How Intercessory Prayer Saved My Brother’s Life
How Intercessory Prayer Saved My Brother's Life
By Perry Fred Stone, Sr
This story was printed in the Voice of Evangelism magazine in the 1980s. Perry’s dad told this story many times throughout his life..
The time was Christmas week of 1967. We were preparing to travel to Davis, West Virginia to visit my in-laws for the Christmas holidays. The night before, I had experienced an unusual night vision concerning my youngest brother, Lance Corporal Lewis S. Stone of the United States Marine Corps. He had been involved in the heavy fighting of the Vietnam war.
The night the vision occurred, I had gone to bed for the night. A heavy burden was upon my heart for Lewis, and I lay awake for some time praying for his safety. Suddenly I saw a bright light near the window. I thought it was an automobile, and I quickly got up and looked out the window. There was no car, only pitch darkness.
It was then that the Holy Spirit prompted me, “Lie down and be quiet before the Lord. I have something important to show you about your brother in Vietnam.”
As I lay back, I began to see several Marines working feverishly to dig in for the night. Then I saw two “snakes” with rifles strapped on their backs crawl over the trench and fall inside. I saw a Marine on security patrol approach the snakes. I knew at that point that every Marine in the group was facing grave danger. Immediately, I cried out to God for protection for those men.
The burden stayed with me heavily and I prayed and meditated on this continually. The burden went everywhere I went. I could not shake it off. I began to sense that my interceding in prayer could make a difference in whether my brother returned home alive.
The day before Christmas, the Holy Spirit greatly impressed me to write Lewis a warning letter. I felt impressed to draw a map and explain to Lewis what I saw. I did this and mailed it, praying all the time that the letter would reach him in time. Sometime later I received a letter from my brother, Lewis, in Vietnam. In his opening statement in his letter, Lewis said:
“Dear Fred,
Your dream was a true one. Our point man got shot through the chest and it punctured his left lung. He died on arrival to the hospital. There were two V.C. [Viet Cong] set up in an ambush…”
Lewis told me later what happened. A fierce battle had gone on for hours with the Viet Cong. The Marine soldiers were digging in for security for the night. Suddenly Lewis remembered the letter he had received from me (he had placed it in his pocket). He began to think that this could be the situation I warned him about. While these thoughts were running through his mind, shots rang out. Immediately he kicked himself off his feet, falling backwards. Bullets hit all around him. Several were instantly killed. Lewis survived.
Out of the 3rd Battalion Lima Company that went to Vietnam, only 8 men survived and Lewis was one of them. I know without a doubt that interceding in prayer is what brought my brother back to the United States.
If the church will learn to follow the burdens given by the Holy Spirit and intercede until victory comes, we will see the efforts of answered prayer.