Samuel Kaboo Morris

Friday, June 4, 2021

Samuel, a tribal prince in Liberia in the late 1800s, was captured by an enemy tribe when he was about 14 and held for ransom. His tribe could not pay the required ransom, so his captors tied him to a tree, beat him, and tortured him.

One night he saw a bright flash of light and heard a voice tell him, “Run, Kaboo, run!” The ropes that tied him to the tree fell off, and, though weak from hunger and torture, he started running. His captors were terrified by the light and hid. Samuel followed the light to the jungle, where for weeks he walked at night and slept during the day. Finally, he found a coffee plantation where he got a job. A young man there befriended him and took him to a Christian mission meeting. The white missionary and her team welcomed him. He had never heard of Christ, the Bible or Christianity, but gladly learned about Jesus and became a Christian. The missionary taught him all she knew about the Holy Spirit, but he wanted more and asked her who had taught her those things. She answered, “Brother Stephen Merritt” who lived in New York, a faraway land, beyond the ocean.

Samuel then boarded a cargo ship to New York, although he had no money and no address for Brother Merritt. During the five months of hard work and constant prayer on board, he won the captain and many sailors to Christ. When he debarked in New York, he asked the first man he met if he knew Stephen Merritt. In that city of two million people, the man knew Merritt and took Samuel to his workplace. Samuel would go on to inspire many to give their lives to Jesus.

Prayer

Lord God, I feel like Muslims are tied to a tree and are being tortured by the enemy of their soul. Only you, Lord God Almighty, can set them free. Break their fetters by the power of Christ. Shine your light onto the path of Jesus and help them to run.

Give Muslims the same hunger for the Holy Spirit that Samuel had. Help them to have simple, genuine faith in you to guide and lead them, and to hold them by the hand in their life journey.

For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Promise

The LORD who appeared in the burning bush wants to give you the best the land can produce, and it will be a princely crown on Joseph’s head (Deuteronomy 33:16, CEV).