Imagine your life lived in a box with duct tape over your mouth. Imagine not being able to profess your beliefs for risk of being disowned by your family, put in prison or even killed.
As “westerners” we were assumed to be Christians, so we were allowed to have one personal Bible (but no journal, unless you bought it there unused). My team and I were blessed because we were in an area that we didn’t have to be so careful about what we said, as far as Christian lingo: Jesus, God, bible, Lord, church…the only word we couldn’t say was ‘missionary’. If we wanted to say it we had to say “M”. This was more to protect our contacts. Our contacts that we were working with have changed their names-so they don’t match up with their passports. The guy we were working with has about five different names he uses depending on who he’s talking to and what the situation is.
One day I was walking through a Tibetan temple, and there was a long line of people walking along this path on the side of the mountain. So I decided to follow them to see where they were going. I walked about 30 minutes, and ended at several huts with circles of prayer wheels. The people would walk around the circles spinning the wheels over and over. They would go around each hut a few times before moving on to the next one. Later I learned that these prayer wheels have mantras written on the inside, and every time someone spun the wheel it was like saying the mantra over and over. Then past the prayer wheels there was this tall white structure in the middle of this village. Each person would walk around and around with prayer beads in hand. Some were actually praying, but most of them seemed to be doing in out of obligation to their religious upbringing.
As I was witnessing these monotonous rituals, I couldn’t help but praise God and thank Him that I am not required to do all these things for Him to love me, and for me to spend eternity with Him-my Father, the One True Living God! All He asks of me is to accept Jesus Christ, and to love Him with all my heart, mind and strength. He loves me even when I don’t pray. Even when I don’t read my Bible; even when I’m being lazy in my worship. He loves me even when I mess up, and I don’t have to do all these things to earn His love back-He loves me unconditionally. He will never give up on me, and He will never forsake me. I don’t have to pray a certain number of times a day, and I don’t have to say the same things to Him over and over. He will listen to anything and everything I say to Him. I don’t have to ask for forgiveness a million times when I mess up-He already washed me clean when Christ died on the cross. In the midst of praising God for how awesome He is-I felt very burdened and saddened for these people. I just wanted so badly to tell them the truth. Tell them that they don’t have to do all this stuff to be enlightened, and that there is a God that loves them and wants them to know His love. As I was praying for them, God reminded me that He does love them, and they are His children—they just don’t know it and understand it yet. He had called me there to see His people, and see how lost they are. He has called me to be burdened for them, and to keep praying for them. They see His love through me, and the other countless missionaries there and throughout this nation.
What I learned the most this past month, is how important prayer really is. God isn’t asking me to save all His people. He isn’t asking me to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to tell everyone in the whole world about Christ. He is asking me to pray. Pray for His people, pray for His nations. Yes there are times when God will ask me to go to a certain place and talk to certain people and tell them about Christ and His love for them. But what I’ve seen the most is that they need prayer. Pray that they will know Him and grow to love Him—the one true living God.
God loves every single person in the world. He has chosen them, and He loves them all. We all have a choice to love Him or not. He is not going to force us to; He gives us a choice. Do you love him or not? Do you want to live your life for Him or not? He will always be there. He will never leave you or give up on you. His love is unconditional.
