When is the best time to have the best evangelistic conversation?
The key clue to the timing of evangelistic conversations is to listen for spiritual thirst.
In the way I teach personal evangelism, this thirst is what God uses to draw people to himself.
Jesus said:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
John 7:37b
Jesus plainly taught that if anyone wants a relationship with God, it can be obtained.
But notice that this claim to a relationship is specifically addressed only to those who are spiritually thirsty.
That thirst is the starting point of a person’s quest to seek God.
That thirst is the restlessness of the human heart that drives one to Jesus.
When you learn to recognize and identify this thirst in the human heart, and how it is expressed, you will find the open door to more effective gospel sharing conversations.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”(Psalm 42:1-2a).
“God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
“I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land” (Psalm 143:6).
Spiritual thirst is the underlying motive that people have to seek after God, to start and continue their search for God.
It could be
- guilt over sin,
- a longing for honest community,
- be guidance and direction,
- A stark realization that the person has made a giant mess of their life.
The gospel can speak to each one of these.
Read More About Spiritual Thirst
- What is Spiritual Thirst?
- What does Spiritual Thirst Look Like?
- 8 Common Spiritual Thirsts
- Spiritual Thirst will Open the Conversational Door to Faith-Sharing Conversations
- How to Kill Spiritual Thirst
- What does spiritual thirst look like in the Gospels?
Once you grab an understanding of spiritual thirst and how to identify it in conversation, you are on your way to easier faith-sharing conversations among friends and strangers with whom you find yourselves in conversations.
The gospel is rich enough to begin speaking to each need or thirst.
Examples of Spiritual Thirst in my Own Conversations:
I want to give you examples of how spiritual thirst can play out in real-life conversations.
- God’s presence is with us. – My tutor hears the gospel
- Seminar Testimony – a wrong phone number
- Is he a PC USA Pastor? – Divine moment in Cracker Barrel
- What is an Evangelist? – Student wants a definition
- Evangelism Motives: Why bother? – taxi driver shares Jesus
- Are good works enough? – a do-gooder begins to wonder how much is enough.
- Example of Spiritual Thirst: A Wild Conversation – a real estate developer reveals his life is empty.
- An immigrant walks into a church that speaks a different language
Coaching Corner
I have found that many people are not aware of the spiritual thirst around them, simply because they are not looking for it.
The best starting place for identifying spiritual thirst is to reflect on your own and look for biblical examples.
- What was your spiritual thirst that first drew you to seek Christ?
- Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 2. See what spiritual thirsts you can identify in first 12 verses.
- Review the people who sought out salvation from Jesus. Speculate on what their spiritual thirst was.