“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays in on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:4-5) This verse expresses God’s zeal to seek out an individual who is lost or bound in some way.
Pastor Bill, Kathy Spaulding, Lewis Wright, and I recently returned from a profoundly fruitful mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico. We offered inner healing teachings, training, one-on-one sessions, prayer, and/or prophetic words for roughly 338 people between the 4 of us in 6 days. I often found myself thinking, “This trip was worth it for this one.” As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one on our team experiencing this thought. Here are a few of the encounters:
One woman who had returned to the ministry base was struggling with not wanting to be there. Her husband was all in, but her resentful feelings caused her to keep everyone at arm's length. By the end of our conversation and prayer time, God had given her motivation and purpose for this season of her life in Reynosa. I saw an immediate change in her. She began smiling and opening her heart to connect with people. She had no intention of seeking out prayer that night, but God initiated it. At one point I turned to her and heard God say, “her turn.”
One woman went from recoiling in anger at Bill’s prayerful touch on her shoulder to taking his hands to pray by the end of their ministry session. As he discovered through the interpreter, she had been abused by a male pastor. Bill spoke compassionately toward her, shared how a pastor is supposed to treat people, apologized to her on behalf of that pastor, invited her into freedom, and offered his hands if she was comfortable to try again. She was timidly and happily restored.
One man who was visibly hungry for God was eyeing Lewis as he prayed for another person. Lewis perceived his hunger and began to minister to him. The words of knowledge and prophecy kept flowing and God ministered to this man well into Lewis’ lunch break. (Don’t worry, Lewis still had time to eat the delicious Mexican food.)
Kathy’s testimony radically impacted many people. One girl shared she had been consumed with shame from what happened to her and had sought love through sexual relationships. God gave her the truth that she is His daughter, a princess, and her love is priceless. He invited her to receive His love and said He would send her someone who would realize she is a treasure.
Spreading the kingdom of heaven on earth often looks like sharing God’s love and intentionality to one person at a time. The next time you minister to someone on behalf of the Lord, you just may find yourself saying: “It was worth it for this one”.