Raman Had A Dream-

About two months ago, I received a note from a prisoner asking me to come to his cell in the St. Gilles Prison in Brussels for a visit. When I entered his cell, he wanted to tell me immediately about the dream that he recently had. He told me that he came from Malaysia, and that he was not a Christian, but a Muslim, and that his wife and her family were Christians who prayed a lot. He told me that something had happened since his arrival in the prison that has shaken him very much. He said that one night while he was sleeping deeply, he had a very real dream. In the dream, he saw a large cross which looked much like the one that his wife always wore around her neck. He was small in comparison to the cross and it was moving away from him. He then began running toward the cross and when he caught up to it, he fell down on his knees. He then asked me what this could mean…

I knew right away that this dream was sent from God to open the heart of this man who was very used to running away from the cross instead of toward it. He said that he used to make fun of and mock his wife and her faith in Jesus. I then had his full attention as I explained to him the Good News of Jesus Christ, how He, the true and living Son of God, came to the earth to save us from our sins; How He died and gave His life’s blood on that cross as a sacrifice for our sins; And that if we will pray to Him and receive His sacrifice in a personal way, repenting of our sins, He will forgive us and write our name in the Book of Life in Heaven, making the way open for us the be with God for all eternity rather than having to go to Hell, a place of torment, and separation from all that is good and true.

I then asked Raman if he would want to place his confidence in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. He responded quickly saying that he would. We then prayed together, and Raman became a Christian also.

Since then, Raman has been coming to church on Friday evenings faithfully. I was able to order a Malay New Testament for him which he is now reading from cover to cover. Whenever I come into his cell, he and his cellmate bow in the typical oriental manner. Whenever he picks up his Bible, he bows and brings it to his lips, showing his respect for the Holy Book of God.

Today, when I went to visit Raman, both he and his cellmate (from India) were so excited they didn’t know how to express themselves. When they got control of themselves, they had me sit down, and with wide eyes explained what had happened in their cell just a few days ago… “Pasterr, you must listen to me what me happen is very wonderful! Me sleeping in the afternoon, when I see something like shadow passing by me. Me not know what it was. Pasterr, I wake up and me stand up, and the shadow pass by me again. My roommate asked me why me get up. Pasterr, then me see a hand come toward my head. It touch me with his finger. When he touch me, I feel a sound and a snap in my head, and I feel very good and fall down on the floor. My roommate think I die. He think I hit my head on the refrigerator and am maybe knocked out. But, me know it was Jesus who touched me. I not hurt at all. I know now Jesus is with me. Hallelujah!”

While Raman was telling me what happened, his cellmate just kept shaking his head up and down in wonderment at what the Lord had done. I then asked Raman to give me his Malay New Testament to show him John 14:21. I asked him to read it and translate it stating out loud what it says. He repeated it and when he came to the words “and I (Jesus) will manifest myself to him.”, his eyes lit up, and said, “That’s just what He did to me!”

Earlier, Raman had told me that he considered his time in prison to be like a time in Bible school. He had heard that before renovation as a prison in the early 1900’s, part of the prison buildings had been a convent. He said, “That’s how I want to see my time here, as a time apart with God, getting to know Him and His ways.”
So, Raman’s time in prison has become one long prayer meeting where he has time to learn God’s Word and be prepared for the day when he returns home to continue living for Jesus Christ, perhaps as a pastor or an evangelist in his home country of Malaysia. Please remember to pray for Raman and his cellmate.

Ken Barickman