When God Calls, Say YES
By Luann Prater
“The Lord said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'” Exodus 4:11-12 NIV
I’m not qualified,
I thought, as I heard them say,
Luann, our station is missing a female perspective and we would like you to prayerfully consider doing a show for women.
A stun gun could have produced a more lively response. Did they really mean me? I looked around to see if there was someone else in the room. I agreed to prayerfully consider it.
I’m not qualified,
echoed in my head then burrowed into my heart.
Have you been there? Has a God-sized challenge ever stepped into your life and your first response was, huh? Me? You sure about that God? Take heart, one of the Bible greats shared our angst in Exodus 3:11,
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” NIV
My heart felt compelled to read and reread the Moses story.
Sometimes we just aren’t sure God is behind that burning bush or in that opportunity. We think He must have someone better in mind for the job. Moses argued with God. He couldn’t see the God-sized vision ahead so he repeated those two words that sound so familiar, ‘what if.’ What if I bite this off and then fail? Moses kept telling God all the reasons why he was not qualified. And God kept reassuring him. Moses needed confirmation.
Prayer is our conversation time with God. Maybe you think of prayer as a formal ritual but God says, bring your cares to me. Tell me what worries you. I hear you. I see you. As I left the radio station I prayed,
Lord, If this is Your will, make it clear to me. You know my life is packed. How could I jam one more thing into it? I’m sure there are more qualified people who would jump at this chance. Lord, I need confirmation.
I told my husband. He looked me square in the eyes and said,
You didn’t open this door, God did. Walk through it.
The next morning at church I told my pastor, he replied,
You said “yes” didn’t you Prater? You didn’t open this door, God did, walk through it.
On Monday I called Lysa, our Proverbs 31 Ministries president because I wanted to be in line with the direction and calling of our ministry. She said,
Luann, this is an answer to prayer. We have been asking God to provide new opportunities for all of our speakers. You didn’t open this door, God did.
The confirmation was clear. My mind still raced with questions,
How? Who? What? When?
As I prayed about these anxious thoughts, God never showed me the entire road ahead, just the next step. He clearly laid it on my heart to first gather a group of ladies who would walk this journey with me. I sent an email to women across the country to prayerfully consider joining the adventure.
At our first meeting, I told the ladies I had been praying that God would lay it on their hearts to know where they fit into this project. One by one, He placed just the right folks in key positions on the team. Sweet, soft-spoken Ramona whispered that God had laid it on her heart to be my Aaron. Holy goosebumps trickled down my arms. Had she been camped out in my head or did God really orchestrate her to relate the same Bible characters to me?
One by one, steps of obedience followed intense times of prayer and fasting.
When faced with an overwhelming challenge that only God could accomplish, break it down into bite-size pieces.
Develop a list that can be taken in stages.
Ask yourself reporter type questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Enlist others to pray and help.
Delegate – recognize when to engage someone gifted in the areas where you are weak.
Bathe each task in prayer.
Then march victoriously through the stages one at a time, knowing if God called you, He will guide you.
I won’t tell you it was easy, sometimes it was tough! But God delivered the answers whenever we asked. He will never force His way into our plans but He is faithful to come alongside us when we call. He is a full-time Father who walks with us.
One by one the pieces came together and today we are on the air every week sharing life with women across the country. Who knew? Only God.
God didn’t ask to check the list of my qualifications. He didn’t expect me to have the answers. He was qualified. He had the answers. Did I trust Him?
Where is God leading you? Simply take the first step of obedience when He says, “Go.” Read the book of Exodus and the full story of Moses and let it speak to you.
Father, Thank You for choosing us and for adopting us into Your kingdom. Thank You for equipping us with the talents needed to serve You. And thank You for believing in us and for coming alongside us, providing us with everything that we could possibly need in order to serve You and to bring glory to You in all that You do. You are such an amazing God and we LOVE YOU. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
For more encouragement, visit http://www.luannprater.com/.
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