Samuel

Church Fe, Victoria, y Amor: Pastor Jesus

Our first day out in the Colonia, I went on a prayer walk with a team from Morse Street Baptist Church in Denton, TX. We walked around the community and prayed for homes and people that we passed and we even stopped to invite locals to the church service going on that evening. The second house we stopped to invite had a few boys in the yard and as we introduced ourselves, we realized it might be a Christian home because the boys were named Abraham, Ezekiel, and Peter. Eleazar, our translator, asked if this was a Christian home and we heard 2 voices from inside…one called out, “yes”, and one called out “no.” The mother came out into the yard and we began talking with her. She explained that she is a Christian, she has 10 kids, but some of her boys don’t want anything to do with God. One in particular, named Samuel, is very bitter because his bed was broken and he didn’t see how God was taking care of him. It was his voice that called out “no”. As we visited with her, she told us about some of her physical needs…a new bed for Samuel…some roof repair on her home…and a concrete roof on the church she attends in the neighborhood. We got to visit with her, encourage her as members of the same Body of Christ, and we told her that we would talk to AIM to see what we could do about some of her physical needs. As we left her home, Eleazar told us that a bed was given to him recently that he was not using, so we were free to give it to this family. We also talked with our construction coordinator about coming to survey her home and he told us that he was actually looking for more work projects that needed to be done in the neighborhood. The next day, we all took the bed and delivered it to the woman in need. Her face was beaming as tears welled up and she told us that just a few months ago, she had a vision from the Lord in which he was giving her a large box full of gifts. She felt unworthy to receive any gifts from the Lord, but He told her, “Yes, these are for you because you are my daughter.” She knew God sent his people to bless her with a gift of a new bed for her doubtful son, Samuel. Our main desire was to get to share with Samuel himself, and as we waited for him to come out of the house, the Lord reminded me of the story of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 that I had read just 2 days before. Originally, I thought the Lord had me read this story as a reminder to pray for the youth coming to the Gateway to be able to hear the Lord’s voice, but as we stood in this woman’s yard, I knew the story was for her son’s ears. When Samuel came out, a couple of us were able to share with him and I told him that I believed the Lord wanted me to remind him of his namesake in the Bible, Samuel. Samuel was given by his parents to the Lord at a very young age, so he went to live in the temple with Eli, a priest. One night, when laying on his bed, the voice of the Lord came to him and called his name. Samuel assumed it was Eli calling him, so he got up and went to Eli. Eli had not called him, and sent him back to bed. This happened 3 times, and finally Eli realized it was the Lord calling Samuel, so he told Samuel to go back to bed and when he heard the voice, respond, “speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel did as he was told, and he learned to recognize the Lord’s voice and speak with him. I was able to tell Samuel that I believed he had a gift for hearing the Lord’s voice. I believed that as he lay on his new bed, he would hear the Lord call to him by name. I believed he had a destiny and an inheritance in the Lord. His parents were very blessed as we ministered to their unbelieving son and we all had a chance to pray for him together. Some prayed in Spanish, some in English, but we all prayed the same thing…that Samuel would hear the Lord’s voice and the Holy Spirit would give him the courage to respond. It was a blessing to get to witness God’s sovereignty in orchestrating every detail of this encounter. He promised a faithful woman gifts…He directed us to her home…He knew Samuel was in need of a bed…He provided a bed…and He blessed us with just the right words to share with Samuel. We are continuing to pray for Samuel and his family as we minister to them this summer. To God be the Glory!