By Sue Danneker, an Alliance international worker who serves in Thailand with her husband, Ed
“July 3 is my day of freedom!” Sunun excitedly told Ed during one of their weekly discipleship meetings last month. “I haven’t had any alcohol since then!”
Sunun beamed with joy. “I eat big plates of rice now, and I feel so good.” His wife, Somruay, is thrilled. After 40 years of alcohol addiction, he is delivered!
On July 3, Sunun, Somruay, and four relatives had boarded Lek’s pick-up truck to travel to the Mahapawn Living Water Church in Mahachai, 45 minutes away from their rural community. Lek, a member of the congregation, volunteers to pick them up for church once a month, as no one in the family owns a vehicle or knows how to drive.
After the sermon that day, Pastor Sukprasan had invited Sunun to the front of the sanctuary. The pastor asked the congregation to extend their hands and join him in prayer for Sunun’s complete deliverance from alcohol.
The Power of Prayer
Sunun had asked Jesus into his heart in early March and had seen Jesus gradually deliver him from his addiction. He was down from more than two bottles of liquor a day to just a sip. But Pastor Sukprasan knew that Sunun wanted to be totally free. So the church members prayed for him in faith, trusting Jesus to give him victory. And He did!
“I saw a friend of mine in the market the other day,” Sunun told Ed during their discipleship meeting. “He asked me, ‘Aren’t you dead yet?’” Sunun knew he would eventually die if Jesus did not deliver him.
Recently, Somruay and Sunun were ill and visited the local health center. The doctor was surprised that Sunun was sober. He asked Somruay how her husband was able to quit drinking.
Somruay, who is not a believer, said he had his own way of giving up alcohol. Meanwhile, Sunun testifies to all who ask him that Jesus delivered him.
God’s Word Is True!
Sunun listens each evening to his audio Bible, turning it on as he settles down for bed. The other night, he fell asleep before he turned it off. When he awoke, the device was playing the end of Proverbs 23, which warns of the dangers of alcohol. “God’s Word is so true!” Sunun exclaimed.
Ed’s recent discipleship lesson focused on putting Jesus first in a believer’s life. After the session, Ed asked Sunun if he was ready to do this. “Yes!” Sunun answered. “I have decided to follow Jesus only and have Him first in my life.”
Once we begin Sunday services in Baan Paeo, where we are planting a new church, Sunan and his relatives will be able to attend worship every week, since the town is significantly closer to their rural homes.
Pray
Pray that God will give Sunun ongoing victory and that he will continue to grow in his faith. Also, pray that Somruay will soon trust in Jesus as her Savior.
Join the Alliance family in praying for our international workers in Thailand and worldwide, who are helping to free people from darkness through the life-changing power of the gospel. Use the weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to assist you.