On a Train in Germany, I Asked the Lord to Use Me. The Result of That Prayer Changed Lives.
Christopher, California, USA
[As told to founder and editor Adira Polite]
While visiting Germany in 2008, I saw God move in a massive way. All day, I’d been asking God to use me to reach a lost soul. At the time, the only German phrases I knew were “God bless you” and “Jesus loves you.” So, I’d been saying this to people all day. Most people ignored me, but I was determined. I just knew that someone needed to hear it. And sure enough, someone did.
While on the train later in the day, I felt called to speak to a particular man. “God bless you, Jesus loves you,” I said. “What? What did you say?” he asked, clearly in shock. When I repeated myself, he broke down in tears. In English, he cried, “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it.” He then told me that he’d been planning to throw himself off of the train.
In what he thought were his final moments, he’d told God, “If you exist, send me a sign. If you love me, tell me.” And here I was, telling him exactly that. Because he spoke English, I was able to share the Gospel with him and comfort him as best as I could. When we got to his stop, I walked him home.
Of course, I thought about him long after our chance encounter. So when I returned to Germany in 2017, I tried to track him down. I found my way back to the place where I’d dropped him off in 2008 and asked around. When I told a few people the train story, they knew exactly who I was talking about. They directed me to a church. I arrived to find the church totally empty. I sat down in a pew and soon after, a guy walked in. “Hi, how can I help you?” he asked. Before I could answer, we recognized each other! The broken, suicidal man I met on that train is now a pastor.
Had I doubted the mission God laid on my heart back in 2008, that man’s story would have a very different ending. Church, do not ignore or doubt God’s calling on your life. Do not get distracted by the ways and opinions of the world. I promise, there is no greater activity or purpose on earth than leading His people back home.
“Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” -Matthew 4:19