Sri Lanka: Two decades of prayers answered

Vajira* is a 43-year-old Sri Lankan woman who faced oppression from her husband because of her faith. She prayed for her husband to know the Lord for more than 20 years and her waiting is now over as her prayers are finally answered.

Married at 18 years old, Vajira faced many sorrowful experiences. Her husband was a cruel drunkard who beat her up whenever he was intoxicated.

Life had become so unbearable that she even contemplated taking her own life. In the end, Vajira decided to leave her husband and their 2-year-old baby, thinking never to return. This was when she experienced the Lord through a stranger. A lady met Vajira while she was on the run and stopped to help her. This stranger took Vajira to church where she accepted the Lord not long after.

She became a secret believer

Vajira returned home to her family and started praying and reading the Bible as a secret believer and attended church without her husband’s knowledge. Finding peace in prayer, she was able to treat her husband with love.

This pleasant time didn’t last long. One day while listening to hymns her husband arrived home early and heard the music. Furious about her conversion, he began abusing her even more than he used to, this time, because of her faith.

“Some days he beats me up on the road when I return from church and I come home covered in blood,” said Vajira.

Even at home when Vajira prays or listens to hymns, she gets beaten up. This situation continued for more than 20 years, and so did Vajira’s patience and prayer for her husband.

“Some days I would sleep in the garden or the bathroom because the oppression was unbearable,” Vajira continued, “There have been times when I asked the Lord to separate us, but I wanted him to know the Lord too.”

Decades of prayers answered

After 20 years Vajira’s prayer was answered, and her husband started going to church in early 2023.

Even so, he remained a drunkard, attending church after drinking in the morning and interrupting the service constantly. It took a lot of patience, but Vajira never gave up on her husband. She knew one day the Lord would open her husband’s eyes. One Sunday at the end of 2023, Vajira’s husband attended church sober, and his life was truly transformed from that day onwards.

Local partners met Vajira and her husband after hearing a snippet of her story and they were amazed at Vajira’s strength and resilience – her faith that never failed amid oppression from her husband for more than 20 years.

*Name changed for security reasons **Photo for illustrative purpose only