A Simple Prayer

My salvation experience was not a sudden, tumultuous thing, rather God has worked in my heart slowly time, changing me from the inside out.  As I look over my life, I can definitely see His hand guiding and moving me along.  He put people in my life who sowed seeds about who He is and why I needed Him.

I went to Sunday school several times in my childhood, even though my parents didn’t go to church and their understanding of God and salvation was pretty thin.

When I transitioned into high school, I was a typical teenager. I had a close group of friends. Most of them had some pretty weird beliefs about God. But one girl was different. She had grown up going to church and she got me to go to a youth group.  I went to see if there were any cute guys, not to learn about God!  One evening they were showing a film on the “end times” from the Book of Revelation. The movie got us talking about what the end times will be like for those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior.  This really scared me.  The movie scared me.  Soon after that night, I asked Jesus to be my Savior and save me from being left behind.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17

It was a simple prayer.  I didn’t really understand much, but I know God honored it.  He started to change me.  I began to take a look at the music I listened to and decided maybe it wasn’t all so cool after all.  My friend introduced me to Petra and I listened to that a lot!  I started thinking about all the posters of guys I had on my walls and the way I talked and thought about other people.  I started to want to read the Bible and find out more.

Granted, my life was NOT perfect after that.  I made some big mistakes, but through the growing up process God has continued to put godly people in my life who helped to guide and mold me.  I’m so thankful for that and for those people who, knowing it or not, influenced me for good.

I did not ask to be chosen.  I did not seek Him, He came after me.  And I know that it is really true that “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  He’s still doing that work in me and I won’t be done until Jesus calls me home.

He doesn’t ask us to be perfect in order to come to Him. Otherwise no one ever could.  He just asks us to come.  He knocks on the door of our hearts to come in and change us. (Revelation 3:20) To clean us and make us new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) To give us new life, a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)