So many Karis men are in bondage to sin, but there are some men who are walking in Christ’s freedom even though they are actually living in jail. Their spiritual chains have fallen off even though they still reside in physical ones. Rafael* is the man who God has chosen to use to bring this revival in prison.
If you remember, his cousin Sara* visited him in jail and began sharing the gospel with him. Later, he had a dream about Jesus. In this dream, Jesus led Rafael into a river. When he asked Sara for clarification, she explained that this represented baptism and Jesus was calling Rafael into relationship with him. She gave him a Bible and he began reading it on his own. Soon after this, he put his faith and trust in Jesus. Rafael was so changed and filled with joy that he began to read the Bible to his fellow prisoners. They soon began meeting together a as a group to read and pray.
Once the warden discovered what was going on, Rafael was put into solitary confinement and tortured for his faith. Rafael has started spending considerable time memorizing Scripture. Most recently, a man tried to stab him in prison, but God miraculously protected him. Rafael clearly recognized that it was Jesus who kept him from being hurt.
What an encouragement it is to see how God can use a man regardless of his physical situation! Praise God for his faithfulness in Rafael’s life and in the lives of the other prisoners who are coming to faith in Jesus. Pray for the men who are free in physical terms but are still bound in the chains of sin. Pray God would open their eyes and set them free as he has Rafael.
This is an update to a previous story, which can be found here. Names have been changed for security purposes. Originally published in a GP newsletter highlighting how God is moving among the Karis people.
