How do we get ready to talk to them about our faith? Before anything else we need to prepare our hearts for conversations about faith.
Mary Schaller says there are three arts to remember and cultivate when we are preparing to share our faith. These arts all take place before we talk or interact with others and help to open our hearts to the Lord’s guidance.
Noticing
“Noticing is seeing those around me and paying close attention to what God might be doing in their lives.”
Jesus was a master of noticing people. Because Jesus noticed Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, and the woman who touched his cloak the trajectory of their lives changed. Our job is to be on the lookout for opportunities.
“When we start noticing what God is doing all around us, in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our families, and in our communities, we’ll be astounded by how much we’ve been missing because we haven’t been cultivating that skill.”
If we don’t notice the opportunities how can we hope to partner with God?
Praying
“We should understand what God is doing in that person’s life and start praying for them.”
Our tendency is to jump in head first and start talking about God before we’ve consulted with Him. Before we start talking to them about God, we should ask God to show us how He is already moving in their life and begin to pray for them.
“The Father is doing the heavy work if bringing someone to be open to Jesus; we need to be praying to find out who that is, when we are supposed to be participating that, and how that will actually work.”
Listening
“Generally we’re not very good listeners. We tend to talk too much! Yet James says, be quick to listen and slow to speak.”
Preparing to share the Gospel with anyone involves very little talking – unless of course we are talking to God.
“You are basically doing some very quiet ground laying work that that even introverts find very easy to do.”
If we notice more, pray more, listen more, and talk less, we might just be surprised by the way God moves in our lives.
Mary Schaller is the president of Q Place and founder of three technology-related business ventures. She is the co-author of the book .
Key Scripture: 1 John 2:6
Featured Songs: My Lighthouse – Rend Collective; He Knows My Name – Francesca Battistelli; More than Conquerors – Steven Curtis Chapman
The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations
