The Importance of Telling What God Has Done

“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened: He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!” -Psalm 66:16-20 (ESV)

Psalm 66, a Psalm encouraging general worship and also recounting historically the mercies and blessings of God, ends with statements urging how important it is to tell what God has done for the believer.

In Christian circles, we call this ‘giving our personal testimony.’ The Christian ought to be able to share with others what the Lord has done in bringing salvation to him/her personally and in leading the believer to live life by the Bible’s guidance and with Christian principles.

The Psalmist makes it very clear that if the believer “cherishes iniquity in his heart” the Lord will not listen to prayers the Christian makes. Of course, this does not mean that the Lord will not hear and answer the sincere prayer of repentance from sin and a plea for strength to walk in the way of the Lord. We rejoice that God “has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!”

Peter the Apostle admonished in his letter that Christians should always be able to give a testimony of what the Lord has done in their lives. Read carefully what he wrote: “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason or the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13-17. ESV).

In my life as a minister’s wife, as a Bible teacher, and as one who has assisted in seeking to disciple new Christians—teaching them “new member classes” and other discipleship classes, I have urged them to try to put their personal testimony of salvation into a concise presentation they could tell in one, two or not more than three minutes. Persons can argue many things about beliefs, even about the Bible itself, but there is no denying what the Lord has done for a person. That is personal and unique to each believer. That is why the personal testimony is so vital in sharing the way to salvation with others.

Have you given thought to your own personal testimony? Can you tell briefly and clearly what the Lord did to save your soul? When have you shared this with an unbeliever or with a Christian who might have gone astray and needs encouragement? The Psalmist stated clearly that we should tell others about the Lord. “Come and hear…and I will tell what He has done for my soul!” Peter urged, “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” These are strong invitations—yea, even commands—God gives us to tell others what He has done for us! May we seek out and find persons with whom to share this good news during the coming week. –Ethelene Dyer Jones 06.28.2015