One day, I was driving from the west end of the city, to the east end. Suddenly, I felt the Lord say, “Stop. There is something you need to do.” So I stopped my car on the road, and took out a pen and a paper, which I had in the car, and decided to make a list of all of the things I could think of, that I might possibly need to do.

I carefully wrote the numbers 1 through 5, each on separate lines. I thought to myself, “I will write down the first five things that come to mind. I’m pretty sure that whatever it is the Lord wants me to do, it will be on that list — and surely within the first 5 things that come to mind.”

Well, I had enough faith for that, so I proceeded to jot down items on each line, starting with line 1.

1. Oil Change.

I knew I needed an oil change. I had needed one for quite some time, and had been putting it off. Then, I jotted down two other things that came to mind. I could only think of three things in all, so lines 4 and 5 were left blank!

As I stared at those three “TODO” items, I said to myself, “OK. I need an oil change. Let’s start with that.” The Lord did not at all seem to be grieved by this, so I proceeded to think about the most efficient way by which I might obtain an oil change.

Where could I go?

There were dozens of places I could go to in the city, but only one that I really liked. I wanted to go where Ghasan was, because I trusted him. He was a good man, who had done work on my car before. I knew where he worked — or at least, I thought I knew where he worked.

I said to the Lord, “All right, Lord. I’m going to call up that place. And if they can take me right away, without any delay, I will go there. But if not, I will not go there. I will go to the other place.”

Now the other place was much further down the road, about another 10km west of there. It was a branch garage of the place where Ghasan worked. I had been there, as well. But I really preferred to go where Ghasan was.

I called up the place nearest to me, where Ghasan worked. I said, “Would it be possible to get an oil change?”

The woman replied, “No problem. We can schedule you in for tomorrow.”

I said, “Can you take me right now, by any chance? I really need it right away.”

She said, “No, I’m sorry. We’re all booked.”

I said, “OK. I’ll try your other garage down the road.”

She said, “OK.”

Thus it was that this is how I ended up calling the second place on the list, and exercising the same requirement — namely, they had to be willing to take me right away. I called them.

“Would it be possible to get an oil change?”

“Sure,” was the reply.

“Can I get one right now?” I asked.

“Yes, we actually have an opening right now, if you come right away.”

I was off in a flash.

I brought my car in for the oil change and left it with them for about an hour, as I wandered off to buy a few items at the local supermarket. After about an hour, I made my way back to the automotive shop, because it was now getting late, and the automotive shop would soon be closing. I made it back shortly before closing. Yes, the oil change had been done, and — look at that — there was my friend Ghasan!

I didn’t realize that Ghasan was working at this particular automotive shop! That was a real surprise. I had thought he was working at the other one, 10km east of there.

Well, he had. But he switched!

The Lord knew, but I didn’t! What a pleasant surprise!

It was now closing time, and Ghasan and I struck up a conversation. There was much to discuss. Should we just leave it entirely and go our separate ways? Not a chance! Ghasan and I decided to talk in my car, for several hours.

We talked, and we prayed, and we discussed issues that were important to him. We certainly found ourselves in no rush, for I had not seen him in months, and it was time to catch up on the news.

The news was, Ghasan had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Ghasan and I prayed, in faith, believing for God to heal the prostate cancer.

We prayed, and we prayed, and we prayed. We just kept praying, until there were no more prayers left! We left no stone unturned, and made sure that anything that needed to be prayed for, regarding his health, was covered. After several hours of praying, the burden was finally lifted. There was a sense of God’s peace and favor. Ghasan no longer needed to worry; because God had heard the prayers.

But had God really heard the prayers? Yes, because the report came back later saying that Ghasan was healed! The cancer disappeared from his body.

Then, I also remembered the dream I had that same morning. That morning, I had had a dream that I went on a certain path, looking for something, but could not find it where I expected to find it, only to get back on the path, and find it at another location.

Wow, that dream had been from God. So God was actually telling me through the dream that this was going to happen on that day, but I did not perceive it. I did not understand the dream until it had come to pass.

And to think, God allowed me to write down the “Top 3” items on that piece of paper, and to pick from there what it was that I was going to do that day. Why did God not simply “tell” me where to go? I think the answer to that is, “It is too easy.” Faith does not work that way (often). Often, God is working in approving us, and testing us, in the midst of the journey. And there is a reason for that. The Bible says,

“Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Thus, one of the prerequisites for doing anything with the Lord, is that we must have some faith (it might be small, but God can even do miracles with faith the size of a very small mustard seed, see Matthew 17:20).

Thus, I did what I could that day. When I heard the Lord speaking to me, I immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road, and stopped what I was doing. Although I did not discern any other direct intervention (in the same way that he had told me that there was something I needed to do), he nevertheless was still there, leading me and guiding me. This is somewhat a matter of experience, but when the Lord says you need to do something, that “something” is within reach. If he’s not telling you directly what it is that needs to be done, then it’s because you know it already, and he is urging you to use some common sense at that point. It really does work that way often with the Lord. You do not need supernatural revelation for everything. But you will get it for certain things.

Other areas where supernatural revelation was pouring in, was certainly during our prayer time. I also spoke in “tongues” during that time, and God was clearly guiding us and leading us, during that extended prayer time.

Thus, if you examined the dream, and what happened, inasmuch as it came true, and the fact that Ghasan was at the second automotive shop, and not the first, and the resultant conversation, then it is very easy to see that God was in this one 100%.

Finally, I would like to share with you the testimony of Ghasan himself, which he penned himself one day. From this point forward, this is Ghasan’s testimony!

“IF YOU WILL ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I WILL DO IT.” (John 14:14)

And so ends Ghasan’s personal testimony. Praise the Lord, this man is healed, because of a single word that God gave to me on that day.

“Stop. There is something you need to do.”

It was a simple word to be obeyed.

What can God do through a simple act of obedience in your life? Ask him to use you. He wants to, and will, if you will apply yourself to being sensitive to his voice.

There is certainly a learning curve involved, in doing this, and you will make mistakes, from time to time, and perhaps even misinterpret what God is saying. Nevertheless, if you apply yourself, and make it your aim to please him, he will guide you along the way, with the result that many lives will be touched.

How then do you start?

1. First, start by getting involved in a good church that believes in hearing God’s voice and in God’s desire to heal today. There, you can get encouraged and built up in your faith. Be sure to get involved in a home group, or weekly Bible study, where you can receive support, encouragement, teaching, and prayer / personal ministry.

2. Second, apply yourself to studying and knowing God’s word, the Bible, and to prayer. God will guide you and direct you as you read his word. Pray regularly, according to his word.

3. Keep your heart pure! To help you do that, which will help you to hear his voice, please read Spiritual Report Card at revivalfire.ca/spiritual-report-card.

4. Be proactive! You don’t actually need to wait for God to say anything before you start to do something. He has already commanded you to go out and reach the lost!

He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

To help you in this task, please read The Call to Evangelize at revivalfire.ca/the-call-to-evangelize. As you take steps to obey him in this area, expect him to meet you in other areas, as well. For example, as you demonstrate your faithfulness to God in intentional outreach (which he has already commanded you to do, so there is no excuse), you can fully expect him to then be willing to meet you in unintentional outreach (which happened with Ghasan). These two work together, and are absolutely critical to understand. If you want to read a good example of both intentional and unintentional outreach, please read The Destitute Woman, at revivalfire.ca/the-destitute-woman. In this case, God moved in unprecedented ways following a very short time of intentional outreach on the bus. You may also wish to read Operating in Genuine Spiritual Authority (a multipart series), available at revivalfire.ca.

5. Finally, start obeying God when you hear his voice. If you are not sure, test and see if it is of God! It certainly didn’t hurt for me to write down a list of things I needed to do that day! What harm did it cause? And the peace of God was ruling in my heart (see Colossians 3:15), so it was a “win/win” situation!

If you honestly follow these five steps, and are diligent in applying them, God will begin to do things that you had not thought possible.

Step out in faith — and reach someone today.

Photo credit: Ghasan Eldik