JULY 4, 2026 Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it. In stark contrast to David’s repugnance at the idea of joining with the wicked and partaking of their delicacies is his embrace of God’s reproof […]
JULY 3, 2026 Psalm 141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies. There are far too many people in this world, young and old, who want to be recognized and accepted by those they think […]
JULY 2, 2026 Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. The Bible has a lot to say about man’s ability to speak. In fact, the Targum of Onkelos (an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) says that when God breathed the breath of life into man, […]
JULY 1, 2026 Psalm 141:1-2 Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. We have explored the notion that our prayers and devotion to God can be […]
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.
Reactions in Three Worlds When a Sinner Gets Saved
By Perry Stone
If the battered wooden altars at the old storefront church could speak, what wonderful stories they could tell. Look closely and you will see spots on the dark wood. This is a silent testimony to the hundreds of tears that have streamed down people’s faces, all known and collected in heaven by God himself. Notice the scratches in the wood where men have gripped the altar, struggling between life and death, heaven or hell, eternal life or eternal destruction. In desperation they buried their heads in their arms, groaning, travailing, praying, and weeping their way into eternal life.
The old wooden altars could tell us many stories. What about the aged grandmother who offered intercessory prayers for her unsaved grandchildren, or the young wife who beseeched God for her husband’s salvation. The breath of hundreds of grandparents, parents, and children have warmed the top of the old altar.
The greatest stories the altar could tell are those of the conversion of sinners who knelt in desperation butstood on their feet with new life in Christ.
What really happens when a sinner gets saved? Let’s look at the reaction in three different worlds at the conversion of a sinner.
THE REACTION IN HEAVEN
Our High Priest and personal lawyer, Jesus Christ, is sitting down on the right hand of the Father and is “ever making intercession” for us.
When a sinner repents, Christ the lawyer takes his case as the great High Priest and deals with the sin element. Under the old covenant, the blood of an animal that was sprinkled by the high priest covered or hid the sins of the people from the sight of God. Under the new covenant, the sins are blotted out by the great High Priest, never to be remembered again!
In God’s third heaven, activity begins to take place over the conversion of just one sinner. When the great High Priest declares the person’s sins forgiven and justifies him by Christ’s blood, the angels surrounding God’s throne begin to rejoice! Jesus himself stated that there is “joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents….” Great joy fills the heavens each time a sinner repents.
THE REACTION UNDER EARTH
This may seem strange to some, yet I believe that beings under the earth react when a sinner gets saved. From researching the scriptures, it is clear that fallen angels, some types of demonic powers, and the spirits of lost souls are in the heart of the earth. The abyss is dominated by demonic spirit beings that are capable of communicating with one another.
When a human being who is possessed by an unclean spirit is delivered by God’s power, I have wondered how the unclean spirit explains to the other demonic forces what occurred. Imagine the legion that possessed the man of Gadara. Remember when the legion of spirits came out of the man and entered the swine? What man can’t stand to live with, the animals can’t live with either!
Those spirits no doubt reported to the others how the presence of Christ tormented them, and how that by Christ’s command, they had to leave the man. No wonder the spirits possessing the mad man of Acts 10 cried out, “Jesus I know and Paul I know….” Satan and his armies recognize the blood washed, Spirit indwelt, God ordained believers who walk in authority!
THE REACTION ON THE EARTH
What happens on the earth when a sinner repents?
The moment we confess our sins to Christ, those sins are not only forgiven but also forgotten. God dumps the sin into the sea of forgetfulness and posts a “no fishing” sign. The tremendous weight of guilt is not only lighter but lifted completely. A woman recently commented following her conversion, “I feel good all over from the inside out.” Friend, that’s the best description of old-time religion you will ever hear!
The apostle Paul stated: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Literally, he is a new creation. Paul continued, “Old things are passed away and behold all things are new.” The convert receives a new nature, a new name, a new attitude, and a new outlook on life. His entire being is changed.
FROM CRAWLING TO WALKING
Some precious people want to go from a sinner to a saint in one session with God. Growth in grace is not usually that quick. At your initial conversion to Christ, you are a “babe in Christ”. You must begin your new spiritual walk with God by drinking the milk of the Word (learning the basic doctrines of the Christian faith). You must be trained to walk on your own (walk by faith and not by sight). You must depend on the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ to undergird you during your new walk with Christ. Babies can fall easily and often when learning to walk.
Instead of hanging around your old crowd, fellowship with your new adopted family. You are now a member of the royal family of God, and you should fellowship with light rather than darkness. Babies cry a lot, especially when they are hungry or need attention. We should not ignore the lonely signals from the young babes in Christ. They need the same love, attention, devotion, and understanding that a small baby does!
As the new convert grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, the eyes of their understanding will be enlightened. They will be able to see their own progress in the Lord as they develop from crawling to walking and from milk to meat.
The altar may be gone from the old storefront church, but the God we encountered still has our name in His city directory, the Lamb’s Book of Life.
JUNE 30, 2026 Psalm 141:1-2 Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. When God gave life to mankind, it is written that He “breathed into his nostrils […]
JUNE 29, 2026 Psalm 141:1 Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. This psalm of David, like so many others, is said to have been written […]
JUNE 28, 2026 Psalm 140:12-13 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence. Because God knows the heart of the wicked and the heart of the righteous, David declared with confidence that the “Lord […]
