Matthew 18:19

We shared earlier this week about how good last Sunday was in our house as we worshipped for the last time with João and Clarice. 

I'd like to share something that the Spirit did that made that day even more special. 

Last Friday my girlfriend and I went to a little store to find some paper products (labels, etc.) for the bazaar that we did this week and for the one we will do next weekend. 

While we were there we bought a little notebook. We wanted to buy it to use for a prayer journal.

I'd like to say that it's because we have always had one, and we pray daily using our book. 

The truth is we bought it to help us become more prayerful. More persistent in our prayers. 

It's very easy for me to say I will pray for someone, and very easy for me to forget to do it. 

We wanted the book to remind us to do what we've told people we would do. 

Anyway, we bought the book on Friday. 

On Saturday morning I woke up and began to write some things in the book. One of the first things I wrote was for one of our brothers that is a part of our house church, but who hasn't been with us on Sunday in a long time. 

My girlfriend and I don't believe that Sundays are the most important part of our Christian walk. It's important, but not any more important than our mid week bible study, or a cook out, or one on one time or going out to eat together, or going to a movie, etc. God can use any setting to be church. 

So it wasn't like we were the house church police going after a "lost soul." Our brother made a commitment to Christ and we know he will be in heaven with us. But we also know that our house church misses something important when this brother is not with us. He's special to our house church. 

We are family and our family was missing a member. 

Over the last few weeks we have all called him and either got an answering machine or no answer at all. It's been a little frustrating, but everyone has kept trying to get in touch with him. 

Anyway, I wrote his name down in our book Saturday morning and prayed for him to want to come back to his house church family. 

Sunday morning came and it was time for house church. The door bell rang. Who was the first person I saw? Our brother. 

I was amazed. I immediately shared with him that we were talking about him the previous day. 

Leni arrived later. She saw our brother and smiled. She told me she felt led to call him the day before and tell him he needed to be with his house church family again. 

I told her about the book and how I had put his name in the book the day before.....the same day she felt led to call him. 

We both talked about how God was definitely working through both of us and how cool it was that the one didn't know what the other was doing but that it happened within a few hours of each other. 

As Leni sat next to him in house church, she began to share with the group what happened the day before and how the Spirit had us on the same page. 

I love it when God is so obviously working. I'm ashamed at my lack of faith at times. He acted in one day in something I thought would take much longer. 

I'm no Bible scholar but I do know that God doesn't make mistakes, and that when He says something He means it. I thought of that today as I thought of the following verse. 

"When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action."


Matthew 18:19