Fasting, Praying Pays Off for Asian Missionary
Vatsal Yadav wasn’t seeing any results from his time spent praying, distributing Gospel tracts and sharing the Good News with those in his neighborhood.
The Gospel for Asia-supported missionary serves in an area that is home to an important historical pilgrimage site. The people who live there staunchly adhered to their traditional faith.
But Vatsal refused to give up.
He set apart three days fasting and praying for a breakthrough in his ministry, and the Lord graciously revealed His will to Vatsal. Vatsal knew the Lord would faithfully soften the hearts of his lost neighbors.
Vatsal and his wife started having worship services in a rented house. It began with only the two of them praising and giving thanks to the Lord Jesus, but slowly, the Lord’s Spirit began to move in people’s hearts, and many people started to attend the church.
But as his church grew, Vatsal began to face a lot of opposition. Some extremists in his village even threatened to kill him if he did not abandon the church. But Vatsal persevered and remained faithful to the calling the Lord placed on his life.
Now 45 people worship the living Savior at Vatsal’s church.
Finding Faith Gudiya is one of those believers. Through Vatsal’s shepherding, her faith in the Lord has strengthened. Her husband, Rushil, however, used to harass her for being a Christian. He would mock her and refuse to give her money for household expenses. She ended up working in people’s homes just to meet the daily needs of the family.
Rushil’s harassment increased to the point where Gudiya felt she could no longer attend church. She asked her fellow believers to pray for her situation and her husband’s salvation. It wasn’t until their son became afflicted with epilepsy that Rushil’s hardness of heart began to give way.
As his son’s condition got worse, Rushil grew deeply worried. Out of desperation, he approached Pastor Vatsal and asked him to pray for the boy’s healing—and the Lord answered, healing Rushil completely.
This miracle changed Rushil’s life drastically, and he started to believe in Jesus Christ. He turned away from all his bad habits and started attending the church services with his family. His love for Gudiya reignited, too.
He publicly testified of his new faith and trust in the Savior, and because of the testimony of his life, many are choosing Christ.