A Grateful Evangelist

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The church I attend made us take a test to determine what our natural talents are, because they believe that Christians should use their natural talents to serve each other.  My test results showed that I am an "evangelistic person" who wants to tell people that God loves them and wants to be with them.  As I thought about my talent, I started to wonder what an evangelist looks like.  How do evangelists preach; how do they pray; how do they feel.  Are they angry people who want to rebuke others?  Are they friendly folks who love to be around others?  Are they aggressively trying to make as many coverts as possible?  Are they constantly praying that God would give them powerful words?

These is an important question for me, because my best friends, and some of my closest family members are non-Christians.  I pray for them when I can, but I've been praying for years and haven't seen a lot of changes in their lives.  I began to wonder if I'm not praying effectively for them, so I decided to ask God "how to pray" for my non-believing loved ones.  The response I received was very remarkable.

As I was asking God how to pray, I felt prompted to think about God's desire for people.  I realized that God desires everyone to know Him and come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but I also realized that God wants us to give thanks for every circumstance.  That's a biblical command, and the will of God for every person.  God wants grateful children.  It's no different than any other parent or person for that matter.  Does anyone want to be around someone who is always complaining about how bad their life is?  Does any parent want to hear their kids constantly asking for stuff?  I don't think so.  I think parents ultimately want to hear, "Thanks dad, I really appreciate you," or "I love you mom, because I know you do the best you can to take care of me."  That's what every parents longs to hear, and God is no different.

So I began to ask the Lord, "How can I be grateful when praying for people who don't love the Lord?"  And that's when I realized that I can be grateful for two things:

1. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to pray and witness to them.  

God has placed people in my life so we can grow closer to God.  God wants everyone to acknowledge Him as their God and savior, and I get the chance to encourage others in that process.  It is a privilege for me to pray for the people that I love.   I want them to know God, because I couldn't imagine eternity without Him.
  

2. I am grateful that God is so patient and compassionate to all of us.

My friends and my family deserve nothing from God, but don't misunderstand me, I don't deserve anything from God either.  We have all chosen to reject God at times even though He is gracious and loving to each of us.  He has been gracious to me even though I have mocked Him, thrown insults on other Christians, and acted in ways that goes against His truth.  Picture yourself in God's position: what would you do with someone like me who has insulted you and hurt your children?  Would you be willing to show love and compassion?  I wouldn't.

I have the tendency of rejecting people who reject me, but luckily God is greater than me in love and compassion.  God has been patient with me even though I've hurt Him.  He has been patient with my friends and family even though they hurt Him.  I am so grateful that God is patient with each and every one of us.  I'm also grateful that God has given each and everyone of us the opportunity to help our friends and family grow closer to Him.

So I encourage you to spend time thanking God for His love.  Everything you have is a gift from His hand.  God is good.