February 5, 2016
Heart Wide Open
Jennifer Kennedy Dean
We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our “Friday Friends.” So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our “Friday Friend,” Jennifer Kennedy Dean
Today’s Truth
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2).
Friend To Friend
When the Scriptures instruct us to pray, we can consider that instruction a promise of what God is willing and able to do in response to our prayers.
What can we learn from this call to prayer? That the harvest is great.
Everywhere your life takes you, you can be sure there are hearts ripe and ready to be harvested for the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit has already been working. He has plowed the ground, planted the seed, and nurtured and protected it as it took root.
I have discovered, first, that sometimes the one whose heart has ripened may be the last person I would assume to be ready. Where I worked years ago, I sensed the Lord impressing me to start a prayer group. I didn’t want to put myself out there quite that far, so I thought I would privately contact the people I assumed would be interested. But the feeling persisted that I should put the invitation in the office communication, and I hesitantly did so. No one responded. I feared no one would come. When the time came, none of those I thought might be interested showed up, but others I would never have imagined contacting were there. Each had a story about crying out to the Lord and asking for some way of knowing him.
The second thing I’ve learned is that God will send workers in response to prayer. He knows how to call His own and direct them to the very places where He is working. The most serendipitous, random encounters could well be set up and designed for God’s purposes. On a recent flight, where I had—at the last minute—purchased the last remaining seat, that seat positioned me next to a woman who was in tears. Ensuing conversation, prompted by her tears, allowed me to introduce her to Christ and the hope He offers during a hurtful moment in her life. I just happened upon her. He engineers divine appointments and conversations that lead to harvesting hearts.
You are where God has placed you because the harvest is great and you have been called. Trust the God of the harvest to lead you and to give you wisdom and sensitivity in the field to which you have been appointed. Be prayerfully alert to the Spirit’s nudging, and live with a heart wide open to those around you.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I’m Yours. Whatever, whenever, whoever. Here I am. Teach me to be attentive to Your nudges and responsive to Your whispers. Instead of seeing irritations and inconveniences, let me see fields ripe for harvest.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Now It’s Your Turn
Name the places God has positioned you to give you access to the lives and hearts of others. Home, neighborhood, school, community, work?
Would you pray this reckless prayer: Lord, here I am. Send me.
*All Scripture references are taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
More from the Girlfriends
I love outrageous praying. I often think of it as a prayer experiment. What might happen if I pray this? Let’s just see. No play-it-safe praying. God intends us to live adventurous, abundant lives. Do you want to follow Him? Then you have to go where He leads, and He leads off the beaten path and down unfamiliar windy roads. All my books and Bible studies come out of this one passionate pursuit: leaving ordinary.
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