by Melanie Chinchilla, an Alliance international worker serving in Germany
For the last few months, my husband and I have asked the Alliance family to join us in praying that we will see at least one person start a new relationship with Jesus this year. We are hoping for more than one, of course, but there is also great value in “leaving the ninety-nine to go after the one” (See Matthew 18:12–14).
At our small group this spring, Marie*, a believer in our church, brought her friend Ella for the first time. Ella was born in a predominantly Catholic country in South America, but in practice, she was an atheist.
Ella knew it was a Bible study and came ready to learn. I taught the group how to have devotions at home, using Ephesians 6:10–20. We talked about how God speaks to us through His Word and Spirit.
It was the first time Ella had read the Bible for herself. As we discussed what stood out to us, Ella said she was relieved that our battle is a spiritual one. Her inner turmoil finally made sense to her, and she didn’t feel like she was going crazy anymore.
After we finished, Marie asked Ella, “Are you ready to pray the prayer of faith? We will pray with you.”
“No, not right now,” Ella said. “But I will probably be ready to pray next week.”
Ella came again the following week. We studied Psalm 34. As we read verse five, Radiant will be the faces of those who cling to the Lord, and their faces will not be downturned with shame (translated from the Spanish version), the Holy Spirit led me to discuss what it means to cling to Him.
We ended up in the gospels as I explained to her what it means to hold fast to the Lord. I told her that Jesus is the only way to the Father and she could be born again in Him if she trusted Christ for her salvation.
Ella said she wanted to receive the promise of Psalm 34:5 and understood that Jesus had paid the price for her sin. We prayed with her to receive forgiveness and eternal life.
Pray that Ella will continue to grow in her faith. Pray also that as we disciple her, she will receive freedom from the trauma of her past.
*Names changed