On a Wednesday evening last November, student leaders from four St. Thomas FCA huddles met at the home of FCA Collegiate Director David Melms. Together they studied the parable of the persistent widow from Luke 18. This widow repeatedly went to her king to ask for relief from her oppressors, but for a long time the king refused. Instead of giving up, the widow continually advocated for action from the king. After the widow had been continually approaching the king for quite some time, he finally responded to her for only one reason: her persistence. Jesus shared this parable with His disciples to show them to never give up in prayer. As the students discussed the parable that night, their excitement about the willingness of God to move on the prayers of His people grew, especially in Ben and Steven who were already hungry for more of God’s call on their lives. After the regular meeting ended that night, David sensed that Ben and Steven yearned to go deeper. He brought them to his prayer room and shared his vision of asking God to move mountains in the lives of others.
God is at work, even now.
Prepared Hearts and a Dry Erase Board
God had been preparing Steven and Ben for this night. Ben had learned some of what it was like to be the persistent widow in his own life. His start at St. Thomas had been rocky, and he struggled with anxiety and isolation during much of his freshman year. Through it all, he persisted in asking God for a community of people with whom he could do life. He says now that God’s response “has been nothing short of incredible” and renewed his faith in God’s answered prayers. Steven already had a little dry erase board in his dorm room that he used to write the names of people God had placed on his hear. He had been praying through the list regularly but wanted more. Little did either of them know that He was about to take them both to the next level and create a fire of excitement in their hearts that would only grow stronger as time went on.
David had a large dry erase board in his prayer room. Steven and Ben started writing the names of those they had already been praying for, and then they added more names, and more names, and more names. As the list grew, their excitement and intensity grew as well. They started writing around 9:30 pm and at midnight with their list complete, they prayed over every name. They returned each Thursday to pray over the list and eventually put all the names (over 200) in a document so they could pray whenever they could. Looking back to that night in November in David Melms’ basement Ben said, “It was one of those God moments.”
Answered Prayer
God has been honoring their prayers in ways they would never have imagined. Since the football season began, Steven had been praying for his football coach’s wife who was battling Stage IV cancer. Months after the season ended, he was still praying but had no update. It was the off-season and he never saw his coach around campus, so he had no idea how she was doing. One day after praying through his list he asked God, “Is it really worth it to pray all these crazy prayers?” About a week later, Steven went to dinner by himself – which he never does - and was standing outside the elevator. He looked up and saw his coach. Steven told him that he had been praying for his wife and wondered how she was doing. Cancer free. Steven knew in that moment that God was confirming that it is indeed worth it to pray all those crazy prayers!
Another time, Steven was supposed to live in the FCA house, but those plans fell through and he was placed in an apartment with roommates he did not know. From that first day in the new apartment, he prayed that all his roommates would know Christ. After a month and a half of praying, Steven had not seen any outward glimpses that God was moving in the hearts of any of his roommates. Though it was a little discouraging, Steven kept praying. One day, he was hanging out watching TV with his roommate when out of the blue his roommate asked if they had room in the car on Sundays and if he could go to church with them. Stephen was elated that God had once again moved on his prayers and more importantly that his roommate was seeking God.
Ben has also seen God move in and through him. Over time he had been sharing some of his experiences of answered prayer with his mom. One day, she told him she had been praying for him to love Jesus since he was a little boy and his testimony about prayer was confirmation that God had answered her prayers. Now Ben is carrying that torch and prays for others to be impacted by Jesus. For Ben, it was a humbling confirmation that God does move on the prayers of His people. He is a product of his mom’s prayers even though he had no idea she was praying. Now he can plead to the God of the universe on behalf of people who may never know he is praying.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Ben continues to grow in the knowledge of what that looks like.
Aware of the Needs of Others
Both Ben and Steven noted that through this journey their perspectives have changed. They are more aware of the needs around them, and it is natural to pray for any concerns they hear. Last fall, they were watching a football game on TV when they heard that one of the coach’s wives was battling cancer. They naturally just stopped and prayed for her. As James 5:13-16 says, Ben and Steven have learned to pray in every situation:
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
With their hearts tuned in to God, Ben and Steven are always on the lookout for needs around them. Steven noticed that an exchange student in one of his classes always wore the same shirt. God kept pressing on Steven’s heart that his classmate needed help. Throughout class one day, he prayed about what to do. He was nervous about stepping on his classmate’s toes and was unsure of how to proceed. After class God put the opportunity right in front of Steven. His classmate walked up to him and asked if he had missed anything when he was absent. Steven said “nope” and watched him walk away, but he quickly prayed for boldness and ran after him. When Steven caught up with him, he mentioned that he noticed that he often wore the same shirt and wondered why. His classmate responded that he did not have any other shirts, so Steven was able to come alongside him and help him get more clothes. For Steven, the experience was both humbling and rewarding. Both Ben and Steven regularly pray for the boldness and strength they need to obey Him, and God always gives them what they need.
Current Reality
Now that school has moved online, Ben and Steven could have left this part of their lives on campus when they left, but there was no way that was going to happen. In Steven’s words,
“Prayer will be the last thing in our daily schedule that changes! Ben and I talk almost every day and we still have our core group meetings [online] on Wednesday nights; our discipleship group is now on Mondays! This has been a very unique time for all of us but has blessed us with the opportunity to reach out now more than we ever have! Whether it be our own family or friends, God is still moving! Personally, this time has allowed me to not only say I have faith but to exercise that faith. To truly lean on Him during times of anxiety and worry, praying for peace in the middle of a storm of stress. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been difficult, but I’d also be lying if I said it hasn’t been a game changer for my faith (in a good way).”
God has transformed Ben and Steven as they have learned to trust God and to be bold in their prayer lives. They have learned that it pleases God to move on the prayers of His people. He loves to answer in ways beyond comprehension. David Melms has seen growth in them over the past few months: “Steven embodies how a Christian can be humble and confident. His favorite phrase is 'Jazz me up,' and it points to how he has a genuine, contagious passion for people and Jesus. He talks about the need for Jesus with people and strives to love them like Jesus because he knows it's his source of joy and hope. It's inspiring and challenging for me, too. Ben is faithful. He is a 'Barnabus' in the way he works hard and is essential to any team or community. The way Ben takes initiative is a powerful sign of his leadership.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ben and Steven have learned that God is pleased to answer prayer far beyond what they could ask for. Ben says, “Sometimes we feel as though our prayers go unheard, but we remember that God moves on his perfect timing and that each season we go through molds us in a certain way into the people we’re supposed to be.
God is at work.
Even now.
Without a doubt, God is at work.
Connect with us:
Subscribe to Blog:
