"I was the Answer to His Prayer"

"I was the Answer to His Prayer"

He was drunk, but the music seemed to draw him in. He couldn't help but hear our worship since we were set up right across from his home, the street corner where he slept at night. The lyrics took him back to his childhood and the days he spent in Church. Our songs reawakened him to all that he learned about God, but he was simultaneously beginning to feel a lot of guilt and shame. Regardless of his experience in the Church, the present reality was this: He was living on the streets drinking away his sorrows. How could he come back to God after having strayed so far? How could He attend Church again after all this time in sin?

These were the questions that troubled his mind as the worship began to prick his conscious. I comforted him and reassured him he was welcome to be there with us. "This is church on the streets right now, my friend. Your brokenness is what makes you welcome here with us." I had him stay and watch the dramas. Afterwards, I reminded him about the cross and the prodigal son, and urged him to trust that God's love was strong enough to forgive even the backslider.

 As we spoke, he interrupted me and started shouting, "God doesn't hear my prayers! God doesn't hear my prayers!" I grabbed him by the shoulders, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Listen to me. The fact that God has called me here to Brazil and led us to come to this specific street corner tonight so that I could remind you of the gospel is proof that God has heard your prayers, and not only that - He is answering your prayers right now. This conversation is the answer to your prayers!" After that, he was silenced. He bowed his head and just began to weep uncontrollably. As he wept, I too was amazed at what just took place, and it began to sink in... I was the answer to his prayer. It's amazing how God positions us so that He can reach others through us!

He did not give his life to the Lord that night, but once thing was clear, God wanted me there that night to interrupt his unbelief and remind him of the gospel of grace.