As I think about how blessed you and I are to be considering the topic of evangelization and the reality that Jesus says to us, “as the Father sent me, so I send you,”[1] my heart is led by the Spirit to remember Solomon, the son and successor of King David, and the night the Lord visited him in a dream. “God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ‘make a request of me, and I will grant it to you.’” Solomon, in turn, asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead the people.[2]
So what should we ask for? What does it really take to be an effective evangelist? Grace of course, yes — it’s all grace — but what after that? … I would say desire.
If we can share God’s desire for people to know him, we will pursue that desire. To do that, we need discipline. To be disciplined about our life of devotion, knowing full well that the life of holiness is joy, means that we are gazing in the eyes of the divine bridegroom, repeatedly giving our lives in love to the one who continues to give himself to us fully in the Eucharist. Fueled on by this devotion, it is vital to be intent on cultivating good Holy Spirit dispositions and habits for evangelization. If you know there’s a chance you might golf when you leave home, you put the clubs in the trunk. In the same way, be prepared to evangelize. Stay ready and hungry, knowing the most important aspect of every evangelization encounter is love. Yes, proclaim the gospel – listen, befriend, proclaim, invite, and pray … but most of all do whatever the Spirit leads you to do in His love.
All of the things I’ve mentioned are graces for which we can pray. But even more, pray for a visitation from the Lord in the night. That God would come to you (and believe me, I’ll be praying for this too) and impress on our hearts a wisdom and knowledge of how to lead people to Jesus that will revolutionize our ability to evangelize. It’s God’s work, and we’re just co-laborers; so we’ve got to trust that we’ll develop lots of skill and insight and know-how — so we should keep going and to expect great results.
Also, I feel there’s more coming. For those who want it, a new ability to evangelize will be available through a special gift that God will give you. Don’t worry if you don’t have a dream, though I won’t be surprised if you do, God is so good and so lavish. Pray for it and ask God to visit you in the night and bless you with it. I’m confident our good Father won’t deny us whatever we need to fulfill the mission He is entrusting to us.
[1] John 20:21.
[2] 2 Chronicles 1:7-10.