Connor tells of the time when he and Tim Waller travelled with some friends to Brighton for a week, to spend some time listening to God. They felt that God speaks to us, can use us, and works through us in His power when we make ourselves available to Him. So, the group of friends spent the week in Brighton praying, having times of worship, listening to God, and showing people God’s love.
An incident that occurred during the week demonstrates how God really knows and cares about us whether or not we know Him. On one of the days they went to Newhaven, where they gave out chocolates and prayed for people they met. They went into a pub for a drink, and felt God telling them to give a chocolate bar to the barmaid.
So they went up to the bar, explained that they were Christians, gave her the chocolate bar and asked if they could talk to her and pray for her. She was much encouraged by this. It turned out she was a single mum raising a son, but was struggling to get enough money together to get him a birthday present. It was really nice to just be able to bless someone, encourage them and tell them that God loves them. It may be that was the first time she’d ever heard that.
Later that day, Chris, one of the group, felt that God was saying they should give Chelsea, the lady they had met, a gift of £50. Although Chris didn’t have any money, he checked his bank account before they went to get a takeaway, and discovered that an unexpected payment of £50 had been received, at almost the same moment as he had had the idea of the gift. This was payment from a church for something several weeks previously.
Faced with such an amazing coincidence, the friends forgot about getting a takeaway, and drove straight back to the pub in Newhaven to give Chelsea what they called a random gift of £50. They described the coincidence that had occurred, explained that God loved her, and gave her the cash. Chelsea responded by telling the how much she really needed it just to be able to buy her son some presents for his birthday.
This story shows us how much God cares for us, and how he can use us when we’re willing and able to bless others, like helping this single mum celebrate her son’s birthday. This really encouraged Chelsea, and also encouraged Connor and his friends to realise that God cares about the little things like that.
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