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Oct 27, 2024 | by The Fellowship

While sitting in a group of people some time ago and listening to the conversation, the subject of the Bible came up. One woman said she thought it was nothing but a bunch of fairy tales.  I am a quiet person but wanted in that moment to defend God’s Word.  I knew there were verses that proclaimed all of it was inspired by God, but not being able to pinpoint what they were – I kept my mouth shut.  God convicted me in that moment to be ready the next time.  There is even a verse about that:  . . . Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect . . . 1 Peter 3:15

As a senior citizen, I knew that storing in my mind the exact words of Bible verses would be a challenge – but perhaps where they are found in the Scriptures would be possible for me.  After doing some research, I selected two verses and got busy memorizing their locations.  Now, I frequently check myself to make sure I do not forget.

I am blessed to live with my daughter and son-in-law.  During the Covid 19 epidemic, my son-in-law befriended a young, single man at his workplace.  Every few weeks this new friend was invited to come for dinner and a visit, so we all got to know him.

On one of those occasions after dinner, my daughter was talking one-on-one with our new friend. She brought up the subject of the Bible and asked what he thought about it.  “Well,” he said, “I do not know who wrote it and if it is really true.”

I happened to overhear their conversation, and something came over me.  I know it was the Holy Spirit convicting me that this was an opportunity I had been preparing for.  My Bible was close at hand, and I picked it up and went to join them.  After telling him about hearing his comment, I asked if I could read a couple of verses about the Bible.

He agreed and I shared my two verses with him:

2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness . . .   and 1 Peter 1: 21 – For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

I quickly excused myself so they could continue their conversation, but began praying that God would plant His Word in this man’s heart.  “Lord, please lead him to salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” I prayed.

A couple of weeks later on a Monday, the phone rang.  It was our new friend and he was very upset, asking for my daughter and me to pray for his father who had been hospitalized with Covid 19.  He was in ICU on a respirator and the outlook was very bleak.

My daughter and I immediately began to fervently plead with the Lord for this father’s healing. Things were touch and go for a while.  But before long, the son called back to report that his dad was out of ICU, off the respirator and expected to fully recover.  He also mentioned wanting to start going to church with his father!

I could not stop thanking the Lord for His mercy!  And for preparing and using me to speak His Word into this man’s life right before a crisis was about to descend on his family.

I have hidden your word in my heart . . . 
Psalm 119:11