Most of us know in our heads that prayer changes things. But it can be easy to lose sight of that—especially when our prayers are met with “no’s” instead of “yes’s,” or when the answers are a long time in coming. That’s why giving testimony to answered prayer is so important and powerful, and why we wanted to share some faith-boosting stories of incredible answered prayers we’ve recently come across in Novo.
Some of these answers came quickly. Others came after years of faithful prayer. In every case, God’s hand was clearly at work, bringing specific answers to specific prayers.
Transformation in a Small Town in Sweden
When Jonas, a missionary with NEO Leaders, Novo’s partner in the Middle East and Europe, first relocated with his family to a small town in Sweden, he became aware that there were some dynamics going on that really needed to change. So for a week he fasted and prayed for the city, and every night he went up on a hill overlooking the town to pray and bless it. One of the scriptures that really came into focus during that week of prayer was Jeremiah 29:7—to seek the welfare of the city because when it prospers, you will also prosper.
Looking at that scripture, Jonas was convinced they needed to move from inward focused prayers (blessing themselves, the churches, or their ministries) to outward focused ones. “We started to pray for our city, for the school, for the health situation, for the business climate, for the political climate. We started to look for anything negative—something that was a need—and we started to pray. And little did we know that as we started to pray for this, God was starting to put things in motion.”
Just a couple of months after they started praying for the political climate, there was a big shift in the government. A new mayor came into office, who was a born-again believer and had a desire to bring blessing to the town. Jonas got connected with him, and the mayor was able to tell Jonas things in the town that needed prayer.
The churches began to gather together once a month to pray for the city and intercede for all these needs. One of the things they were praying for was the business climate, which was really competitive and negative. Four or five years after they’d started praying for this, Jonas was watching TV and there was an announcement about the best business climate in Sweden. He was shocked when their small town was named. “I was like, ‘Yes, God! You’re so awesome!’” Jonas said. “Things like this started to boost our faith.”
They prayed for the health of their city, and went from being the place in their region with the worst long-term sick leave to being at the top of the list for health within two years.
To top it all off, at one point Jonas read that the police station was going to be shut down in their city due to lack of funds. He knew there were huge problems with the youth, with drugs and other criminal things going on. So at the next prayer meeting they prayed about this situation. “God, we want police officers—and not just police officers, we want Christian police officers who can be led by the Spirit and do an even better work.” To make a long story short, the next day Jonas was called in by the city to talk about this situation, and they promised to send two of their best police officers to address the criminality in the city. When the police officers showed up, they were believers who started every day of work with prayer that the Spirit would lead them, so they could do a greater work than they could do on their own. Within a year, crime was down 50%.
These days, Jonas and the local Church leaders are experiencing a period of peace in their city which they attribute to prayer and unity amongst believers.
Healing in Washington
When Glendy and Kobe were expecting their first child the ultrasound tech had trouble getting the pictures needed of the brain during the 20-week ultrasound. After a follow-up ultrasound a week later they learned that their baby girl was missing part of her brain. It was the cerebellum, the back part of the brain that controls all motor and gross functions (i.e. walking and seeing). It was a devastating blow. They didn’t even know if their baby would be able to survive.
So they asked for prayer—on Facebook, at their church, from their small group at the Novo Spiritual Authority Cohort.
“A pivotal point was when our Novo group got together,” they said. “We were learning about physical healing in the Novo series. And they gathered around and laid hands on us, praying over us for that physical healing for Naomi. It was powerful to have other people lay hands on us and pray—reminding us that it was nothing we did wrong, sometimes things happen, and that God can perform miracles.”
At 24 weeks they had an MRI scan done of Naomi’s brain. “That’s the cerebellum, right?” Glendy asked in excitement, seeing something on the screen. It was small, but it was there.
Glendy and Kobe had to wait a long two months before getting more answers. They had a 32-week ultrasound and MRI, and afterwards the neurologist was very happy. The brainstem, which had not looked straight in the previous scan, was now straight (another specific answer to prayer), and the cerebellum had grown significantly. The medical professionals still anticipated some minor problems or syndromes, but nothing nearly as serious as before.
After Naomi’s birth, her parents waited anxiously to see if anything serious would develop. But nothing did. She was a healthy, happy baby, with no apparent side-effects from the brain issue. It was a medical miracle. God had answered their prayers.
New Ground in South Asia
When someone on Novo’s partner team in South Asia set out to start a gospel movement in their home district, they faced many challenges. In response, they decided to begin prayer-walking and doing activating prayer there. A few weeks later they encountered a woman who would turn out to be their first person of peace—someone who opens doors for gospel movement in a community.
It began with an older woman calling them, asking for money. She cried and said her daughter was sick. They told her they would pay for her medicine if she would allow them to also come and pray for her daughter. The old lady happily welcomed them into her small hut.
The daughter—a grown woman—was sick with a fever, but was also suffering from evil spirits. As they prayed for her, God delivered her from the evil spirits.
They returned to the village two days later. The people in the village were so glad to see them and welcome them back. The daughter who was healed and delivered from evil spirits was that person of peace. She became their first Discovery Bible Study leader in the district.
Where once there was lots of resistance, now they’re seeing breakthrough. They have 103 Discovery Bible Study groups going in the district! And it all began with prayer, healing, and God connecting them with a person of peace.
Specific Prayer, Specific Answers in California
Deric and Amber Moen are Novo staff who relocated from Spain to Southern California. In April 2022, they invited other leaders in Novo to join them in prayer in their neighborhood. The neighborhood they focused on is very diverse—with homelessness, drugs, and mental illness but also families and children. This area is situated right between a middle school on one block and a highschool on the other.
Their group of six Novo leaders ended up praying in front of the high school for some time. They prayed for the administration, the students, and for the Lord to open up opportunities for them to minister at that school.
A couple of months later they received a specific answer. Fellowship of Christian Athletes invited them to become advisors at the school, which gave them access to being on campus two days a week, investing in both Christian leaders and students far from God. Earlier this year when Deric had the opportunity to speak at the lunch club meeting, they showed up at the school early to pray. Deric was planning to share the gospel very clearly, so they specifically prayed for new students to come. That prayer was answered! “Our friend group has been praying for years for our buddy,” some of the leaders told them, “that he would come to some event, youth group, something. And he came today!” It was such a clear work of God in response to their prayers.
The weekly lunch club has reached 200 students, and this year the student leadership team has the goal of seeing a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) on every sports team at the high school. The Moens recently hosted a pancake breakfast at their home where 21 students attended to be trained in how to launch and lead a DBS. Eleven different sports teams were represented! The hope and expectation of these students is growing as they are beginning to understand that they can be disciple makers!
Physical Healing in Uganda
Harriet found out she had breast cancer when it was at stage three, almost stage four. When the doctor told her the news she broke down, falling into depression from the stress and fear. All she could think about was death. But then she thought about her son. She was a single mom. “What if I die now? Who will take care of my boy?” she wondered. “I’m all he has.”
When she shared the news with her Discovery Bible Study family, they came alongside of her and encouraged her with scriptures of healing. They challenged her to not lose faith in the Lord.
The Discovery Bible Study group continued to walk alongside her as she went into treatment. She would still get scared, seeing other people die, thinking maybe she was next. But she was never alone. She had an entire “family” who were praying for her and fasting for her, so she didn’t lose hope.
Harriet’s Discovery Bible Study family stood with her as she went through an operation and follow-up radiotherapy. They continued to encourage her with healing scriptures and never stopped praying for her. “I’m here today to encourage you,” Harriet said. “No matter what kind of disease you have, God heals. God can heal. God healed me from cancer when all the doctors had given up on me.”
What About You?
How will you respond to these stories? Is there something on your heart that you’ve been praying for for a long time, and need to be encouraged to not give up? Or is there a need that you’ve been afraid to bring to God because you weren’t sure what would happen? Is God calling you to be more bold in prayers for healing, or for change in your home-town?
Whatever it is, I hope you will take on the charge to don your spiritual authority and come boldly before the throne! God continues to move in amazing ways as we pray, and you are invited to be part of that ongoing story.