You know, when you go on a missions trip, and especially on one as long and as Holy Spirit-driven as the World Race, you kind of get this expectation that big things will happen. As if God somehow works differently once you go outside your own country’s borders and go somewhere else. And sometimes, He does use you to do big things. And that’s really awesome. But if I’ve learned anything on this trip so far, it’s the impact that the small things can have.
This past week in Nicaragua, I went on a “prayer walk” with some members of my team, a couple of local Christians, and one of our ministry hosts. If you’re unfamilar with the concept of prayer walking, it’s more or less what it sounds like. All that is necessary is to walk around an area in prayer for that place and the people there. Sometimes the Lord leads us to talk to people and pray with them.
In this instance, we had planned stops at people’s houses on our walk. We would arrive, talk for a bit, then ask for requests, and pray for them.
At one house, we came to a family that was having a difficult time. They requested prayer for unemployment issues, relational issues within the family, and another situation that they weren’t comfortable sharing with us, but they treated it as very serious (we don’t have to know; God already does!).
I ended up leading that prayer, and it was very simple and short, but they seemed to appreciate it. Our host then asked if anyone had any encouragement for the family. I honestly don’t like being put on the spot that way, but almost instantly, God brought 2 Timothy 1:7 to my mind,
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Quickly thinking it over, I realized that I was pretty sure I knew how to say this in Spanish, and did so. I ended up stopping short as I realized I didn’t know how to say “sound mind,” and I probably had some grammatical errors in there, but they got the point. They have a spirit of power, despite unemployment and financial trouble. They have a spirit of love, to combat any issues within their family. And while I consider reciting a Bible verse in Spanish a pretty small thing, I do believe they appreciated it and drew some hope from it.
Later on, we stopped at a construction site, where several men were working on a new building. Some wanted prayer for more work. Some wanted prayer for their families. And again, some had requests that they said they couldn’t talk about. So we prayed for them as well. Afterward, our host asked us if anyone had a short message to give these men (and again I was put on the spot a hundred miles outside my comfort zone).
And it happened again. This time, God brought Philippians 4:6-7 to my mind,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus“
This passage was much longer, and I definitely didn’t know how to translate it into Spanish, so I borrowed a Spanish Bible and read it to them, hopefully not completely butchering the pronunciation of unfamiliar words.
As for the message, it was two, very broken, gramatically flawed sentences, with at least one word used incorrectly. But more or less, I told them that God wants to hear their requests, and He wants to give them His peace, even when life is hard. And while I wasn’t really satisfied with my reading or my message, the construction men showed me nothing but gratitude, and I really do hope it encouraged them.
So no, this isn’t a story of miraculous healing. It’s not a story of overcoming poverty, or anything unbelievable. It’s a story of God giving me words, and of me saying them (somewhat badly). And the really cool thing is, it’s still a story of impact. God can take the little things and make them big. And that’s nothing small.
