Every Prayer Counts!

For the past few years, I have spent many late nights praying with my friends Mike, Traci, and Madan in the prayer room at my church. We pray for revival. We pray for lost people. We lift up our pastor, his upcoming message on Sunday, and the worship services. We long for God to do a work of spiritual awakening in our nation.

In addition, we pray for India. We especially pray for the Dalit people – the untouchables. We pray they will experience the love of Christ and lead the way in revival throughout the nation of India. We pray this way because our friend Madan is an untouchable who was dramatically rescued from probable death by a Swedish missionary named Svea Mellin.

Unprecedented Chance

As a young boy in India, Madan Valvi's mother carried him on her back and walked all night to find medical help for him. It was Svea who opened the door of the Swedish Covenant mission and welcomed Madan and his mother. Not only did Svea get medical treatment for Madan, she also asked if she could bring Madan into the boarding school and essentially raise him – a chance never afforded an untouchable.

Somehow Svea knew God was prompting her to invest her heart and prayers into this young boy who was otherwise destined to live in poverty and humiliation. She became a spiritual mother to Madan, teaching him the Bible and praying faithfully that he would always serve God.

Madan graduated from high school, college, and seminary – something that just doesn’t happen among the Dalit people. He and his wife Deepali and their family received much of their schooling in the United States, but longed to return to India to share the gospel with those who will always be branded as untouchables.

Over the years, Madan lost touch with Svea. Yet he always carried a photo of her in his wallet as a reminder of God’s grace shown to him through this quiet, humble woman. After some 30 years had passed, Madan assumed Svea was no longer living.

Keeping a Promise

In the meantime, God miraculously opened doors for Madan to return to India several times a year to preach the gospel and show the love of Christ to the Dalits. They come by

the thousands to hear Madan preach. If an untouchable has the unusual fortune to rise above the caste system of India, that person rarely returns. But Madan joyfully goes back to his people with a message of love – and they flock to hear it and soak it in. Madan kept his promise to Svea that he would always serve the Lord.

Then the unexpected happened – something Madan never dreamed God had in His plans for him. He was invited to Sweden to preach the gospel and teach on the power of prayer and the hope for revival. After some research by a colleague, Madan discovered the Svea was still alive at 93 years of age! A reunion was quickly arranged between the two dear friends who had no idea what had happened to each other.

Madan wanted to thank Svea for her love and prayers. He wanted her to know that her investment in Madan was now bearing fruit far beyond anything Svea could have imagined.

Their joyous reunion was covered by local media and television, as well as by the

national Swedish press. Svea did not understand what all the media attention was about, but her heart was thrilled to see Madan again. She had retired from the mission field without any real assurances that her prayers had made any difference – and now God was allowing her to see the powerful impact they were having on a nation!

About a month after Madan and Svea were reunited, Svea was welcomed to her eternal home by her beloved Jesus. As a special gift to both Madan and Svea, the Lord allowed them to be together for that brief moment and rejoice in God’s faithfulness. Madan later returned to Sweden to honor Svea at her memorial service.

Svea had no idea how much her prayers had counted. Now she knows. I hope to live out Svea’s example in my own life and never give up praying for revival. If my heart is attuned to my Father’s heart, I can be assured that every prayer counts.