The stories of sons….
“I was sitting at a table in Panera’s when this person with a hoodie walked past and sat down behind me. As Tim says, God is speaking to the people on your right and left, so I asked the Lord,
“do You have a word for him?”
“compassionate, loving heart.”
Only the Holy Spirit made me brave enough to wave at him and get his attention (because he had headphones on!). I shared that God was speaking about him. Immediately joy came into his face. (a joy that made my whole day).He said he was in medical school and had an exam the next day, so I got to wish him the best too.”
-Tikvah O.
“I’m a beekeeper, so I spend a lot of one-on-one time with one of my co-workers as we drive from yard to yard chatting. I had mentioned to him before that I go to church, but I’m seeing that there’s a difference between telling someone about going to church and your personal relationship with Jesus, and when you include Jesus in everything you do— when he becomes why you do what you do— you can’t help but tell people. And God has been sharing with me the importance of not downplaying our joy and excitement about Jesus based on the audience. I don’t need to be worried about their response, I just need to be so fixed on Jesus and remember the absolute STOKE of knowing Jesus. So I started sharing with my co-worker about something Jesus and I had done together— design a clothing line based on a dream He gave me. I didn’t hide the joy in the details of how Jesus had given me these ideas and passions, and my co-worked was surprised. I went home and prayed for my co-workers and their hearts and Jesus told me what to do— just ask. ‘So what do you think of Jesus?’ That day we were mostly apart, catching bees, and I prayed for 7.5 hours. When we got back into the car, it was silent and I felt awkward. I got nervous because of nothing at all, and I think this is when a lot of people abandon their courage. God spoke, ‘You have nothing to lose.’ So I broke the silence, and I said, ‘So Isaac, what do you think about Jesus?’ His answer was more about spirituality than Jesus, and he shared his story of growing up going to church with his family— he doesn’t now. He explained spirituality as being in nature as well. So I said, ‘But what do you think about Jesus?’ He explained that he’s more agnostic than anything, but he’s had moments of wondering, especially while out in nature. He said, ‘I believe God either isn’t all good or isn’t all powerful.” And then he asked what I thought— and I was ready. I was ready to bring it all back to love, and to tell him that Jesus loved him. That God loves us enough to not force us to love him back, and this free will is why tragic things happen. And this is real love! This is what matters!! He asked me how God speaks to me, and I was so excited to tell him all about it. He speaks to us each uniquely in the way He created us to respond and move with His Spirit. I even shared about feeling nervous to share what God has shared with me with others, but if the GOD of the universe has told me to do something, what do I have to lose. And he was bewildered and excited. He said, “Yeah!! If GOD tells you to do something, what else could you do?” He was thinking. When I invited him to come to young adult group with me to have a good time and hear more about Jesus, he was excited. Nervousness could have bypassed this opportunity. But Jesus was there with me.”
-Christie N
“At Shady Maple tonight for the YWAM Orlando Banquet, Tim and I prayed over five different people for healing and wisdom after the banquet ended.
The first guy we prayed over was this ex-Amish guy named Matt. He needed community and a home church. He did YWAM in New Zealand a couple years back and he’s trying to attend Petra Christian Fellowship.
The second person we prayed over was a lady named Laurie. She had a knee brace on and we prayed healing over her knee. She told us the pain was gone. The third person was a lady named Beverly who had eye issues. Tim prayed over her. I prayed for a guy named Tim during the time he was praying over the lady. He had headaches and his girlfriend was there and she got healed of a headache she had right there while I was praying over him.
Then there was this older lady who’s name was Lorraine and she had issue with her right side of her hip after a surgery she had a month ago. So I prayed a healing prayer over her. Tim was praying for a guy named Rob who had lower back pain and head pain. I prayed over his back and Tim prayed over his head.”
-Caleb N.
“One of the biggest ways Jesus has grown me is through the knowledge that I want to live my life always willing to be led by His Spirit, and sometimes this looks like the divine disruption of my bullet point list planner— to invite Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans is to stop being so defensive of our time (as if this belonged to me), and to realize that I don’t need to worry about whether I’m interrupting someone else’s schedule when Jesus calls me to speak to them.
Last week I went thrift shopping with a friend, and while we were sorting through skirts, a lady began to chat with us; she showed us the ones she liked and we did the same. Holy Spirit piqued up. You know that feeling? He had something to say.
I got to share with her the reason we were shopping for long skirts— classic missionary clothing. From there I got the opportunity to share our hearts to bring the love of Jesus to those around us, and her heart was touched. She told us the story of her own son wanting to be a missionary before he got into a quad accident, and had then become addicted to pharmaceuticals. She poured out her story. Her 8 children. Her move to this new city. Her life of adventure and hardship. The conversation always came back to her son. His struggles were her heartbreak. I asked if we could pray for him, and she said yes! Holding hands in the thrift store, my friend and I lifted up her son to Jesus and asked for freedom and redemption, for His Holy Spirit to touch his heart, and to touch hers as well. She began crying, and when we had finished praying, she said, “I can’t believe you two girls are so willing to stop what you’re doing and pray for anyone, anywhere. I know God must love me because of you. Thank you Jesus.” And she lifted her hand to heaven.
There is nothing more beautiful, fulfilling, exciting, and worthy than giving someone a piece of Father’s love for them.
-Natalie N.
“So as Tim was praying for the man with the boot, I was asking the Lord for a word for his friend. Just then Tim turned to him and asked his name. That’s when I just got an impression that something was going on with his neck. So I asked him and he said yes and it caused some bald spots in his hair. I asked if we could pray. He was all for it! So I had him put his hand on his own neck. I didn’t really know why I did that until later. Didn’t pray long, just thanked the Father for his love and then asked if he felt anything. He was taken aback, maybe surprised. He felt it. I don’t know if he was healed but I know he was feeling the Love of the Father.
I felt to re-affirm him that it was not me that could have known that he had something wrong and it dawned on me that that’s why I didn’t really touch him. He had to know it was the Father, and that He knew him and loves him.”
-Anna L.
I had a rad experience chatting with an older lady in Lancaster city. Several friends and I went down to worship and pray over the city and with anyone we met. It was amazing. You can find some of the footage on the link below! While Caleb and Anna were worshiping, I noticed an older lady with a walker sit down a few yards away. I walked over and asked her if there was any pain in her body that she would like healing for. She said initially said no. I asked if there was anything at all that I could pray for and then she said I could pray for her daughter. I excitedly said yes! I sat down next to her and I asked if I could put my hand on her shoulder and she said no. She began to act flustered and said something like, please go I just want to relax a little bit. I decided to just start praying for her daughter. After I prayed for her, I asked Linda a few questions and we ended up in a super rad and long conversation about God! It ended with me being able to pray for the pain in her body and hold her hand while I did. I told her that our conversation made my day and she said that I had made her’s as well. Seriously! I was so happy to hear that from some who initially did not want prayer.
Thank you for reading. And a huge thank you to the courageous sons and daughters who shared their stories! If you have your own “son stories” send them in or comment below. I hope you are inspired to begin to step forward and see sharing the love of Jesus as part of your identity as a child of God! It really is that simple. I put together a video of some outreach to Lancaster along with a recording of a new Spoken Word and spontaneous worship called the “Harvest Song.” You should check it out!
HARVEST SONG // Spoken Word + Spontaneous Worship
(Will be live this evening)
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