Today’s guest blogger is Pastor David Carey, a spiritual giant in my life. He is one of the most brilliant Bible teachers I have ever encountered. I’m so thankful Pastor Carey was willing to share with us today.
But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. (2 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)
I was nearing the end of a busy day and had just finished writing a blog on the importance of knowing that God assigns us people and places to influence, when I decided I had time for one more task before leaving the office.
It was then that I remembered I needed to make a phone call to the insurance company of a man who had run into my car months earlier. I was still dealing with some minor physical problems from the accident, and this insurance company had requested I keep them updated on my recovery. They had not heard from me in a while and had written recently to request I call whenever possible. Honestly, I had been meaning to call them for several weeks. (Someday I will work on my procrastination!)
Making the call, I found myself talking to a pleasant woman who seemed to show real concern for my wellbeing. After a discussion of my status, she noted that according to her information, I worked for a church. I confirmed that I did, wondering where this conversation was going.
“Then you must know the power of prayer,” she said enthusiastically.
“Yes,” I answered, “And you must be a Christian!”
After she answered affirmatively, we had a nice discussion about the Lord. At one point she said, “I’m not really supposed to be talking about…”
I stopped her in mid-sentence and said, “You don’t have to worry about political correctness with me.”
I then told her that I had just finished writing about how God assigns us people to whom we are to minister. “So either you’re supposed to be talking to me, or I’m supposed to be talking to you,” I said with a smile.
After a few more minutes of conversation, I asked her if I could pray for her before we hung up. She answered, “yes,” eager to receive prayer. So I prayed. My prayer was one of those Holy Spirit-led prayers that has you praying in ways that you know are not coming from you. By the time I finished, she was in tears.
After we hung up, I sat back in my chair and said, “God you are amazing.” A few minutes after I had finished writing about how God-ordained encounters are given to us to influence the lives of others, He had done exactly that with me.
Often when we least expect it, we will find ourselves on assignment for God. Moses was led to the Pharaoh; Elijah to King Ahab; and Peter to Cornelius. Be looking for your next God assignment…
Apostle David Carey and his wife, Nancy, planted Word of Life Christian Center in Newark, Delaware. They are founders of Word of Life School of Ministry and have planted or assisted Bible schools in several nations. Carey is the author of Now Elijah! (Straight Street Books, August 2015).
