Three years ago, I gave my then 11-year-old grandson a Youth Testament as he was just starting out in secondary school. I knew that his new school, a government institution in our area, had previously declined to allow Gideon presentations, and so with this in mind I ensured he had access to the Word of God. I prayed many times for his salvation and the salvation of his father.
A few weeks ago, my grandson was staying with us as his father was away. We were heading off to church and we asked him what he wanted to do. His reply was immediate, “I want to go to church with you.”
That first Sunday sitting alongside my grandson at church sparked thoughts about how God was at work in him. He took notes on the sermon without being prompted and was singing the worship songs. When I gave him my phone with The Gideons Bible App open, he told me that he had already downloaded it.
My grandson was enthusiastic about going to church, so we arranged to make the 60km round trip to ensure he got there every week, and this is where, in the power of the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened.
“As we were praying for his salvation since giving him his Youth Testament, the Holy Spirit was at work in his life. God did the work.”
Following the service on one Sunday, I decided that the time was right to witness to my grandson. It was clear he wanted to be in church with us. We opened the Bible together and what happened next astounded me. This is a witnessing experience I will remember for ever. Every verse he was directed to read, he read aloud and explained the meaning without fault. I even asked him at one point if he knew what the gospel was and his reply was, “Jesus died for my sins, he was buried and rose again on the third day and is now with His Father in heaven.” We prayed together and he accepted Christ.
On the way home he told his grandmother that he had been reading the helps in the front of the Youth Testament when he was going through some difficult times in his young life. Those helps pages and what he was directed to read, led him to pray the sinner’s prayer in the back of the Testament.
As we were praying for his salvation since giving him his Youth Testament, the Holy Spirit was at work in his life. God did the work. All we did was to be attuned to the Holy Spirit and the call to be witnesses.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” – John 6:44 (ESV)