One of the ministries we try to provide during all of our short and long term trips is ATL. No, it does not stand for Atlanta, but rather “Ask the Lord.” It is a phrase we use in the Adventures community a lot. All it really means is we want you to sit still and take the time to listen to what the Lord has to say in your life.
Honestly it is my favorite part of the week because I never know what the Lord has planned for the group that day. For me teaching ATL ministry is all about making the space for people the begin to recognize the Lord’s voice in their life.
He wants to talk to all of us. We are his children. Like I tell the participants, in order to build a relationship with God we have to stop our talking and listen to him speak. It is like building any other relationship. If I don’t ever stop talking to you and let you talk I will never get to know you to build a relationship. It is no different with the Lord.
I always come in expecting the Lord to do things during this ministry time. My participants, however, are sometimes a little more skeptical. But then they get to witness stories like the one below and you begin to see their skepticism turn into belief.
The following is the account of one of our group leaders from this week’s trip. Victoria is the worship leader at Providence Presbyterian in Hilton Head, SC. She knew the Lord spoke to her, and knew what his voice sounded like in her life. However, she wasn’t expecting to break the chains of depression off a complete stranger in Downtown Nashville.
During my experience of ATL ministry, the Lord gave me some details about where our group should go and who He would have me to pray for. While praying beforehand, I felt strongly that we should go to the downtown Nashville area and that I needed to pray for a female young adult with dark hair, a thin build, and wearing a tank top. The Lord told me that this person would remind me of another girl that I know, and He told me I would break chains of depression off of her through prayer.
After more confirmation from others in our group, we decided that we needed to go the downtown area of Nashville. As we were walking and looking for signs from God, we decided to stop at a place that looked like somewhere that another team member had seen in her prayer time. As we were looking for people to pray for and asking God for direction, He showed me the girl that He had told me about earlier in my prayer time. She was standing a distance from us on the same sidewalk and began walking in our direction. She was with her parents, and as they all got closer to us, my heart began to burn with conviction. I knew she was the one God had told me about.
Right as this girl and her parents walked passed us I stepped out and approached them. As I began talking to the young girl, the weight of God’s love for her was so overwhelming that I began to cry. I asked if I could pray with her for anything specifically, and she said, “No, but I can always use prayer.” So I laid my hand on her and began to pray, asking God to show her the depths of His love in a way that she had never known. Then I asked Him to heal her and break off any form of depression that might have been keeping her from knowing the fullness of His love and joy in the name of Jesus Christ – the One who had died to set her free. She began to cry underneath her sunglasses as I prayed this over her, and I know that the Lord showed His love for her in a mighty way in that moment.
So even though it may not be obvious that people are struggling with feelings of depression or hopelessness, they still need help, and they are still hurting. This girl looked happy on the outside and seemed to have it all together, but God saw inside her heart and directed me to pray for her hidden wounds of depression. I praise Him for giving me this opportunity to partner with Him in His healing power and showing me a specific person who needed prayer. I want to live my life like this every day, asking Him to show me specific people that He wants to touch and heal through me; I know He will give me the guidance and boldness to bring His kingdom to earth if I only ask and obey Him.
