So there's this guy that catches a different bus than I do, but we go to the same bus stop at the same time once a week. I've overheard this guy in a conversation two weeks ago with another lady who waits at the same stop, and he was trying to persuade her that Christianity was not the Truth (though she wasn't swayed). There is a cultural element to this but all in short, he thinks that black people should not be Christian. (Background info: I'm black, this guy is black, and the lady who he approached two weeks ago is black.) I prayed for him that day and a few other times, that God would open his heart to the Gospel Truth. Well, fast forward to today at the bus stop: we had a brief conversation (that he initiated), and he took it in the same direction with me too, to dissuade me from being Christian. I knew it was going there when he asked me if I was a Christian, and I said yes. So it's clear that he's trying hard to be an anti-Christianity mouthpiece, and selectively so with black people, whether he sees himself that way or not. I think he thinks I'm deceived and he's "helping", and doing something for black people by discouraging Christianity among us. We talked for a little bit, though he tried to interrupt me several times and I had to remind him to listen (and this is an older guy, mind you, so there's that dynamic where he feels he has the truth while I'm lost and wandering, and he at least implicitly doesn't think it's imperative to listen to me...he even hit me with the "I know, I've been studying this for ## years" and "I remember being where you are" without knowing where I am, where I've been, or what I know...*sigh* but I digress...). Anyway, he was dropping the same tired old lines I've heard many times from many people, but I didn't let on, just listened and responded as I felt led and didn't fold. His bus came mid-convo and he said we would continue next week, and recommended me some sources that would "change my mind". I told him, "don't speak to change minds; speak to listen" and left him with that.
But anyway, I tell you guys this long story to say: please pray for this man. He is deceived. Pray that God opens his heart to the Gospel message, and that this man will let go of his pride and humble himself before God. Also pray that God prepares me so He can use me in whatever conversation(s) that this guy and I may have in the future, and that I will be attuned to what the Holy Spirit is saying in those times especially. And also pray that in the meantime, God protects the weak and/or ignorant so that this man doesn't come across anyone who is easily manipulated and lead them astray.
Thanks! I hope everyone had a great day!