The blond-haired man carefully placed in the seat pocket in front the tract I had just given him. My heart sank as I thought, He will probably leave it on the plane and miss the exciting message it contains. Perhaps he believed I did not notice as he slipped it behind the airline magazine. Would he be interested and perhaps read it later? Oh, I hope so!
Probably in his late 30’s, Eric described himself as a Dutchman on his way back home from a conference. My husband, Jim, sat on my left and Eric on my right by the window as we soared through the air toward Amsterdam’s airport.
Jim and I introduced ourselves to Eric when we boarded, and I felt prompted to say a few words to him. We had been ministry partners for “The Singing Men of Texas” who presented concerts in standing-room-only venues for ten days in the Ukraine, from Kiev to Odessa. After the concerts, an evangelist’s stirring gospel message reached the attendees’ hearts and a total of 4,500 chose to follow Christ! With the excitement of that experience fresh in mind, I silently prayed and asked God to help me convey His love to the young Dutchman.
So, I told Eric about our mission and gave him the tract, So What Happens Next, that explained the plan of salvation. Eric seemed reserved and uninterested. After a few miles of silence, I asked, “Are you a teacher?” His blue eyes brightened as he said, “Well, no, I’m not a teacher I’m a scientist,” he paused and then added, “But sometimes I teach.” Then he returned to his reading and that was the extent of our conversation.
As our plane neared the airport, I began to pray in my heart, Lord, please prompt him to take the tract and read it. Please don’t let him leave it on the plane. May he be touched by Your love and the offer to forgive his sins and provide peace and joy through Christ.
What a thrill I felt when just as the plane landed, Eric reached behind the airline magazine, took the tract, and placed it in his briefcase. I felt a sigh of relief and a surge of exhilaration as I knew God had answered my prayer that he would take the tract.
Although this is only a small example of “praying in your heart” it reminded me of Abraham’s servant who traveled to his master’s native land to find a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. The servant had prayed God would grant him success by showing him the young lady who would give him a drink and then offer to water the camels, too. Genesis 24: 45-46 explains that is exactly what happened! The remaining verses further describe the servant’s successful mission and the beautiful union of Isaac and Rebekah.
One of the joys of abiding in Christ is the privilege of praying. We don’t always have to pray aloud, be on our knees, have our eyes closed, or our faces lifted to heaven. God knows, and he hears when we pray in our heart. We are asked to be faithful but only He can make our plans succeed.