With two older sisters married, 18-year-old Sigrid was the baby of the family and well loved by her family and by her sisters’ in-laws. When she fell ill with a severe cough and persistent fever, however, it seemed her doting family could only look on helplessly as Sigrid battled her illness day after day for an entire year.
The Long Road in Search of Recovery
Despite taking prescribed medications, Sigrid’s condition only grew worse. Unbearable chest pain compounded her ailments; the doctors could not discover their cause, let alone a cure.
In desperation, Sigrid’s parents took her to a hospital with advanced medical practices. Upon examining Sigrid, doctors concluded her chest was filled with fluid and extra air. Her condition required immediate surgery.
Part of the surgery included insertion of a tube to help rid her body of the excess fluid and air. After 10 days in the hospital, Sigrid went home to finish recovering. However, just three days later, intense pains overtook Sigrid’s stomach, chest and head. The girl on the brink of womanhood was instead facing the brink of death.
Sigrid’s parents lost no time rushing Sigrid back to the hospital. But after offering medicines that did nothing to lessen Sigrid’s howls of pain, the doctors urged her parents to take her back home. There was nothing left to do to cure the teen.
The family was crushed. Discouraged, they went to the home of Sigrid’s older sister, which was near the hospital. But Sigrid’s father and the father-in-law of Sigrid’s sister would not give up. They had one more cure to try.
There was a church in the village where Sigrid’s eldest sister lived. The two men knew people went to the church to ask for prayer and decided to entreat the pastor to pray for Sigrid. This seemed their last chance; they had to take it.
A Miraculous Answer
Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Paul willingly followed the two men to pray for Sigrid and soon saw the situation’s severity. The girl’s life hung in the balance. She needed a miracle.
Pastor Paul prayed fervently for Sigrid’s complete healing before leaving to preach the morning service. After the service, he and a few members of the church returned and prayed relentlessly through the night.
As dawn began to break through the night sky, all who were gathered at the house witnessed a miracle: Sigrid asked for a drink of water, after three days of being unable to eat or drink. Then she ate some food. It was a testament to the miracle God was working in her body.
The faithful prayers of the believers were instrumental in Sigrid’s fight for her life. To the amazement of her family, soon Sigrid felt well enough to sit up in bed.
As she began to regain strength, Pastor Paul gave Sigrid God’s Word to read. How quickly Sigrid moved from almost dying to reading the Holy Scriptures out loud to her family and new friends!
“I like to the read [God’s Word],” Sigrid said. “Whenever I read [God’s Word], I [feel] so good.”
She read out loud every morning, every night and often at other times as well. Sigrid would read loudly enough for her family to hear as they went about their household activities during the day, and the whole family would gather to hear her read at the day’s end. Her family marveled at the life-giving words of the Holy Scriptures even as they were blessed by hearing Sigrid’s strong voice read its truths.
“Philippians 4:13, Psalm 103 and Psalm 23 are my favorite [Scriptures], which I read repeatedly,” Sigrid said.
Thanks to the prayers of Pastor Paul and believers from his church, God worked a miracle in Sigrid’s life. She is completely healed and is scheduled to have the tube removed from her chest. Sigrid even walked to church on her own to share the story of her healing.
Read the story of another woman’s miraculous healing due to faithful prayers on her behalf.
