Lord, teach us how to pray. As I read the Bible I see that Jesus tried constantly to impress prayer upon the minds of His disciples. He spent much time in prayer, and I am sure this is why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

Kaunga Traore is a tailor by profession. He married his wife Naida when he was 19 years old, and she was 14 years old. Five years after their wedding, they still hadn’t been able to have a child.

Childbearing is very important in Africa. When a couple marries, everyone expects a pregnancy within the first six months. If the woman does not become pregnant within that time, the husband’s parents will begin to pressure him to take a second wife. They may even try to cast suspicion on the woman, saying she is a witch and good for nothing.

As pressure began to mount on Kaunga to take a second wife, he tried everything he could think of to get a child. He went to see several witchdoctors and soothsayers for help. One of the witchdoctors told him that Naida was possessed with evil spirits. For her to get pregnant, Kaunga needed to appease the gods by offering a sacrifice. The witchdoctor told Kaunga to give him six chickens and two guinea fowl. Kaunga could not afford this.

A mutual friend came to our Christmas program, and he invited Kaunga. When the speaker asked if anyone needed special prayer, Kaunga stood up. “Please pray that God would give me a child.”

The preacher prayed for him, and God answered his prayer. About four months later, Kaunga came back to our small group and testified about the miracle God had done for him and Naida. Now they are the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy.

“Through nature and revelation, through His providence, and by the influence of His Spirit, God speaks to us. But these are not enough; we need also to pour out our hearts to Him. In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with our heavenly Father. Our minds may be drawn out toward Him; we may meditate upon His works, His mercies, His blessings; but this is not, in the fullest sense, communing with Him. In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life” (The Privilege of Prayer, p. 93).

Please pray for Kaunga that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in his heart. He has witnessed the power of God, but he is afraid to openly declare his new belief. There is a time to speak and a time not to speak. When the fullness of time comes, we trust that he will declare his new belief in Jesus.

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