A little over 8 weeks ago Keisha and I were given an assignment in our training with Every Village to come up with a strategy to reach out to people. Very soon I felt the Lord leading us to sit with a sign in a public place that said "How may we pray for you" --Simple idea. We had no idea if it was a good strategy or if it works, but we went with it. --
We have been going every Friday at 3pm to Memorial Park with our sign and sitting there waiting. Normally we have one, and only one, person stop for prayer. Last Friday was a little different though and it put the rest of our time in perspective. At first we had some interactions
with people that didn’t stop but just answered our sign with fun things like
“that I can finish this lap strong” and
“that I don’t pass out” We also had a lady stop and ask for prayer for her
father who has cancer. God keeps encouraging us with at least one request each
time we go but the Lord really encouraged me on a much deeper level this time. As I sat there and pondered why I was sitting there and about the presence and activity of God. I suddenly knew that it did not matter if people stopped or not. It does not
matter if we have spontaneous relationships with people that do not know Jesus, or if we see people come to trust in Jesus through those relationships. Of course
that is our hope and our purpose for being there (as well as to encourage and
pray on others behalf hoping God will answer and draw people closer to Himself)
but in the end it does not matter what we saw with our eyes. It does not matter if we are
gratified by a positive result. Could it be that the sign and the weekly
presence is making an impact on hundreds of people that I will never see? Is it possible that the
Lord regularly answers our prayer... that there is a “distinct feeling of peace and
warmth as people pass in front of us”? What is the impact of this momentary event?
As I watched pairs of people look over and start talking about the sign, I
don’t know if they are making fun or if they are starting a life altering
conversation about their differing beliefs. I am realizing though, that God does what He wants and He is capable of the latter. The most encouraging part though is that results matter a lot less than before. It’s a
lot harder to become discouraged knowing that there are unseen things happening
below the surface. There is an untold number of small
interactions we have throughout our years that are unbeknownst to us, absolutely
changing lives. There are moments in our life that we walk away from
saying, “I failed” and maybe God has used them more powerfully than the opportunities that we wish we had. I know this, your God is indeed using your life even if you can’t really
see how, and one day when all that is sad becomes untrue, and we are at the wedding supper that is promised, there will be some talk of the things that He did, that we were blind to see.
It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God. -C.S. Lewis
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