“Listen well to the voice of the Lord your God. Do what is right in His eyes. Listen to what He tells you, and obey all His Laws. If you do this, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord Who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26 NIV)

On Friday I told the story of how God had placed me in a new school, and then taken away the only way I knew to witness: I was not allowed to have a Bible club! It was humbling, to say the least, to not be privy to what His plan for me at this new school was; until one day when He placed the desire in my heart to have a healing ministry at my school…

I was excited to begin; but I had no idea how to go about starting a healing ministry. Was I supposed to just go to random teachers and ask them if they need prayer? Somehow I knew that wasn’t right. I would have to wait until God showed me who I was to pray for. I began to pray that God would open the doors, and that I would be receptive to His voice of guidance.

Then one day, it happened. I was walking in the hallway near a classroom. There was no one about, except for one teacher. Feeling God’s impression that this lady needed prayer, I approached her and we struck up a friendly conversation.

We hadn’t been talking long when she began telling me about her daughter who was attending university in a nearby town. Apparently the girl was having problems with her ankles. Her mother was pushing her to go to the ER and have them x-rayed, fearing she might have broken something. Apparently her daughter had refused to go.

Wow. Had God just opened a door, or what?

I immediately asked her if she would object to me praying for her daughter’s healing, and when she agreed, I began doing just that. I prayed for her throughout the rest of the school day; I prayed on the drive home; I prayed in the evening and during my morning prayers; and I prayed on my way to school.

My fellow teacher was waiting for me when I got to school. “Rob!” she cried. “My daughter’s ankles are healed!”

“Praise God!” I exclaimed.

Her next words, however, bothered me, however: “Thank you so much. Your prayers healed her!”

“No,” I said, adamantly shaking my head. “Jesus is the healer, not me!”

She then broke into tears: “I would never be able to pray like that. You are so close to Jesus. He wouldn’t answer my prayers.”

For the next few minutes, we talked about Jesus, and I was able to share with her how profoundly Jesus cares and how much He loves both of them. I do not know what happened after this, for the opportunity to speak with this teacher privately never came up again. I determined to continue to pray for her, that she would come to understand that God doesn’t just answer my prayers, but He would answer hers as well. I prayed that she would receive a personal revelation of Jesus Christ and His love.

Through this experience I learned that when I rely on God, He will guide me. He will show me where He is softening a heart and opening a door. I may not ever be privy to the end of the story, but I felt good to know that I had at least played a role in God’s plan for this teacher.

What is God calling you to do? Whatever it is, be open to His Spirit, and be prepared to do only the small piece He has for you to do. When you do, you are partnering with God instead of trying to run the show yourself, and by surrendering to Him and submitting to His will, God can use you in His glorious plan!

He cares. He loves you. Remember that!

Rob Chaffart

(To view the entire “Lessons From the Classroom” devotional series, please click here.)