I’ve never been good at evangelism.
It’s not that I haven’t tried. I just end up sounding like a used car salesman. “What’s it going to take for me to get you to buy this car today?” Even in prayer, I seem to fumble when praying for the lost. How does that work, anyway? I mean, can I just pray that the whole world would be saved? Is that legal?
In the last seven years I have had the happy opportunity of seeing many souls born into the life of victory found in Jesus Christ. Oh, how I have longed to be the one with beautiful feet! In all of my desire to be the one who brings good news, I never seem to come up with anything more clever than “Jesus loves you, no, I mean He REALLY loves you!” Truth be told, I have only lead one soul in the prayer of salvation.
As my regular readers already know, I am in the middle of the biggest turning point in my life. The enemies who were once shrouded by my counterfeit identity, are hidden no longer. Insecurity, the leader of the pack, stands at my door roaring its terrible roar as it’s putrid breath blows my hair back. It is in this predicament that I find new revelation. I am settling into the truth of Who Jesus Christ is. I am endeavoring to settle into the daughterhood He birthed me into by His sacrifice. I believe as I never have before that I have a Father in heaven Who loves me and will protect the eternal part of me no matter the cost. It is this new found belief that gives me the courage to stand in the face of my enemies and all the darkness they throw my way. Such has been my journey of late.
It has been this revelation of both the faithfulness and the sovereignty of God that has sparked a great inactivity in the midst of prayer. As I seek my Father in prayer much of the time He is silent and so I sit silent. This is a huge change from my prayers of before. They were always birthed out of my heart, my mind. If His heart didn’t come fast enough I would busy myself with prayers I thought were relevant.
Recently, I was awakened on a sunday morning at two o’clock. I went to my prayer closet and sat waiting in silence until His heart flooded my soul and I began to pray. In the midst of that prayer I asked for one soul at the coming service. When I was done praying I went back to bed. By the time that I got up for church I had forgotten about my early morning prayers. At church that day a man came and accepted all that Jesus had done for him triumphantly becoming a part of the body of Christ. My heart was full of joyful enthusiasm while He heartily declared surrender to Jesus. As I sat overcome by the miracle of new life, the Lord gently whispered a reminder of my early morning prayer for the one soul. I wept as faith began to grow. Condemnation quickly came to steal my joy bringing the accusation that I ought to have prayed for more souls than just the one. My tears of joy became bitter as I lamented my lack of belief in only asking for only one. But truth brought me back around. God is sovereign. It was He Who provoked me to pray for the one, giving me the opportunity to walk in the faith and obedience to ask for the one. Yes, it is Jesus Who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith and in this instance He was perfecting my faith as He authored another’s. Oh! All glory and honor to the One in Whom resides the sovereign power to change hearts! SDG ~tj
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
