I was sitting outside journaling around 10 o’clock one evening early last week, when my team leader ran across the courtyard, barefoot, to ask me a question.
“Hey, Alyssa, I’ve been thinking, would you be interested in giving the message at youth group this Wednesday night? Your blog post about the Lord’s prayer was great, it could be about that!”
“Umm, ok, maybe.” I answered
The week before, at Saturday night youth group, one of my teammates had been asked to stand up and give the message, with no prior warning or preparation time. She did great! After that we were told that one of us would be giving the message at youth group every week. We were glad for that warning, but still, I didn’t think that I would ever be called on to share!
“Pray about it.” My team leader told me, as she headed back to the house.
So, that I did. “Could I really do this, God?”, I asked as I looked up at the dark night sky.
Pretty soon God answered that yes, I could and would, be sharing the message Saturday night.
So, I spent the next week praying that God would give me the words to speak, and that something in my message would help to bring the youth group closer to God.
Thursday night I told my team I would be doing the message.
Then Saturday morning I remembered how much better I am at writing than speaking, and I slightly freaked out. I prayed. God assured me I could do this and he would be with me. After more praying I decided it might be a good idea to have an outline with me when I got up to talk. So, I pulled out my notebook and started outlining the Lord’s prayer, just as I’d done in my blog post. It wasn’t long before I had a very, very basic outline. I looked up a few supporting scriptures, then decided I was about as ready as I’d ever be.
Saturday evening, around 6:30, I stood up in front of about 20 teenagers, and told them about prayer. My message was translated into Spanish so the kids could understand it.
Photo Credit: Haylee Butler
Getting up there and talking was way easier than I expected it to be! I hardly even glanced at my notes. Thanks to the blog post I’d written the week before I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to say. So, I just went up front and talked! My translator read the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 out of the Spanish Bible. Then I broke it down into sections and talked to the kids about each section. I pulled in other Bible verses to explain each section better.
Overall, I think giving the message went well, and I really hope the kids got something good out of it!
Now, next month we begin our time in Africa, where I hear it’s not uncommon for World Racers to be asked to preach with little warning. So maybe I should start preparing some sermons, just in case.
