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Two teenage girls sat on a porch swing holding hands. One of the girls was praying, and the other one was crying. Ryan flew straight to them and nestled himself on the back of their swing among the band of praying guardians. With the day growing dark with clouds, the wind was whipping from the southwest. Thunder and lightning fast approaching, Ryan listened to the prayer.
“Thank You, God, for sending Jesus to offer us eternal life. Thank You for saving me. Tonight, Roxie and I are asking you, Jesus, to give her faith to trust You as her Savior. She wants to invite You into her heart, but she’s just not sure if You’re real. Please give her faith, Lord. Help her to see that You love her. Please speak to her heart and let her know that You are the living God who has a plan for her life. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.”
“What a powerful prayer,” Ryan said to Roxie. “You should thank your friend for caring so much for you.” He knew that his words would be her thoughts.
“Thanks, Megan. Your prayers are always so powerful. If I just had some kind of proof, you know, that Jesus was real. I don’t know what it will take. I just wish I could trust like you do.”
Lightning flashed, followed by a loud clap of thunder.
“Well, I’ll never stop praying for you, Roxie.”
“Thanks, but I have to go; it’s beginning to sprinkle,” she said and then hugged Megan.
Roxie walked to her bike and hopped on; she strapped on her helmet and backpack. Shaking her head, she called back to Megan, “Where on earth do you get all that faith? See you at school tomorrow.”
Megan waved good-bye and prayed, asking God to somehow give Roxie faith. She could see Roxie’s ginger hair blowing in the wind as the bicycle picked up speed. She could see the backpack sway from side to side as the pedals were pumped round and round. Through tears and raindrops, she could see another day ending and her best friend still without eternal life with God.
But what Megan couldn’t see was Ryan mounted backward on the handlebars of the bike, practically in Roxie’s face. She couldn’t hear him tell Roxie how that night, in her dreams, she would see the kingdom of heaven and meet Jesus, that guy who loved her so much. And she didn’t hear Ryan shout back to her that Roxie would ring her doorbell at six in the morning with tears of excitement, anxious to take those steps to salvation.
Surrounded by the fifteen guardians, Megan quietly returned to the porch swing. She wondered if Roxie would ever come and ring her doorbell, searching for Jesus.