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Yesterday, my mom got a phone call from “Apple.” My mom is a widow and is very careful not to take calls that she doesn’t recognize. But the incoming phone number happen to resemble the phone number of her doctor’s office. The “employee from Apple” explained to her that someone had charged $1,200 to her Apple account and was calling to assist her in removing it.
He sent her several confirmation emails and he knew everything about her account so my mom was totally convinced that it was the real deal. She thanked him several times for being so patient with her since she’s not super tech savvy and he replied by saying, “no problem, just doing my job.” She was so appreciative of the call.
Moments after hanging up with the “Apple employee,” my aunt happens to call my mom. My mom explained what had just happened to her and my aunt freaked out and said that she had just heard on the news to be aware of any phone calls from Apple (apparently, Apple will NEVER call you, FYI). My mom had just been scammed. My mom immediately called Apple and then her bank and credit card companies. My poor mama. She was so stressed!
As she’s telling me this story, my heart was breaking for her. How could someone, for an hour, pretend to be someone they are not and lie and steal from a widow in her 70’s? I immediately ask if we could pray to invite “Our Comforter” (one of God’s many names) into this situation. She agrees. You are never going to believe what God spoke to me during this prayer!!!!
As I was praying, God was showing me that sometimes we need to “share in the sufferings of Christ.” Romans 8:17. Christ suffered to save us. Sometimes we need to suffer to save others. God showed me that He allowed this to happen to bring this broken man onto my mom’s path. You see, my mom is a PRAYER WARRIOR. She reads the Bible for one to two hours every day and then she PRAYS. She prays and prays and prays.
THIS MAN NEEDS PRAYER. And guess what? He’s now going to get prayed for! We are going to pray for this man’s salvation…that he will make Jesus his Lord and Savior. We are going to pray that Jesus shows Himself to this man and will convict him to stop. We are praying that God would “open his eyes and turn him from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that he may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus.” Acts 26:18
God showed me that we need to start praying for the perpetrators. True change only comes when we get to the root of the issue. This man’s heart is at the root of the issue. When God changes this man’s heart, this man will no longer do this to anyone else. We can apply this to SO MANY people in our lives. We need to pray for the perpetrators.
We need to pray for our enemies. Instead of being angry and wanting justice to be done, we need to let God be this man’s judge (because God’s justice WILL come) and we need to do what God has called us to do. He’s called us to pray. Please join us in praying for this man. This man is one of God’s children and is lost. Pray that this man be found!!
