While praying in a one of the slum villages in India we came to a house where a woman asked us to pray for many things.
1. For her knee that was hurt from walking to get water from the well and other things for the house.
2. For her daughter to find a suitable husband so she could marry her off.
3. For a better structure to live in instead of the shack she was currently in.
4. etc.
5. etc.
6. etc.
The list went on and on and on. She said she used to go to church and pray to Jesus for all these things in her life, but nothing changed so she stopped going and reverted back to her Hindu gods instead. We asked her if anything changed then. She said no, nothing got better.
Our team began to pray for her, each over something on her list. After our prayer was through we asked her specifically if her knee felt any better. She said that it did a little, but not really. So we prayed again. We asked God for more healing, more cleansing, and more of Him in her life. After our prayer was through we asked her again if her knee felt any better. She said yes and began to thank us as we all began to praise God and point her to the Lord. He healed her! Hallelujah! That's amazing!
We asked her if she would consider going back to the church and dedicate her life to Jesus. She then said something that I will never forget. (this is how Pastor translated it to us…)
"Not until my daughter is married will I return to church and give my life to the Lord."
My heart sank. My spirit dropped. My praise became questions of why. Jesus just healed her knee! Why wouldn't she praise Him for all He had just done for her, no matter how small it seemed? Why wouldn't she give her life to Him and proclaim that He is God after that?
Then I was hit with the reality of it all. Doesn't this sound familiar? Don't we all do this? Have a laundry list of things we want Jesus to do in our life before committing it to Him? Before praising His holy name?
I don't want to preach in this blog. I just want you all to think about this story and pray about how this relates to your life. I know I've been that woman before; I still am on some days. Ask God if this woman is you. What is getting in the way of you committing your life completely to God and surrendering everything to Him? Allow Him to speak to your heart.
