Everyday Vessels

That morning, I woke up between 3 and 4 AM, as though by the hand of the Lord, and felt a strong urge to pray. For whatever reason, I was extremely tired and very much still under the spell of sleep. The last thing I wanted to do was to get out of bed. But then, I believe I heard the Holy Spirit whisper a thought that I have struggled with and been shy to repeat to others since then. The reason is that some might see it as audacious, pretentious, or prideful. However, I was comforted in the reality of this thought nearly ten years later when I listened to a YouTube sermon by Brother Andrew, founder of Open Doors, titled "Challenge of the Impossible." In this sermon, through the story of Gideon, he explained that "Man needs God," and that "God needs Man." At this point, you probably guessed; what I believe I heard the Holy Spirit say to me that early Thursday morning was, "I need you." Although I can recall a few times in my life when I have not obeyed a prompting of the Holy Spirit, I am glad that I obeyed His voice that morning. I came down from the top bunk of the double-decked bed I was sharing with my siblings and made my way to the living room, the only place in our two-bedroom home where I could pray without waking up my slumbering siblings. In the living room, however, things did not go as I would have wanted them to. Like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, I could not overcome my sleepy flesh and be fully awake to pray. In Luke 22, Jesus tells his disciples: "Why are you sleeping? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." I was half praying, half asleep, and that is being gracious on my part! The score was probably higher in favor of sleeping. However, despite my weakness, my willing spirit was enough for the Lord to use that day. Thank God for the Holy Spirit and the gift of being led in prayer through the Spirit! Apostle Paul explains the wonderful role of praying in the Spirit in his letter to the Church in Rome. Romans 8:26-27 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." And he adds: "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." That morning, I did not know what I was praying for or why I was praying for it. But, praying by the Spirit, I knew I was praying in God's will, and the events that would unfold that day would make me understand the implications of my morning prayers. For some reason that I do not completely grasp, I decided not to go to classes that day. This was a very rare occurrence, as I had always been a very studious student. I planned to go downtown later to the commercial offices of the national telecommunications company CAMTEL to renew my monthly internet subscription. At the time, I always made sure to have a New Testament with me, ready to offer it to someone if the opportunity arose. A little anecdote: that day, the small handbag I had taken with me was hardly big enough to contain one of my New Testaments. I had nevertheless insisted, probably guided by the Lord, on inserting a copy into it. When the time came to go downtown, as I was walking out of my room, I distinctly remember realizing that I had not taken any New Testaments with me. I then walked back to my bed and reached to find a New Testament. As I was returning from this errand, I was stopped by a person who asked me to give him some money. He was a "street child," an expression we use in Cameroon to designate young people who, through tragic circumstances such as losing their parents, or because of delinquency, have been made homeless and sleep on the streets. They have a reputation for being violent and unpredictable in their interactions, often being under the influence of harmful substances. The internet service I had just bought was worth about twenty-five percent of my monthly budget. I thought I could not afford to spend any more of the money I had left. For this reason, I politely declined to help my interlocutor. This was not an answer my interlocutor was satisfied with. "If you don't give me money, I am going to stab you," he coldly said as I walked away from him...