In other articles we have gone over some basics of preparing, but have not touched on our personal feelings and emotions. Before we begin any evangelistic outreach we need to look into our own hearts and minds. We need to know what we believe and we need to know how we came to believe that. But most importantly we need to give it all to Jesus and trust Him to lead us to the people He wants us to share with.
Prayer
Everything needs to be given to God in prayer. We must first approach God in prayer to prepare our hearts for sharing. If you know you will be sharing on a specific date and time begin praying for that date in advance. Ask others to join you in covering the time with prayer. Pray for God to prepare your heart and the heart of those who you speak with. Ask Him to guide you to the people He wants you to talk to. Ask Him to give you the words to share, to speak through you. Commit your work to Him in prayer and let Him do the major work. Salvation is of you, but of God. Your job is to be His tool, to share. Leave the rest to Him.
Prepare
If you are going out witnessing in chatrooms where you know people will want to debate then study up on some basics of apologetics beforehand. If you are going to share with Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Satanists, or other people know what they believe first. Be ready to listen to them because you will want them to listen to you. Be prepared to take some flak for sharing things that oppose their own view. Satan has a strong, firm grip on these people and does not want to let them go. Be strong in your own faith because they will try to shake you. And most of all, be ready to say “I don’t know. Can I get back to you on that one?” and get an email address of where you can continue the discussion if you find you are unsure of something they ask.
Be Ready Physically
If you don’t feel good, if you are emotionally unstable at the time, or if you are just downright grumpy and in a bad mood, don’t go. And if you DO decide to still go out to share your faith, PRAY PRAY PRAY for good to change your heart and prepare you to share. You need to be in control of your own body and emotions before heading into the world online to share.
Memorize basic Scriptures
Know what you want to share. The purpose of going out and sharing is not to debate truth, but to share Jesus. We are to make disciples of every nation. How can you do this if you can’t share the basic Biblical truth? You need to know the Gospel story well enough to share it with others. When you can say “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” you need to append that with “Romans 3:23 says…” It validates your point when people want to go back and look things up later. Many of the people you witness to in the rooms or messenger will just listen and let others “cause trouble” and will then go and look them up privately. You are planting seeds to those who are present whether you are sharing with that person or not.
Prayer
We already covered prayer, so why are we covering it again? Because you MUST pray. You must cover everything in His Name. Give it all to Him and let God do His job while you do yours. Prayer is the beginning and the end of all things and must continue non-stop throughout. Ask others to pray with you before you share, ask them to pray while you share, then pray with them when you finish sharing. Prayer is the central foundation of effective witnessing because it puts all control into God’s hands and HE is the one who can make those seeds grow.
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