“I have a spirit living in me,” said Asma, a Syrian refugee living in a large refugee community. “It causes me to fall down and makes me say things I don’t mean to say.”

Joni, a long-term Frontiers worker, and her colleague, a skilled nurse, sat in the crowded tent as Asma related how she suffered from fainting spells.

“At first, the spirit was living in my sister,” Asma said. “Then a sheikh read the Qur’an over her. The spirit left her and came into me.”

“Did you know that Jesus Christ has power over spirits?” Joni asked. She shared from Luke 11:24-26, about a house, swept and put in order—an unclean spirit returns to it, along with more evil spirits, and they create a worse situation.

“Can I pray for you,” Joni asked, “that you would be free from this spirit in the name of Jesus Christ?”

Asma hesitated.

Meanwhile, Joni observed the other family members who called this refugee tent their home. She glanced at one man who was fiddling with a jagged shard of mirror, brushing it against the worn rug then rubbing it against his face. Joni felt a cloud of darkness in the room. She silently commanded it away in Jesus’ name.

“Think about it,” Joni offered, “and I can come back in a few days to see if you would like me to pray for your freedom. But until then, let me at least pray now that these fainting spells would stop.”

Asma agreed. Joni held her hands out in supplication and prayed that Asma would stop being bothered by the attacks.

Just as they prepared to leave, she pulled an Arabic New Testament from her purse and offered it to Asma.

“You can read more about Jesus the Messiah in here,” Joni suggested as Asma received it.

Several days later, Joni ran into Asma on a street in the middle of the refugee community. She greeted her with a smile and asked, “What do you think? Would you like more prayer in the name of Jesus?”

“No,” Asma said. “I haven’t been bothered since you last prayed for me.” She seemed to want to leave it at that.

“Well, have you read anything from the New Testament?” Joni asked.

“Yes, and I really liked what was on page 52,” Asma replied.

Joni quickly pulled a copy of the Arabic Bible out of her purse and turned to page 52. It was the story of Jesus healing the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter from a demon (Matthew 15:22-28).

Joni stared in awe at the woman standing in front of her—a woman who wasn’t all that different from the Syrophoenician on page 52. Asma and the woman from the story shared a common ancestry, and both needed Jesus to bring deliverance from oppression.

On page 52, Asma saw Jesus Christ healing people just like herself.

Asma declined Joni’s offer to study the Bible together. But Asma did suggest that she and her family would read a page from the New Testament together every day.

“And if we have any questions,” Asma said, “we’ll find you.”

Praise God that Asma has experienced healing from Jesus. Ask God to increase her hunger to know Christ the Healer.

Pray for field workers like Joni who are loving and serving Syrian refugees. Ask the Lord for abundant opportunities to study the Word of God with them.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names have been changed for security.**

Original article: FrontiersUSA.org/blog/article/on-page-52