It was Wednesday and during my morning break I prayed, crying out to the Holy Spirit for more opportunities to talk about Jesus with the students on my team. I asked God to help me show the kids His love and change the way I think—that I would no longer see problems but instead opportunities.
That night, God blew me away. A tornado in the area forced us to gather in the Ranch tornado shelter: the dining hall bathrooms. At first it was chaotic—kids rough housing, shoving, complaining and it was only escalating. Then, with all the kids gathered in the small space I saw an opportunity to present the gospel. I asked if they wanted to hear a story, laid down some ground rules and had their attention in the restroom.
A STORY THAT STILL CHANGES LIVES
We talked about the book of Acts. How the disciples were captivated by fear before Pentecost, how the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, and how the disciples turned into bold men who could then do the things that Jesus did to tell people about His love. After sharing the story of Acts one student asked, “How do I get that?”
We asked who wanted to receive what Peter did. Half the kids in the room raised their hand. We urged students not to do it because their friends were doing it but to do it for themselves and that it is a lifetime commitment. They still wanted what Peter had received so we led them through a prayer to ask Jesus into their heart and for Jesus to empower them to live their lives for Him. Then, we asked every student who said the prayer to come see a group of leaders where we then laid hands on students to receive the Holy Spirit.
SHARING THE LOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Students described on their own that they felt heat and some a tingling sensation. Blown away by experiencing the love of God, one student came back three times for prayer! He kept talking about his experience through dinner to anyone who would listen. He wanted so badly for his cousin to experience God’s love too so he asked her to come over for prayer. She agreed and we prayed for her too. “This is so weird but so cool,” she said.
The next day many of the students who prayed with us exhibited remarkable changes in their demeanor and character. One boy described how he felt brand new and said he wanted to be a good kid. We talked about why—how he had just received a brand-new heart from Jesus! God showed up in powerful ways that evening. Thank you, Jesus, for answering prayer!