hardly believe the change in my uncle.” He held up a hand, knowing that Tony would remind him not to make this decision lightly. “I know we will face persecution, but it’s worth it. There is no greater power than Jesus. He is the truth, and we want to follow Him. Please tell us what to do.”

Tony smiled and disappeared into his office. When he came back, he gave Shah an audio device. “This has the book of Matthew from the Bible. Listen to it with your family. Then we will talk more.”

Joyfully, Shah accepted the device. No matter what he might face, he knew there was no ally more powerful than Jesus.

Pray:

• Ask that Shah and his family will bravely follow Jesus, no matter the dangers they face.
• Pray for field workers as they boldly face evil in some of the most spiritually dark regions of the world.
• Praise God for showing Shah’s family His power again and again.