God moves through surrender
Only once have I been so overtaken by the Spirit that my
knees buckled beneath me.
It was my junior year at St. Ben’s. Throughout college, my friends and I would go to Magis Ministries (more casually called “Praise in the Pub”) every Wednesday evening on the St. John’s campus. It was held in Brother Willie’s Pub but be assured, there was no drinking involved in these evenings out. It was simply a time to stop studying to come together as believers in worship.
Honestly, I don’t remember everything about that particular Wednesday evening. What I do remember is the large cross that stood as we sang Hillsong’s “From the Inside Out.” I remember pouring my heart out to God in a letter at a prayer station near the foot of the cross. And I remember dropping to my knees, truly surrendering my brokenness to God for the first time and seeing myself as a daughter of the King. Me, a daughter of the King! I understood and yet, I couldn’t comprehend it.
I was Beautifully broken that night. Tears of gratitude streamed down my cheeks as I left and poured into the night as I drifted off to sleep.
All this came flooding back as I witnessed a man giving his life to Jesus Christ last Sunday. The man, knees and hands trembling, made his way up to communion with the help of another. He could barely stand. His knees buckled. He wept.
I could feel darkness lifting from him but I also felt a “tug,” something trying to secure the chains that had held this man for so long. It was a fight: one between Good and evil.
I had plans to grab coffee with a friend after the service. As we walked out, she veered to the back of the church. I figured she was saying hi to someone before we left. My eyes followed her up to the man, still weeping and unable to look up from his clenched fists.
Pastor T made his way over and they began praying. I continued to feel the darkness hovering over this man, as if it were looking for the tiniest space to squeeze back in. I hung back and silently prayed that Jesus would make a home in this man’s heart. And lock the door on Satan.
Several minutes passed. I went to grab the man a glass of water. When I returned, my friend looked back at me with her kind eyes. It was as if she were saying, “It’s in God’s Hands.”
And it was.
I’ve continued to pray for that man every day. I pray he was overtaken by the Spirit to intercede (fight) on his behalf. I pray he has peace, comfort and protection from every evil. And I pray he begins to see himself as a son of the Most High. Because if he has truly surrendered his brokenness, that’s exactly who he is: a son of the Most High! Amen!
Friends, never stop praying for others. It may be your colleagues, family members or even someone you don’t know by name. Everyone needs prayer. If you don’t know how or what to pray, just pray that God moves in that person’s life. Because He will. And it may be just what that person needs to truly surrender his brokenness to Jesus.
It was my junior year at St. Ben’s. Throughout college, my friends and I would go to Magis Ministries (more casually called “Praise in the Pub”) every Wednesday evening on the St. John’s campus. It was held in Brother Willie’s Pub but be assured, there was no drinking involved in these evenings out. It was simply a time to stop studying to come together as believers in worship.
Honestly, I don’t remember everything about that particular Wednesday evening. What I do remember is the large cross that stood as we sang Hillsong’s “From the Inside Out.” I remember pouring my heart out to God in a letter at a prayer station near the foot of the cross. And I remember dropping to my knees, truly surrendering my brokenness to God for the first time and seeing myself as a daughter of the King. Me, a daughter of the King! I understood and yet, I couldn’t comprehend it.
I was Beautifully broken that night. Tears of gratitude streamed down my cheeks as I left and poured into the night as I drifted off to sleep.
All this came flooding back as I witnessed a man giving his life to Jesus Christ last Sunday. The man, knees and hands trembling, made his way up to communion with the help of another. He could barely stand. His knees buckled. He wept.
I could feel darkness lifting from him but I also felt a “tug,” something trying to secure the chains that had held this man for so long. It was a fight: one between Good and evil.
I had plans to grab coffee with a friend after the service. As we walked out, she veered to the back of the church. I figured she was saying hi to someone before we left. My eyes followed her up to the man, still weeping and unable to look up from his clenched fists.
Pastor T made his way over and they began praying. I continued to feel the darkness hovering over this man, as if it were looking for the tiniest space to squeeze back in. I hung back and silently prayed that Jesus would make a home in this man’s heart. And lock the door on Satan.
Several minutes passed. I went to grab the man a glass of water. When I returned, my friend looked back at me with her kind eyes. It was as if she were saying, “It’s in God’s Hands.”
And it was.
I’ve continued to pray for that man every day. I pray he was overtaken by the Spirit to intercede (fight) on his behalf. I pray he has peace, comfort and protection from every evil. And I pray he begins to see himself as a son of the Most High. Because if he has truly surrendered his brokenness, that’s exactly who he is: a son of the Most High! Amen!
Friends, never stop praying for others. It may be your colleagues, family members or even someone you don’t know by name. Everyone needs prayer. If you don’t know how or what to pray, just pray that God moves in that person’s life. Because He will. And it may be just what that person needs to truly surrender his brokenness to Jesus.
Magis Ministries' mission is to create an inviting community of CSB/SJU students,
dedicated to experiencing Christ and sharing that experience with one another.
dedicated to experiencing Christ and sharing that experience with one another.
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