If a teenager is handed $5 without any directives, it’s a pretty good bet it’s going toward a double cheeseburger or enough gas to get them to a friend’s house.
But as Betsy Marvin of Cornerstone UMC in Caledonia will affirm, if a teen is handed five bucks and told to ask God for directions, the possibilities are incalculable.
On the heels of a church-wide campaign, Marvin created a “Pay It Forward” mission for the Cornerstone youth groups — and the power of the Holy Spirit was visible in major ways.
Based around the parable of the master giving his servants “talents” to invest, Marvin gave each high school student five silver dollars, with the stipulation that they spend 20 minutes in listening prayer.
Marvin said there is a lot of power in simply asking God questions and clearing your mind and heart to seek answers.
“I read a book called God’s Guide, written by Mary Geegh who was a missionary to India in like the (1940s) and she practiced listening prayer,” she said. “So when I read hear book I thought, we just have to try this and figure out how to do this and listen to God for answers instead of just shooting in the dark.”
It took some students several weeks to discern a call, while others received answers more quickly.
Briana Hutchinson thought she knew what to do with the money right away, but it took a little while for it to come into complete focus.
“(She) really wondered if what she heard from God was right, because she was told to go buy a Bible — and she thought Bibles cost more than five dollars, so this can’t be,” Marvin said. “When she was at school it really bugged her. Should I have bought a Bible, should I not? God just show me the person who needs a Bible and I’ll go buy it.”
Then one day she was in the library and had a conversation with a boy who was going through a tough breakup — and that’s when she realized he was the person she needed to help.
