Fictional Stories, but could be true...2

2. Melissa

Melissa's mother had been sick for quite a while. She had been working for a textile firm for around 16 years. What started as a mild anxiety finally was labelled as Schizophrenia and she was put on appropriate drugs. It was 8 years since the medicines were first prescribed. Without the medicines, she would be hyperactive, anxious and suspicious. Melissa was the only one in the family to have accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. Melissa, her elder brother and parents attended an episcopal church in the heart of the city.
Seeing that the Church priest rarely bothered to visit their home or pray for her mother, Melissa contacted an evangelist from her own church to come and pray for her mother. She had heard from friends that her mother's condition could be demon possession rather than a mental disorder. The evangelist did pray but confessed that he did not have power to pray and bring about a deliverance for her mother. He suggested the name of a pastor who could probably help in this matter, for he had the gifts of prophecy and healing. Melissa's hopes got a boost by hearing this. She immediately made arrangements for a prayer meeting to be held at her home and invited the pastor of whom the evangelist had mentioned.
The prayer meeting was wonderful; different from the dull and dreary worship in her church. The pastor prayed and told Melissa that her mother was suffering from demonic affliction because of witch-craft done by her own relatives. 'So what was to be done next', was Melissa's immediate question. First of all, said he, the family had to worship God in Spirit and in Truth and then God would bring deliverance. 'Since your father and brother do not have an inclination to do so, you are the one who must do it. Join our church, worship in Spirit and in Truth, remove all your ornaments, take water baptism, fast and pray and God will heal her.'
Melissa believed everything that the pastor said because she was desperate to see her mother set free. In a week's time, she was in a new church, had taken baptism and removed all her ornaments. Several prayer meetings were held in her home later on, there were many more prophesies, but no actual deliverance for her mother. Someone said that she should have more faith. She tried hard, cried her heart out, obeyed more regulations that the pastors adviced. Nothing seemed to change.
Melissa's enthusiasm regarding her mother's deliverance which had reached the zenith after her changing the church and obeying regulations tapered off as time passed. 14 years on, Melissa's mother still had no deliverance from her condition. As the years passed by, the mother grew frail because of continual medication; she ate very little, had poor memory and was finally bedridden. The pastors no more prophesied deliverance and Melissa no more prayed for her mother's healing. She finally started praying that God would put an end to her mother's misery. Nothing seemed to work. Despite all this, Melissa was steadfast in her faith and devotion to Jesus. She did not understand many things, yet she believed that Jesus loved and cared for her. There was no looking back for her.