True Worship Transforms

Jaya and Amoli live in the same community in India. Both women were dedicated worshipers of the many Hindu gods and goddesses, turning to them to find help and hope. Yet each woman felt unfulfilled and troubled in spirit and mind.

At a Hindu festival, Jaya came under the influence of an evil spirit. It drained her strength; she could barely walk or move around. Her parents consulted priests at the temples, and doctors too, but found no help. Jaya’s condition isolated her and her family from friends and relatives. Finally, her parents gave up hope and prepared to admit Jaya to a mental hospital.

Amoli was troubled too. Worshipping the gods and goddesses did nothing for the fear and worry that crippled her thoughts. Instead, she lashed out at those around her, picking fights and treating people badly. And with this reputation, no one was willing to marry her. Pain and rejection added to her fears of being unwanted, unloved. She couldn’t even accept her parents’ love. One day, Amoli tried to hang herself but her father rescued her. She had no peace, no hope.

Some disciple-makers from a Global Disciples program visited the neighborhood where Jaya and Amoli lived. They came singing praises to the Lord and talking about Jesus who loves, heals, and saves people from their sins.

Jaya’s parents heard the disciple-makers, and asked the leader, “Can your Jesus heal our daughter?” He said, “Yes, by faith she will be healed.”

Jaya shouted at the disciple-makers as they entered her home; they answered with songs of deliverance. For half an hour, they worshipped, prayed, and sang over her. Jaya started laughing then suddenly lost consciousness. They took her to a local hospital where she woke an hour later feeling very weak, but at peace. Once home, she ate and slept for the first time in many days. Jaya was free from the evil spirit! The next day, she and her family gave their lives to Jesus.

Amoli was also drawn to the worship she heard. But when the disciple-makers offered to pray for her, she laughed. How could that help her? Yet, as they sang about a God who loved her just as she was, the songs and God’s Word touched her heart and brought peace. Soon she placed her faith in Jesus.

For Amoli, Christ’s transforming work was so visible that many who didn’t know Jesus were willing to listen as she shared God’s Word with them. She now leads worship in a newly-planted cell group and shares the Gospel in a nearby community—where people are giving their hearts to Christ, and God is doing miracles!

As a disciple of Jesus, Jaya is eager to tell everyone how He freed her from spiritual bondage. She is active in a new local fellowship and is committed to reaching prostitutes with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Knowing and worshipping the True and Living God can transform a troubled life, as Jaya and Amoli happily tell everyone they meet.