The following story is about a female believer surnamed Li who prayed persistently for her family, and then all 18 members of her family became believers.
As the middle child in her family, Li has an older and younger brother, each of whom has married with children. Once I asked her how she kept up her family worship during the pandemic, Li said, "I often tell them my own story about the grace of the Lord. I don't always tell them to believe in Jesus, but in my communication with them, I always tell them what Jesus Christ has done for me with silent prayers."
"My cousin always had a headache because he was too fussy. So I gave him a Bible after sharing the gospel with him, but he just agreed to read it. I continued to pray for him, and years passed, he became a Christian."
She said, "Having a heavy-smoking father, my mother and I used to pray for him to accept the Lord, but he just said, 'I've already believed, it's just ok.' Knowing he had not yet known Jesus, my mother and I continued to pray for him. Later, beginning to hate smoking, he even couldn't stand the smell. Willing to go to the church, he signed up for the catechism class, often bursting into tears while singing poetry, though the first time he refused to attend the class."
"I was the first person in my family to be baptized, followed by my daughter, with my husband unbelieving. No matter how I preach the gospel to him, he wouldn't listen. I had to entrust it to the Lord, continuing to pray for him. Then something happened to my husband who later found that God is true and living. After that, he gradually repented his sins, returning to the Lord, thank God!" the woman added.
"My two brothers are businessmen who were busy every day. Every time I saw them, I shared with them the Lord's word, presenting them with bibles. I would often ask them which chapters they had read and what they had to share. After a few years like this, seeing they hadn't learned any, I was worried and managed to let them attend a Bible class, asking church members to pray for them."
“Later, my younger brother believed first and was baptized, followed by the sister-in-law. It makes a difference to have one believer in a family. The one who was first transformed by grace became the bright light of the family, and through him, the whole family found the source of blessing. Then I came up with the idea of having a family gathering every weekend with my two brothers, to share God's word and grace which is more important than to eat together. At first, the older brother and the wife of the younger brother who did not believe in God were unwilling to participate, eager to escape the meeting. But when the older brother saw how the whole family including kids were happy together, he came to accept the gospel, being baptized last year."
"I have been praying for them all these years, knowing that I can't do anything. We are sowers, but only the Holy Spirit can make it grow. And I have truly seen the power of God to change lives through the earnest prayer of others believers. But for the grace of God, I do not know how my two brothers and their families become now! Thankfully, my family of 18 people all have become Christians!” she concluded.
- Translated by Leo Liu
