Read: Psalm 91
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. (v. 11 NIV)
There was conflict in the Tojolabal village of Saltillo. Nine Christian men fled their homes because the non-Christian majority threatened to kill them. They went into hiding in the nearby town of Las Margaritas. One day three of them went to a creek to bathe. They did not know that the men from Saltillo were searching for them. They were captured and taken back to the jail in Saltillo.
There they were stripped, beaten, and thrown into the mud-floored jail. No one was permitted to bring food to them. Two of the men’s wives fled to Las Margaritas to tell the Christians there and to ask for prayer. Everyone prayed that their fellow believers would be released.
The local judge had been bribed; he refused to free the prisoners. The Christians increased their praying and fasting. No one knew how God would move. On the fourth day, the Las Margaritas town president replaced the corrupt judge. The new judge ordered the people of Saltillo to free the three prisoners.
God prompted the town president to take steps which freed the Christian Tojolabals. What a celebration of praise and thanksgiving was held by the Christians in Saltillo and in Las Margaritas! —Helen Hofman
As you pray, thank God for answering your calls for help, and trust in God’s promise to deliver those in trouble. Intercede for believers who are imprisoned for their faith today.
About the Author
Helen Hofman is a retired missionary. She and her husband Sam worked with the Tzeltal and Tojolabal Indians of Chiapas, Mexico for more than forty years. In their work, they helped set up a Bible School to train the Tzeltals, taught in the Bible School, prepared Sunday School materials, textbooks, hymnals and audiovisuals. They also coordinated the translation of the Amatenango Tzeltal New Testament and the revision of the highland Tzeltal Bible.
