Day 135 – Obedience

A team of 8 men and 3 women arrived today from Celebration Church in Jacksonville… This is awesome because the last team from Celebration that came down was amazing, so I had really high expectations for these guys.

We started off the same way we start every group off with: A prayer walk. As we were making our way through the Juan Pablo barrio, the team stopped to pray for a family who we have seen tremendous growth in over the past two months. While they were praying, I heard a couple of the neighbors rustling around behind us. I was at the back of the group, so I turned around and say to older men in their little dirt floor shanti smoking cigarettes and joking around (also known as smokin’ & jokin’). At that moment, God (through the Holy Spirit) told me to approach them. I quickly ignored the urging and turned back toward the group. So he told me again. This time, I obeyed and entered through the open door of the shanti to speak to the men…

At first, they started telling me about how the tin roof leaks onto the dirt floor (as they very well know that we help people with this kind of stuff). As both of them had been drinking (keep in mind it was 4pm), I decided just to ask if they would like us to pray for them. The both agreed immediately and started spouting off Bible knowledge. (Apparently, they are brothers and they were both very involved in the Catholic church years ago, serving as worship leaders and deacons… but now they are married to the alcohol.) Anyhow, I invited the team into the shanti and told them that I didn’t know anything about these guys and that God had just prompted me to come talk to these guys and that I wasn’t really sure why were here. At that very moment, the older brother moves to the center of the group, gets down on his knees, puts his head on the ground and starts praying! One of the team members responds to my statement about “not knowing why we are here” with “We know what to do.” and immediately the entire team lays hands on the man and starts praying all at once! Within seconds the man is crying his eyes out and crying out that he is tired of his lifestyle and that he wants to return to the days when he was in communion with God…

To say the least, I was taken back by all of this. Especially since it all happened in a matter of two minutes!

Looking back, I can’t help but think what would have happened if I would have ignored the “still small voice” that urged me to go talk to these men? Would God have told someone else and I would have just missed out on the opportunity of being a part of His plan? Or would these men simply have continued on drinking without interruption? How many other opportunities have I missed out on because I ignored God’s prompting?

Believing in God is not enough. You have to be willing to follow Him in obedience. (Easier said than done, I know.)