Alejandro Arias, the Boy Preacher, knows all about the importance of faith. Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, he gave his heart to God at age seven. Not long afterward, doctors told him he had a cancerous tumour lodged between his heart and lungs, and had only months to live.
Alejandro was certain that God had bigger things in mind for him. He and his family began a massive prayer campaign, and three months later, his medical team discovered that miraculously, his tumour had disappeared.
Alejandro has come to understand his gifting of healing, moving in the anointing he received from God, and offering living proof that miracles still happen.
Talking to Matt Prater on Vision’s 20Twenty program, he said the Lord called him at a very young age to preach, and he’s been doing it full-time since age eleven. At just twelve years old, he even led his own sceptical father to the Lord through one of his sermons.
“I’ve been preaching the gospel non-stop all over the world, 48 nations,” he said. “And it’s been such a great privilege to take the Good News all over the world, in five continents, and now here in Australia. I’m believing the best is yet to come.”
Alejandro has a good reason to love Australia. In 2007, when God first showed him a vision of our country, he knew very little about it, but he followed the path God set out before him. He was about to speak at a rally uniting Perth’s six Hispanic churches, when one of the ushers started speaking to him in Spanish.
Rebecca had been attending a Hispanic church near her home and had picked up the language over the past two years. “That was the intro card,” Alejandro said. “What I didn’t know is that in the back of her mind, she was already praying for the event, and also she felt like, maybe down the road, that I was going to be the one. She had that impression, but it took me a year to realise where God was leading us.”
Alejandro and Rebecca became close friends via Skype. At that time, he was living in Miami, so there was a twelve-hour time difference between them. “But I used to call her every morning, every night. And so we did the long distance relationship for three years, and then we got married in 2011.”
Alejandro spoke to us during our month of prayer and fasting for rain, repentance and renewal across the nation. He’s said before that he believes we’re about to see a massive revival in Australia.
The drought is a massive test of faith for many of the farmers and families suffering its impact.
Alejandro is certain that God can bring the same miraculous healing to the land that He brought him as a child. But he says we’ll have to show our faith in the Lord, and the power of our prayers to bring that about.
“I think the Lord is about to do something in this nation, and I think when the Bible says if my people repent, if they seek My face, then I will heal the land. I think before we see a nationwide healing, God’s people need to turn away from any distraction. We need to really seek the Lord. We need to saturate the land with prayer.”
It may be an unpopular opinion, but he also says that fasting is an important part of the process. Whenever he has seen revival, prayer and fasting have been the main components of its fruition. “When we do both things, I think we really prepare the soil. We really get the spiritual atmosphere ready for what is coming.”
In his 20Twenty guest appearance, Alejandro offered to pray for Vision’s listeners, and many called in to tell their stories, and ask him to speak over their lives.
Listen to the podcast below for an inspiring look at the healing power of prayer, and the reassurance that can come from strong faith.
Tune into 20Twenty and join the conversation with Neil Johnson, weekdays on Vision Christian Radio. Click here for your local times.