The engineering professor from South America had some exposure to the Bible.
Some.
His interest in eccentric theology transformed into a genuine desire to know Jesus.
How? By simply reading and discussing the Gospel of Luke.
It’s where our friendship was forged. The discussions with him and his wife were delightful.
Now, the possibility of an unwelcome guest enters – cancer.
Why this intrusion into his spiritual journey?
The Good News of Jesus on the page now shifts to “real-time” – prayer in a time of need.
There are occasions when the words flow, and you feel like you’ve made a remarkable connection with God while interceding for someone.
Perhaps you have experienced this?
Sometimes, the reality is, you have merely impressed yourself with your estimate of an eloquent prayer.
Sometimes it impresses the hearer – “Mmm, a man of prayer.”
Stilted and stumbling went I.
The words certainly aren’t flowing.
It seems I have to word-search to complete every other phrase.
I’m two paragraphs in, and my self-consciousness is mushrooming.
I wonder what my beleaguered “prayee” thinks about my spiritual depth. At the moment it, it feels like my knowledge of God is greater than my experience with God.
Stilted and stumbling went I.
I strain to compose the words.
A silent prayer for the Spirit’s help.
My self-consciousness evolves into a yearning to take my friend to the throne of Grace.
I want God to know, that mingled with my self-centeredness is a genuine concern for my friend who is grappling with his mortality in the face of exploratory surgery.
Pretense gives way to fervency.
Coupled with the labored construction of my sentences is the earnest plea for God to reveal His involvement and compassion for my friend.
I long for what my friend longs for – God’s promise to be “with us” to be real and personal.
I choose the traditional conclusion, “in Jesus name.”
A manly embrace is followed by a lock-eyed “Thank you.”
I leave feeling a lack of spiritual depth – concerned I have compounded my friend’s uncertainty.
Yes.
It was malignant.
The surgery takes place.
Now, the wait for the lab results.
A week passes. The results are in.
His eyes flash a fresh certainty in the Message of God’s love. His wife’s face is aglow.
The surgeon was able to remove all of it, and no chemo is required – caught it early.
A strong, extended embrace. “Thank you for praying for me. You really touched my heart.”
You really touched my heart?
Not sure of the look on my face.
Inside, I felt a dumbfounded delight.
Once again, with my abundant flaws, I enjoyed The Privilege – God’s choice to grant us a co-laboring role with Him as He glorifies Himself.
It was a sobering reminder that we are utterly dependent upon Him for any spiritual fruit (John 15:5 “apart from me you can do nothing.”).
Until we embrace this spiritual truth, we will function largely out of the flesh.
That simplistic saying is accurate, “The only ability He requires is availability.”
There is a remarkable freedom that accompanies dependence.
We know in our heads that Jesus provides access to the Father. But we need to be reminded that His grace also includes the Holy Spirit indwelling to intercede for us when we struggle to express petitions.
Grasping this spiritual reality will yield a shift — from wrestling to build confidence in your own abilities to earnestly pleading for discernment to join Him in what He is doing.
Apart from Me, you can do nothing.
John 15:5
My missional friend, will you lay aside your ambitions and embrace afresh the biblical reality that evangelism is a work of God in which we are privileged to co-labor?
Have you had a similar experience? Please share it in the comments below.
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