One of the older Southern Baptist preachers in our community told me this story. Knowing the man, I have no reason to doubt that it is true.
One morning the then pastor of a church in Abilene, Texas was making house calls. He stopped at the home of a couple who had visited his church for the first time on the previous Sunday. He rang the bell, but no answer. “They’re not home,” he thought, and he headed back to his car. “But their neighbors are.”
The neighbors were home, but my friend had no desire to knock on their door. He tried to ignore the ridiculous thought as he got in his car and started it. But the feeling grew stronger. Go see the neighbors. Reluctantly, he got out of the car and went to the door.
After the knock came a voice: “Come in.” Inside, he found a young expecting mother, probably a teenager, sitting on the couch. A young man was standing next to her. “Well,” said the young man, “tell us.”
“Tell you what?” asked my friend.
“Tell us how to be saved.”
As the preacher sat down on the couch with his opened Bible and began to teach the gospel, the two were noticeably moved. Before the visit was over, they confessed that they were sinners and made professions of faith.
This young man and woman, the preacher learned, knew something was missing. They knew that they weren’t prepared to start a family and raise children without the Lord. That very morning, just before the knock came, they were sitting together on the couch praying that God would send them someone to show them the way.
Be encouraged—God prepares the way before us.