Ole Hallesby says:
“In this context, I would like to mention what the simple farm girl Bolette Hinderli did for the great missionary Lars Olsen Skrefsrud.
In a vision she saw a prisoner in a prison cell. She saw his face and his whole figure clearly. A voice said to her: ‘This one will have the same fate as Ole Höiland, (Ole Höiland was a famous criminal who died in prison) if no one includes him in their prayers. Pray for him and I will send him out to proclaim my praise to the Gentiles.’
She was obedient to the heavenly vision, suffering and praying and fighting for this prisoner she did not know, and eagerly waiting to hear about a convict who had been converted and called to missionary work.
Finally, during a visit to Stavanger, she heard of a convict who had been converted and was now going to speak in the city. When Skrefsrud stepped to the podium, she immediately recognized him from the night vision.
This woman had understood Jesus’ words about praying for workers in the vineyard.”
One of Jesus’ commands is that we should pray for workers for the harvest. Sometimes this can mean very concrete prayer topics, as Bolette Hinderli experienced. Sometimes it can mean praying for countries and cities, and sometimes for certain areas.
Remember that this work of prayer – asking for harvest workers – can change what is happening in your city and in your place.
Footnote: Lars Olsen Skrefsrud was awakened and converted during his sentence. He began to study English, German, French, Latin, classical Greek and Hebrew in prison. On the recommendation of Hans Peter Børresen, he was admitted in 1862 to Johannes Gossner’s mission school in Berlin, where he learned Hindi, among other things, and passed the exit examination in 1863 as the top student. In the same year, Skrefsrud traveled to the coal mission station in Ranchi, 300 kilometers west of Calcutta; in 1865, Børresen followed. In 1867, they jointly began the important Santal Mission.
