November 18

Compassion

Aching for the Lost

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view,
be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:18 (NASB)

Laughter drifted out the door of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Mdantsane
(m-dant-SAH-nay) township, South Africa. As the Baptist women’s
group shared what Jesus had done in their lives, their faces glowed
with joy.

During the testimonies, Lydia came to me with her hands across
her abdomen. She said, “My stomach is in pain.” Lydia winced, grabbed
her stomach again and continued speaking. “We are sitting here in our
church having a great talk about Jesus,” she said. “But in this neighborhood,
many are in darkness without Jesus. The Holy Spirit is causing
my stomach to ache for these people. We must go out there and share
with them.”

I was amazed to hear a simple confession of hurt for the lost. I had
taught the women about prayerwalking, and now they wanted to go out
into the streets and dirt paths to do it!

These women didn’t just walk along the dusty road praying. They
sang songs and witnessed loudly to anyone who was within hearing distance!
God gave them an open door to give those in darkness the Light.
When we returned, we prayed and wept over the lost souls within rockthrowing
distance of our church and asked Jesus to save them.

This newfound compassion for the lost all started because a beautiful
Xhosa (KOH-sah) woman listened to her stomach, alerting her to
the Holy Spirit speaking. When the Lord shows up, He causes such a
disturbance within us that we must go wherever the darkness is and
give the glorious light.

—Linda, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa

Father, cause me to ache for the lost around me and those throughout the
world. Give me the same passion as this African woman who is willing to go out
into the streets and dirt paths to share Jesus. Amen.

Next day