If I suggested that Christians might be missing a key component to help lead people to Christ, would you tune in? I discovered a powerful avenue to lead people to Jesus. In fact, it is so painfully obvious that I can’t believe I’ve missed it over the years, but I’m not about to let you miss it!

Donilee is a dear friend of mine who attends my Sunday School Class. She is intelligent, engaging, humorous, and authentic. Once you meet her, you love her. Our connection was immediate. While she enjoyed my interactive bible studies, I enjoyed her honest questions and insights. I could tell by her questions she was seeking a belief system, and she was open to Christianity because Christians, “seem to be nice people.” She asked me if I would be willing to meet outside of class to explore Christianity, and I readily agreed.

We have been meeting for over a year, processing her questions over lunch at Luby’s. At a recent lunch, Donilee expressed frustration. She couldn’t understand why “it was so hard to find Jesus.” After all, she had been participating in two bible studies a week for the last six years and my Sunday school class for the last two years. She didn’t lack Bible knowledge, yet she was still an unbeliever. Her questions were more aggressive than usual.

“Why did God kill so many people in the Old Testament, yet one of his Ten Commandments is ‘Thou shall not kill?’”

I felt uncomfortable because I thought she was painting God as a harsh, wrathful, and unloving God.

“Donilee, if you read the Old Testament closely,” I said, “you’ll see that the majority of times when God killed a group of people, it was after He had given them warnings to repent of their wicked ways. God was dealing with stubborn people who wouldn’t do what He said. When He invited them to repent, they chose not to. So God, who is holy and just, delivered the consequences.”

“Why did God ‘command’ Samson to kill the Philistines?” Donilee pressed.

“I need to go back and re-read that story because something doesn’t feel right with the question.” I was feeling even more unsettled. “I don’t recall that God ‘commanded’ Samson to kill the Philistines. I’ll have to get back with you.”

Donilee had a few more questions that attempted to stain God’s reputation as a loving God. By the end of lunch I was frustrated. I took this conversation as a major setback. I had invested time with Donilee for a year, and we had made no progress. I thought maybe our time together had run its course. Donilee’s last question suggested that she was coming to the same conclusion.

“Are you still willing to meet with me for lunch?” She chuckled nervously. She seemed genuinely uncertain that I would continue our weekly lunches. Though she was trying to be light-hearted, I was irritated. But that last question and her nervous laughter gave me a crystallized picture of what was happening. I realized that the enemy was using Donilee to taunt me, though she was unaware of it. The enemy wanted me to walk away from Donilee in my frustration. I should have recognized this sooner during our lunch. I have observed a pattern with Donilee over the last year. The closer she drew to Jesus, the greater the enemy worked to create confusion and doubt about God’s love for her. We said our goodbyes, and as I was driving back to the office, I knew something had to change. Something in the way we were spending our time together wasn’t working.

I was determined not to give up on her, but I also needed to protect myself from misrepresenting God in any way. I prayed for God’s help, and He brought to mind the book of Job to help set boundaries with her. I wrote her an email with the biblical support for how I would deal with her questions going forward. The key ideas were as follows:

• “I am not God, so I can’t tell you what He was thinking when He decided to do x, unless it is explicitly stated in Scripture.”
• “Per Job 38-41, we are not the ones who get to ask the questions! God will ask the questions, unless you can say you hung the stars, created the universe, etc. He told Job to ‘Brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me.’” (Job 38:3)
• “I am not willing to make the mistake Job and his friends made. God says in Job 40:4, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right.’”
• “Any bible questions need to have a specific Scripture reference to make sure God’s word is not being misstated or taken out of context.”

Finally, I asked her to start meeting with me in a more private setting.

“Donilee, I want to introduce you to Jesus.” I said, “I want you to experience a personal relationship with Him. I want to help you pray to Jesus what is on your heart. He wants you to seek Him with all your heart, and you have been seeking Him with your head. What this means is that you will pray out loud, and I will follow by praying in agreement with you. It won’t be Lee Ann praying “for” Donilee. My goal is to facilitate your direct connection with Jesus.” I suggested we start a prayer journal to record her prayer requests and start recording God’s answers.

This was a huge ask. She admitted that praying directly to Jesus caused her fear and anxiety. And she knew that our mentoring relationship was either going to move forward in a new way or stall out. Donilee rounded up every ounce of courage she had and showed up at my office. With our prayer journals in hand, we started recording where she needed God’s help in her life. She had nine major prayer requests to present to Jesus. I asked her to be herself and to talk to Him like she talks to me. I was thrilled that right then and there she did it! She prayed several sentences for each prayer request with a humble and transparent heart before God. I followed her lead and prayed in agreement for each request she made.

Before we parted ways, I asked her how she felt.

“I feel calm,” she said. “I haven’t felt this calm in years.” I was ecstatic.

“Donilee, you are in the presence of Jesus. He is here. He is the Prince of Peace. You are experiencing what the Bible describes as ‘peace that surpasses all human understanding that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’” I knew this was real because earlier, when she first arrived at my office, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I hope I still feel this when I leave,” she said when it was time to go. I told her I would pray to that end. I also encouraged her to be patient as God will answer her prayers in His way and in His perfect time. I didn’t want her to be discouraged or disillusioned in any way.

The following week was a spiritual adrenalin rush for both of us. Donilee alternated between texts and emails almost daily expressing her amazement about how calm she felt. It was a new reality for her, so I kept thanking God for making His peaceful presence known to her. I was excited for Donilee because God delivered on His promise that those who seek Him will find Him.

Donilee was bubbling over with excitement at our next meeting. Not only was she feeling His peace, but God answered a couple of her prayers! What she didn’t realize until we opened our prayer journals was that God had answered all nine of her prayers! God showed up in such a powerful and compelling way that Donilee knew there was no turning back. She experienced the personal connection with God she had always wanted. God heard her prayers, and He answered them. We spent our second prayer meeting thanking God for answering her prayers. We could only marvel at the grace and mercy He was showing her.

A few days after our second prayer meeting, Donilee sent me an email. She was ready to become a member of what she called “the Jesus Club.” Donilee decided to include her two closest friends who shared Jesus with her for many years. The four of us gathered the hour before our Sunday School class began. She was ready to be a Christ follower. In her prayer to God she admitted she was a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. She acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God who died on the cross to pay the penalty of her sins. She declared Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She asked Jesus to help her follow Him with the help of the Holy Spirit. On Sunday, April 7, 2013, at 10:00am, she became a member of the “Jesus Club.” Let me introduce you to my dear friend and new sister in Christ, Donilee Rinehart:

     I have been a Christian for 42 years, and it never occurred to me to create a safe place for a lost person to talk directly to Jesus. I have prayed over lost people in their presence. I continue to pray for lost persons as part of my prayer life. I have talked to lost people about Jesus. I have led people to Jesus because they were ready. I have pointed people to His Word. I have taught God’s word to help unbelievers discover Jesus. I have trained Christians to share their faith. How the Spirit led me was not in any of the training materials. Now I am wondering how many others you and I could have introduced to Christ had we thought of this years ago.

Donilee and I are enjoying a new level of friendship as sisters in Christ. She’s ready to grow as a new believer. We are filling up our prayer journals and marveling at how God is already at work in her heart. She is excited about serving God. We ask God to show her where He needs her, and He is faithful to answer. She has discovered the power of prayer and how the Holy Spirit moves in those whose hearts are open to Him.

There is more to this story. I look forward to sharing in my next post one of Donilee’s answered prayers, which was instrumental in helping Donilee make her decision for Christ.

     If God has placed individuals in your life who are genuinely seeking Christ, would you consider creating a safe place for them to pray directly to Jesus? If you have already discovered this avenue of leading people to Christ, please share your story!

Note: This post is being written with the permission and blessing of Donilee Rinehart.

Blessings,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Lee Ann