God Moments

As we wrap up week nine of the Youth Development and Mentoring program (YDM) we are very happy with how the students are doing. One of the highlights for me was on Wednesday when we were preparing for some discipleship review. As I walked into the classroom the students were talking about something so I asked what was going on.  Several looked at one of the girls and said, “You need to tell Mr. Duran what is going on.”

She told me that she was having sharp pains and that she may need surgery.  It sounded serious, so I asked for volunteers to pray for her. You could have heard a pin drop. When I pressed them for a volunteer some said they did not know how to pray.

I knew at that moment - we were not going to be doing review. I asked each student to get a blank sheet of paper and to write ten things they were thankful for. Some were able to list ten things right away, but others struggled. Next they were asked to write down five things they needed. Lastly I asked them to write down the first names of five people they knew who were not saved.

I told them they had to pray by themselves using their list as a guide for five minutes. They were to give thanks for the things they were thankful for; they were to pray for God’s will for their needs; and they were to pray for the five people that have not made a commitment to Christ.

Walking around the room watching and praying over them I noticed only two out of 13 had no problem praying for five minutes.  I next instructed them to get into groups of 3-4 and share one of their prayer needs. Each had to pray out loud for that person. I gave them 15 minutes to pray and the looks on their faces were priceless. Pray for 15 minutes? How? There is no way!

We were standing in one of those God moments . Catherine and I walked around the room praying over them as they prayed for each other. Almost 30 minutes later I had to stop them so we could continue our studies.  When I told them how long they had prayed they were all shocked. Asked how they felt after praying, they all responded that it was great and that they felt much better.  It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

What an incredible moment. To witness God working in and through them was like getting a glimpse of heaven on earth. Fears were overcome, doubt was replaced with confidence and the enemy who had his clutches on them was defeated in prayer that day! It was so amazing ... and we got to be a part of it.