I expected to see God moved among the people here but my own growth and understanding of how the Lord works has reached an all time high….AND ITS ONLY MONTH ONE!
Last night, half of our team went out to hand out bibles and do some street evangelism while the other half stayed at the church and interceded (prayed on their behalf). I was part of team intercede! A lot of times when I pray, I will get pictures flash through my mind that remind me of something or represent something God wants to show me and last night I received a few in particular that reiterated this theme of growth. One of which was an incredibly beautiful flower that grew crazy fast. It was planted and then in the same second sprouted and rose above everything around it. This picture lead me to 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 which says “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything. But only God gives the growth.”
This verse is so important because it reminds me that growth CAN NOT occur without the Lord. We can hand out thousands of bibles and have thousands of conversations with people all over the world but without prayer and without inviting God to be a part of our ministry here, there will be no change…there will be no growth.
This time of intercession was probably the longest I’ve ever prayed without ceasing (almost 2 hours) and even in those 2 hours we were able to see change in the ministry that the other half of our team was doing. When they got back from evangelism, we told them what we felt the Lord had been saying to us in intercession and they told us what the Lord had done on the street. Because we had invited the Lord and joined him in the growth he had planned for last night we were able to see the fruit of our labor. Our teammates came back elated and crazy pumped because the response they received last night had been SO different than what we’ve encountered in the past. People were actually coming up to THEM and ASKING for bibles rather than throwing them back in their faces. People that we had encountered in the last 2 weeks had remembered their faces and asked them again why they were still here. The attitude they had had changed from disappointment and fear of rejection to fearlessness and confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this, God showed me that only he supplies the growth. But unlike other gods, other religions he wants to use us as tools in accomplishing his end goal and helpers in loving the world he so desperately wants to reach. Although im still not sure entirely what my role looks like in advancing his kingdom, Im willing to ask the Lord and wait patiently for his timing in revealing his answer. Do you have the same question? If so, maybe we can pray through this question and wait together. Id love to be a part of your journey, just as you have been and will be a part of mine!
Love always,
Drea
