“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT)

 

People come up to me and ask, “Greg, what’s the one thing you can say to a nonbeliever that will cause them to accept Christ?” Like I know the hidden secret. Like I’m going to say, “Since you asked, I’m going to show you the ultimate evangelism hack. Here’s what you do.”

Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s no such thing as the ultimate evangelism hack. When I share my faith, I do the same thing that most of you probably do. I just tell my story. I tell people about Jesus, and I pray that the Lord will open their eyes.

You may witness to one person and find that it’s like talking to a brick wall. Nothing. No response at all. And then when you witness in the same way to another person, boom! They get it. They’re responsive to your message. So always pray for the Lord to open a person’s eyes.

I remember when my eyes were opened. I was seventeen years old, and I was listening to Lonnie Frisbee. He made one statement that resonated powerfully with me. He said, “Jesus said you’re for Me or you’re against Me.” And suddenly, I got it. I don’t know why I got it at that moment. I don’t know what it was about that statement. But when I heard it, it was like a light switched on inside me.

Up until that moment, I had been looking cynically and critically at the Christian faith. And then I realized it was all true. It was all real.

I should point out that it’s possible to have your eyes open and still not be a Christian. I’ve met people who say, “I agree that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that He lived a sinless life. I believe that He died on the cross for my sin. I believe that He rose again from the dead. I believe that He’s coming back again. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. But that’s it. I believe it, but I’m not going to act on it.”

So having your eyes opened doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything. But it’s a necessary first step. And only God can open a person’s eyes. Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18 for God to open the eyes of nonbelievers. And when you’re sharing your faith, the first thing you should do is pray, “Lord, open this person’s eyes because there’s nothing I can say or do that will make this person believe.”

There are a lot of people in your orbit who fit Paul’s description in Ephesians 4:18: “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him” (NLT). Will you be bold and caring enough to reach out to them? To show them the light of the gospel? And to ask God to open their eyes to His truth?

 

Reflection Question: How can you help facilitate an eye-opening moment in the life of someone you know?

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