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| Abigail and me at my office desk |
Abigail’s luminous eyes
scanned my bulletin board, eagerly seeking just the right choice. I said a
silent prayer that she would be drawn to the photos of the little girls, but
that request was not answered. “That one,” she said, with certainty. “I want that one.”
Abigail is five years old,
the only daughter of dear friends of mine. The family recently visited us from
North Carolina and they stopped by my office at Evangelism Resources to learn
more about our mission. I explained several aspects of ministry, but
immediately upon entering my office, Abigail was entranced by the photos of
Unreached People Groups (UPGs).
I took her into my lap,
showed her my computer monitor, and began telling her that there were many,
many people who had never heard about Jesus—they did not even know His name!
She had been wiggling, but suddenly her little body was still. She was thinking
about that news.
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| The flyer that caught Abigail's eye... |
Abigail has had the benefit
of being born into a godly home. She has been in church since she was a baby,
and probably does not remember a time when she did not know about Jesus. “Who
will tell them?” she asked, and my eyes started filling with tears. Even though
she was young, this child knew how to get to the heart of a matter.
I told her how brave friends
of mine were working hard to tell others about Jesus, in spite of the fact that
other people might hurt them for doing so. As I told her in the simplest terms
possible, it was clear to me that the concept is truly very simple: someone must
go. I told her that in my thinking the
best way was to train someone like them, from their own country, and then send
them with the gospel.
Evangelism Resources has
launched a plan to adopt 15 UPGs for prayer and intentional evangelism. I have
made flyers with information about the different groups, where they live, and
which of our Schools of Evangelism is trying to reach them. These are the
flyers on my bulletin board that Abigail was scrutinizing, and there was only
one group I truly did not want this five-year-old to choose—the Devadasi. I
simply hoped to avoid any awkward conversation with her to explain their
plight, given into sexual slavery as temple prostitutes.
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| Abigail makes her choice |
But Abigail would not be
deterred. She was choosing the Devadasi
and I bowed to her will. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was also bowing to
the will of God. Again I pulled her into my lap, and tried to tell her about
them. I know my voice quavered as I stammered to find the right words for her
innocent ears. Finally I said, “As little girls, these women are given to work
in the Hindu temples as slaves.” I dared
go no further, and my explanation seemed to satisfy her.
Later that night, Abigail’s
mother, Heather, was putting her to bed and they said evening prayers together.
Heather returned to us, looking a little shaken. When she was able to explain
what had happened, she said, “Abigail just prayed for the Devadasi, and you’ll
never guess what she asked.” “She asked that God would save the Devadasi, and
make it so they would not have to do the work they do.”
The room fell silent as we
considered the thought that a five-year-old could pray such a Spirit-led
prayer. The Word of God says that unless we become as little children we will
never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:2-4). One child-like quality I saw demonstrated
that night was the capacity of a child to open her heart to the Spirit of God
and pray for the lost, whether she understands all the details or not.
Just yesterday I got a text
message from Heather. While praying for the Devadasi, Abigail stopped abruptly
and said, “Mommy, someday I might just have to go to the Devadasi and tell them
they need to obey God’s laws.” Out of
the mouth of babes… Obviously, as she
prays, God is stirring Abigail’s heart for missions.
Evangelism Resources is still
recruiting prayer warriors for Unreached People Groups such as the Devadasi. If
you’d like to join the prayer team, which now includes little Abigail and her
parents, please send me an e-mail at: eroffice@qx.net. I’ll be happy to sign you up!
Coordinator of Communications
(name withheld)
(name withheld)
