So sometimes on Friday nights, when I don’t have anything to do, I hang out with Jesus and try to be a witness for Him. That was exactly the case today. I was bored and didn’t have anything to do.
I told Jesus, unsure of whether he would answer, “Lord, if there’s anything you want me to say to anyone or anything you want me to do, let me know.” And off to Old Town Pasadena I went. I wanted to get a boba drink initially but I knew that if Jesus wanted me to bless anybody he would lead me to them.
I felt like Jesus at first led me to talk to this guy (who seemed like a homeless man) but after trying to talk to him, he was really unresponsive and didn’t want to talk at all. So I just blessed him and left.
And after I got my drink, I started heading home. I usually go down this one street, but by (perhaps) divine intervention, I went down a small road instead. And there I met a security guard that was guarding a film set.
I just began to talk to him. His name was Madabu (sp?). He’s from West Africa, he’s a student… and he’s a Muslim.
We started talking and we were just talking about our faiths. He had quite a few close friends that were Christian, and I knew in my heart that God had put those people in his life for a reason. He told me he read the Qur’an, the entire Bible, and the Torah (wah!). I could tell that he’s a guy that’s really seeking God. But of course, there are reasons why he’s a Muslim and not Christian or Jew.
My goal, in that conversation, was just to bear witness to Jesus Christ and His love for him. It was there I found taking what I learned from seminary so far to be pretty helpful. I’ve been writing, thinking, and praying about Muslim people for the past few weeks and so I just starting probing him and asking him questions on some issues of the Muslim faith.
He knew what was going on and he was answering the best he could. But then the Holy Spirit took me in a different direction. So I spoke up and said, “All right Madabu, I know that you know and I know that I can’t convince you to become a Christian.” He responded, “That’s right, if Christianity is right, only God can.” So I said, “Okay fine. I know Jesus is willing to show that He is God, and that He is who He says is according to the Bible, and not the Qur’an. That He is the Son of God and that He is God, and that He died for You. So I’m going to pray for you, is that okay?” He acquiesced.
I initially asked him if he had any pains in his body or if he had any sicknesses. If he did, I knew right then and there Jesus would heal him (that would be quite the power encounter!). He said no, he didn’t have any pains or any need for healing.
So then I asked him, “Okay, what’s one thing you want God to do? It can be anything. Name anything. Something specific so you know that God answered your prayer.” He perceived the wisdom in my question and told me he wanted a green card so he could work. I said, “Okay, you want a green card? Okay, now I’m going to pray in the name of Jesus Christ for a green card for you.”
And so we closed our eyes, I laid my hands on him, and I started praying to Jesus. I just asked Jesus to show Himself to that guy and that He himself would give this guy a green card so that he would know that it was Jesus who gave him a green card. I just prayed in faith believing that Jesus would. This was the ultimate sign to show that this evangelism was not about me, but about me leaning on Jesus. And so I cried out for this guy to Jesus that he would hear his prayer. And then I said “Amen.”
We continued talking for a little bit, and he told me how he had prayed almost 40 times that day as part of his regiment. I told him I didn’t know how many times I prayed today because I pray to Jesus everywhere I go. Because for us, I said, God is our friend. He laughed and said, “I wish it were like that.” I told him it can be. He then told me, “If Christianity is right, and God tells me, I will change to become a Christian before I die. But you have to change to become a Muslim if God tells you before you die.” I told him that was perfectly fair.
Before I left, he asked me for my email address and the only thing I could write on was…my Gospel of John track! So I did, and asked if he mind if he took it. He didn’t and even told me he would read it. So I gave him my email address and the gospel of John! And there we parted ways, I told him that I loved him, that I wasn’t better than him, and I gave him a hug.
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After I left, I lifted my hands to heaven, knowing that I am nothing. That if Jesus saves this man, it’s not because of me, but because of Jesus’ goodness and power. I knew that Jesus had already been revealing Himself to him through his ex-girlfriend and his best friend who are Christians. And so I began crying out for my Muslim friend that Jesus would reveal himself to him by dreams and visions and he would, indeed, give him that green card so that he would know that Jesus, as the Son of God, answers prayers because He is the very Son of God.
So praise Jesus for a cool Friday night!
