I was brought up in an average Catholic family in Delhi; probably my earliest contact with God was an urge to see the beautiful illustrations in my uncle's Bible. He himself had neither the intention nor the inclination to use it. In our house we had the custom of praying in the evening, kneeling down and Mummy used to lead the Rosary. Sometimes my younger brother and I used to escape it by coming in late, giving some kind of excuse; and she would get upset particularly for missing the Rosary. Her love for all of us was immense; I still remember how we used to sit together at dinnertime, and she used to feed us. After dinner, we would hang onto Dad's arms and he would give us joy rides like a plane. He was very strong and taught us to be bold and to stand on our own. Thus, I ended up doing small business jobs while still in 9th standard. Being in a family involved in the printing business, I picked up fast and started helping Dad in his work and began looking after it while in 12th standard.

By my first year of college I was earning a lot through printing magazines and other material. My first contract magazine was 'Connect' and it was all about latest music. I was so engrossed with business and other related activities that God had no place in my life. I used to go out partying and dancing. I came across people who belonged to the so-called 'hep crowd' and started attending rock shows and parties.

I continued with my lifestyle of pleasure, with my eyes fixed on ways and means to rake in more money. I earned the reputation of being a 'thinking head' in my group for organizing events and parties. Gradually, I started to dream bigger and yearned for a projects worth Lakhs. Professionally, I ensured that I bagged the best orders and had no qualms in bribing people for this.

One day, we suddenly received a call from Trichy in South India that my uncle Thomas (my father's younger brother) had been struck with sickness. He was hit by a strong fever, which affected his brain and he was unconscious for a while; later he improved but was unable to remember or recognize anybody. Uncle was a man with a well-built body and had hardly ever been unwell. The image of this strong man, now just sitting helplessly and struggling to walk, unaware even of his wet pants and Aunty crying miserably made a deep impression on me. My mother being a devotee of mother Mary had hope for the family and started praying earnestly. Dad contacted the top doctors for his treatment, but to no avail. One whole year passed by without any results and the family members began losing hope.

Then one day, at the block next to my uncle's house, a mammoth prayer meeting was in progress, with loud praises and worship led by a group of the Pentecostal church. The first day, Uncle was sitting inside the house and was probably listening. On the second evening, he made a sign to Aunty to take him out. Uncle was very insistent and so she helped him to get up. In his debilitated state, he started struggling towards the block from where the sound of praises was coming. He managed to reach right upto the pulpit and collapsed there. The prayer meeting came to an abrupt halt and a large group of concerned people gathered round Uncle and helped him to sit on a chair. There and then, they prayed over him and led the entire crowd in loud praise and worship. A miracle took place in the crowded hall! The impossible happened! Uncle stood up and called Aunty by her name, something he had forgotten over a year back. Aunty was in tears, crying loudly, seeing him alert and fully conscious. And Uncle, who had seldom been to church, was on his knees crying like a small child and calling out to God 'Appa, Appa' which means Daddy. The news of his miraculous and instantaneous healing with no trace of his long-standing illness, spread like wildfire all around the town.

This miracle had a major impact on me and became the turning point in my life. A man we had practically given up as a hopeless case, a man who couldn't recognize anybody for a whole year and who was hardly in his right senses had recovered fully with his memory intact. Where every medical aid had failed, something more powerful was working. I pondered over this mystery. Deep inside, I started to think about God, His love and mercy for us and the power that He has.

Thus started my walk with The Lord. After a gap of one year,I happened to visit my uncle and stayed at his place; he shared a lot of things. I was very curious, asking him all kinds of questions and doubts. I was amazed to see that the man who never knew anything about The Bible was now teaching me. Uncle gave his place for Sunday services and people from all over used to come for the meetings. We had a very rigorous daily routine and for the first few days, I found it difficult to adjust. We would get up early in the morning at 4.30 am for prayers till 6.30am and then breakfast; followed by afternoon prayers and then evening prayers and at around 9.00 pm night prayers. This routine was too tough for me to handle, but seeing my young cousins reciting the psalms everyday, I myself reading the psalms. I got very interested in the character of king David and his intense love for God.

I started praying, " Lord! The Bible says that You are a living God, I want to know You more and feel You in my life." I received His grace to read The Bible which I had seldom done before. I started reading for hours and sometimes even the whole day. A whole month went by like this and I started talking to God more and more freely and openly. I had a strong conviction that He was watching over me and listening to every word of my childish prayer. Never before had I experienced the closeness of a great and awesome God, who would stoop down to listen to a worldly character like me.

By the time I returned to Delhi, I was a changed person. I was talking about The Lord and my friends were shocked to see me in this state - Bible in my pocket, 'Praise the Lord' on my lips and an eagerness to know God more closely. They started mocking me, believing that I had gone insane. I used to come back home in tears that I was losing the very friends who had once admired me. In the meantime, Uncle suggested my joining the Pastoral college to study for pastorhood. I left everything in The Lord's hands and looked forward to it.

Around this time, Fr. Mathew from Potta in Kerala came to Delhi with his retreat team. Thereafter, Fr. Ravi, who was looking after our parish formed a prayer group consisting of just three families. Though small in number and uninitiated in the charisms of the Holy Spirit, we were regular in our attendance and our commitment. I gradually lost touch with the Pentecostal group that I used to attend.

However, one of the offshoots of my Pentecostal links was my dislike and even antipathy towards Mother Mary. While attending their services, I had been led to believe that asking her prayers was devil's work and that Catholics were idolaters and hence and going to be doomed. But one day when I was rather depressed, the Holy Spirit led me to the church and as I was standing next to the grotto of Mother Mary gazing at the statue, I smelt a strong odour of jasmine around me. This was very unusual as there was not a single jasmine flower anywhere in sight. I got scared imagining it to be some kind of evil influence. Much later, to my utter surprise, I came to know at a retreat at Potta that it is a strong sign of our Heavenly Mother's presence. Mother later led me to the deliverance ministry by opening my nostrils to the world of spirits.

From then onwards there was no looking back. I committed my life wholly to The Lord. Gradually, I came to know how He uses us for others. Over the years, The Lord has been changing me into a new person and I now experience His power & love more and more. Through His Holy Spirit, I have been enabled to explore the spiritual realm. I must particularly mention here, my experience of getting different smells that I checked with my spiritual superiors in Potta (Kerala) and Fr. Robert in Ajmer-Late (Exorcist) was told that it is a gift of The Holy Spirit to help discern the nature of spirits. I like the strong jasmine smell a lot, which indicates the presence of Mother Mary during prayers; it gives me immense peace and joy. My motto in life has now become; "Here I am Lord, use me for Thy kingdom. Hallelujah!"

To know more about Deliverance please go to this link which will give you more insight into the works of Evil and how he uses you by creating confusions and havoc in your lives.

(This testimony also printed in charisindia : Vol I, Issue No.2 February 2002)

With lots of Love & Prayers.

God Bless !

Arul Nathan