This last Sunday, the person who was leading the church gathering asked me to pray to finish our time, to finish our meeting together. I did so, asking for the Holy Spirit’s help in walking out, in putting into practice what we had learned from the scriptures that we had read that day.

As I finished praying there in the midst of our small group, a man across the circle from me began to speak out loud, praying to God from the depths of his heart:

God, I am a sinner. I have committed many sins… I pray that you will forgive me!

This man is more than 80 years old, the father of one of our most faithful workers. He is a proud man who has accomplished much in his life, who had it all whether it be houses or cars or more, but who was now here asking God for forgiveness.

I couldn’t help but look up and as I did I saw tears in the eyes of the man who was praying and in the eyes of the worker whose father was praying. It was a moment for which we had prayed would come to pass now for many years, and now God had broken through to his heart.

This man is actually also quite sick and is asking God for help in his physical body. We are praying that God will do this work within him, but even if he does not, we are thankful that he has taken steps toward Christ, humbling himself in repentance, looking into the future for an eternal life submitting his life to that which God wants to do with him yet.