Each One Reach OneSample

Shine Your Light

During a season of reflection a number of years ago, I realized that I wanted to live my faith out loud, with more boldness, more purpose, and more intention. So I prayed this simple prayer:

Lord, will You give me more opportunities to share my faith with others? Everywhere I go—to the post office or the grocery store, to the doctor’s office or the airport—help me share the love I have for You with a contagious joy and a confident faith. If You open a door, I’ll shine my light, share my faith, and walk through it. Amen.

For years, my ministry as a Christian singer and songwriter had given me the platform to share my life stories from the stage. I had difficulty, however, finding the right words or recalling the right “formula” when it came to witnessing with people one-on-one.

I believe God was waiting for me to pray that prayer! And He took me up on it. Almost immediately, He began to place me in situations where I could tell others about the love of Christ.

God wanted me to shine my light with more passion and purpose. God desires to use you in the same way. Together we have the call, the responsibility, and the joy of reaching our family, our friends, and even strangers with the gospel message.

Matthew 5:14–15 gives us a glimpse of God’s plan for combatting the world’s darkness: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

I call this passage the Great Mandate because it’s an official command from Jesus to shine our lights before others—on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose—all for the glory of God.

We have the blessed privilege of being used by God to usher His light into the world. When we shine for Jesus, darkness doesn’t stand a shadow of a chance.

Pray Babbie’s prayer above or a similar prayer of your own. Ask God to give you opportunities to shine your light for Christ and change your world one encounter at a time.