Almost everyone I know is at least a little intimidated at the mention of evangelism. Somehow walking up to another person and saying, “So, if you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go?” doesn’t sound attractive. We love Jesus and we know our friends need him, but we’re afraid we’ll stumble over our words and maybe lose our friends in the process if we try to witness to them.

Have you ever noticed what Jesus told his followers in Matthew 10:18–20? I love these words:

“And you must stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me—yes, to witness to the world. When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. For it won’t be you doing the talking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (NLT)

Have you ever experienced that? Maybe not the standing trial part, but the part where God just gives you the right words to say at the right time when you’re talking with a friend about Jesus? Or maybe you didn’t think your words were all that great, but it was exactly what your friend needed to hear, and she responded?

One of the recent times at our youth group when we were offering students an invitation to respond to Christ, I was praying for a few students I knew were not Christians, asking God to work in their hearts. I found myself thinking, after hearing all this, how can you NOT believe and want to trust Christ? But God gently reminded me that every time someone comes to Christ, it’s a miracle. And it’s God’s doing. We would never be able to believe and respond without him.

That’s kind of a relief, isn’t it? For me at least, knowing that relieves a lot of the pressure I feel about evangelism. We can’t bring our friends to Christ. We can’t explain the gospel clearly enough. We can’t change their minds.

But God can.

And the coolest part is that he uses us to do it. He promises that when we step out in faith and take the risk of bringing Jesus up in our conversations with friends, depending on him to work through our limitations, he will.

When was the last time you were in a “super power required” situation, totally dependent on God to come through as you witness to a friend? This week, pray for God to give you opportunities to be a witness for him. Then watch for opportunities to share, and as you do, trust that God will give you the words you need to convey his love to your friends.

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daily witness training from the Word