In my last post I told the story of stopping for a cashier at a local supermarket. I prayed for her wrist, which was in a brace, and she was healed on the spot … pain gone … brace removed … smiles all around … God is Good!
Last Friday morning, I had the pleasure of being guided to walk down the entire length of our shopping strip to buy some chocolate for my son’s birthday party. I lined up to pay in the shortest queue at my local supermarket and realised that the same girl I had prayed for was serving on this particular cashier and, to my delight, she was minus the wrist support!
I smiled as I stepped forward and said “hello” and I promptly asked her how her wrist was, mentioning that she did not have her support on this morning …
She smiled and said “no”, and then went on to say that it was much, much better.
I asked if it had been completely clear of pain, and she responded that it was nearly completely clear of pain, and that it hurt a just a little, now and then …
I offered to pray again for her and, smiling broadly, she quickly and eagerly agreed, holding her arm towards me for the prayer …
I took her wrist, which now displayed a large faced watch, with a large white wrist band, and I prayed that it was time for the fullness of healing. I rebuked anything that would come against the fullness of healing, and I released the oil of the Holy Spirit. As I did this I felt the Holy Spirit say quietly to me “ask her if she wants Me in her heart” …
So, I simply asked her what I heard. I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart.
She said “I’m a Buddhist …”
So I said “ok, but would you like to ask Jesus into your heart?” I had got the impression that she needed to “fill the house” with Jesus, and all the while, the anointing of the Holy Spirit was constantly tangible around us.
She answered simply “yes” …
I said something along the lines of “then, just ask him into your heart … say, Jesus come into my heart” aware that we were at her place of work and people were approaching the desk to be served …
She responded again “yes” …
I thought … “oh gosh … what do I do here?” and noted two blokes nearly at her cash register.
I then felt her focus shift and I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance … and I ever so gently felt the release, to “let it go” so I again quietly released the oil of the Holy Spirit into her wrist … and with the Holy Spirit’s encouragement I stepped aside, took my items, wished her a wonderful weekend and mentioned that I may see her again soon …
She smiled broadly saying “thank you …”
It was time …
It is time …
It was time for her to be healed the week or two before …
It was now time for her to be invited into the family of God … however brief the invitation may have been …
It is time for us, as God’s children, to be aware of the time … and to do the inviting, no matter how awkward, no matter how clumsily, and no matter how simply we do it … if we do … lives will be changed …
Who was I to argue with the Holy Spirit about place and time … it was a pure, timely and simple invitation … His words … His timing … straight from Heaven to her heart …
Who am I to say whether it was “effective” …
My son invited friends to his party recently …
My son (read with excited, Aussie accent): “Do you wanna come to my party?” …
Friend’s response: ”yes!”
Deal done!
Maybe that’s all it took for her … or maybe it will require another invitation … I don’t know …
All I know is to be who I am called to be … to do as the Father shows me … and to invite as the Holy Spirit instructs me to invite … the rest is His responsibility … He’ll get them to the party, the same way my son’s friend’s parents got them to my son’s party on Saturday … they all made it … they all got there … because their parent knew where, how, when to go …
It may take another invitation … it may not …
Regardless I think that it really is that simple … the stepping over into the Kingdom of God isn’t complicated for, as Jesus said:
… the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these … (Matthew 19:14 NIV 2011)
and the “such as these” are the children … It is the “grown ups” that complicate things … the invitation has to be “just right”, sent at the “right time”, given in the right envelope, the right package … with clear instructions, directions, and strict guidelines on dress, behaviour, timing, etc etc etc … but if I take my son’s lead it really is simple …
“Wanna come to my party?” …
I hear the Holy Spirit say …
“Wanna come to My party?
Just say “yes” and I will get you there …
You leave the rest to Me …”
It’s not complicated …
I know she doesn’t need to know scripture and verse … it’s a matter of her spirit saying “yes” and coming alive to Jesus Christ … it’s a spiritual matter … one that the intellect and soul can catch up on later …
Whether she has new life … I do not know …
Whether she is still on the scale of “pre-Christian” … or “Christian” … I do not know …
What I do know is that I heard and I obeyed and I stepped out and a life was changed.
She was healed the first time.
She got a top up the second time … and was invited into the family …
And ultimately all will be well simply because …
God is Good!
Obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit is what is important. He will finish the work. You did your part. There may be someone else who does their part. It is wonderful to see a life changed through your obedience. It is changing not only the cashier but also you! Praise God! He is so good.
I agree – He will finish the work … Sadly many feel they have to be sure it’s all ticked off and boxed up just so!
We should remember that the day God finds no faith upon the eaarth, we are condemned —your faith assuages so many physical and spiritual ills!
Thank you. I had a friend who had drug problems and I found out one day. We were in the ladies, and she asked me to say a prayer with her, as she wants to talk to my Jesus (even though she was a buddhist then). Some months later, under the influence of drugs, she committed suicide. I’ve been feeling guilty that I didnt encourage her enough to come to Christ… This entry has given me great encouragement. I believe that she opened her heart to God, and even though the invitation was just a pure few minutes. I believe it is enough.
Hi Janice, that’s tough.
I do believe that it is about following and doing what we are asked to do. Listening … obeying …
Sounds to me you did that. The prayer may have been one further step in her journey towards Christ, or there may have been a transaction take place … We can never truly know until we get to heaven.
Regardless … Guilt is not from God … He will convict, encourage, correct with kindness, but he will not guilt or condemn us … someone else does that!
Good on you for praying with her! You never know the others that were put in her path before she died 🙂 she obviously knew/felt you had something in having Jesus!
This sounds different to a story my pastor told me. A story that has always stayed with me.
She was a young Christian, years ago, and she visited her doctor. Holy Spirit prompted her to tell him about Jesus, but she was too embarrassed and frightened to … A few days later she called the surgery to follow up on something and she was told that he had died … She went to God and said sorry … And promised she would never again pull back like that … He was not unkind but the immensity of it has left an imprint on her heart … Just as the story left an imprint on mine!
Regardless God is always Good!
Blessings!