Donna Partow

We were back on the bus, ready to move on to our next ministry assignment.

I was with a team of around 30 people, as part of a Brio Missions trip to Peru, and we had just enjoyed an amazing response to our evangelistic outreach on a random street corner in Lima.  We stood amazed as the pandemonium of blaring horns, barking dogs, and jostling crowds suddenly faded into the background, enabling a large crowd of people to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many prayed to receive Christ, and we took the time, in partnership with local Peruvian believers, to obtain their personal information for follow-up.  Our work was done.  Or so we thought.

Just before we pulled away, one of the teenagers, Emily Zerger, came rushing to the front of the bus.  She said, “God is speaking to that man with the green backpack.  I just know it.  Look!  Look at him just sitting there!  We need to send someone to talk to him.”  It was obvious to me that the Lord was speaking to and through Emily.  Several men from our team approached the man and he responded immediately.  Soon, a group of American and Peruvian Christians were gathered around this weeping man, who surrendered his life to God.  As they prayed for him, the Lord spoke to one of our leaders, telling him that this man would be used in a mighty way to advance the kingdom of God in Peru.

Meanwhile, another Brio team was busy painting a local public school when one of the leaders, Dawn Youngblood, felt prompted to strike up a conversation with the principal.  A friendship formed and Dawn invited the principal to join her for lunch the next day because it was our day off.  The luncheon turned into a five-hour meeting that ended with this influential Peruvian surrendering her life to God, committing herself to his service and to the fulfillment of his purposes for her nation.  Her husband and two sons are both active in the business and political life of the country, and Dawn believes God will use this family to reach the highest levels of society.

Opportunities to demonstrate power-packed faith in ways like these are present around the world, every day.  Experiences like these should be commonplace, the routine experience of every devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The power of God is not always the blind receiving their sight– although God’s power can certainly do that and much more–the power of God is, first and foremost, for salvation.  The power of God is what moves people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

The Christian life should be a daily adventure.  We are not following a list of rules and regulations.  The Holy Spirit is always at work all around us.  If we are not seeing his work, it’s not because he isn’t working!  It’s because we are not being prayerful and watchful.

I believe the greatest lesson the young people on our Brio Missions team learned was the inexpressible joy of being prayerful and watchful. What were they watching for?  Evidence that God was working and inviting us to join Him in that work. They discovered just how exciting it is to be a Christian when you pray and then just expect God to show you where he’s working.  Then, to unleash Power-Packed Faith, we just had to recognize the opportunities he was creating, and seize them.

Praying and watching isn’t new of course.  It’s what Nehemiah did thousands of years ago.  Nehemiah served as cupbearer to King Artaxerses during a time when the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins.  When he learned the full extent of the damage, he fasted and prayed for God to give him an opportunity to speak with the King about the situation.  “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man” (Nehemiah 1:11). Then rather than rushing in, Nehemiah waited and was obviously watching for the right timing.  He didn’t bring up the subject, but instead waited until the King asked what was bothering him. 

Esther also prayed that God would grant her an opportunity to talk to a King—this time, her own husband.  But again, she didn’t presume that, because of her position, she could rush in and make things happen.  Instead, she prayed then watched for the right opportunity, which didn’t occur until she hosted a second banquet in his honor.

We can learn to recognize these opportunities to see Power-Packed Faith unleashed in our lives and in those around us. We are to devote ourselves to prayer, asking God to grant us the privilege of experiencing his power at work in the world.  Then we are to begin watching for his answer to our prayer. But we don’t complain when we don’t see immediate results.  Instead, we stay thankful.  God I know you are working in the world.  I am confident that today, I’m going to experience your power.  I’m on the watch!  As we maintain a thankful attitude, God will inevitably provide an open door for us to proclaim his truth to someone. Some days, the open door will be offering someone a word of encouragement or giving them a specific scripture, as God directs. Other days it will be to lead someone to Christ. But one thing is sure: when we pray, asking God for an open door to proclaim his truth, he will not fail to answer that prayer.

How have YOU experienced the power of prayer in your life?  I’d love to hear your story!

Blessings
Donna Partow