How the Holy Spirit Uses Ordinary People: A Powerful Lesson in Humility

During our daily meditations over the next few weeks, we will explore historic revivals, their beginnings, and how the Holy Spirit uses humble people for His glory.

The Call to Supernatural Evangelism

Our first story comes from Carl Lawrence’s account of how God used humble, sincere believers to advance His kingdom on Hainan Island, China. In The Coming Influence of China, Lawrence recounts that in the mid-1990s, two young women in another Chinese province came to faith in Christ after hearing the Gospel through shortwave radio broadcasts.

After receiving Bibles, the two new believers immediately longed to serve God wholeheartedly. A Hong Kong-based pastor urged them to remain where they were and minister to their neighbors, but they objected: “No! The Bible you gave us says Jesus told us to go into all the world. We want to go.” Moved by their zeal, the pastor relented and told them workers were needed on Hainan Island. Though they had never heard of the island, they were convinced God was sending them there to preach the Gospel.

A Stunning Example of Humility in Ministry

Two years later, the young women returned to mainland China, where the pastor met with them again. Since he had heard nothing from them since their departure, he introduced them to several visiting Western church leaders and asked how their work had gone and whether they had started any churches.

Lawrence explains that the women lowered their heads and apologized, saying they had been there only two years, that the people had often been hostile, and that they had not started “many” churches. Some had threatened to drown them, and others had insulted them because of their youth. When the frustrated pastor pressed them for a number, they apologized again and said they had started only 30 churches on Hainan Island.

The news stunned the pastor and his Western guests. When asked how many people attended these churches, the women modestly replied, “Two hundred and twenty.” The listeners assumed that was the total number of converts across all 30 churches, but it was actually the membership of the smallest church. When the pastor asked about the largest, they answered, “Oh…not many…less than five thousand. Only four thousand nine hundred. Yes, less than five thousand. We have just started.”

How the Holy Spirit Moves Through Prayer

The Western visitors were deeply moved by the young women’s humility and joy. One asked the pastor to learn how they had seen such remarkable results.

“What did we do? Why, nothing. Yes, we did nothing, nothing,” they replied. The astonished visitors protested: “You did nothing? You have thirty churches—the smallest with two hundred and twenty people, the largest with nearly five thousand new Christians—and you did nothing?” The two evangelists answered, “We just prayed, and after we prayed, the Holy Spirit would tell us exactly what to do. We would keep praying, and He would tell us what to do, and then we would do it. We would pray again, and He would tell us what to do just the same.”

This story is part of our series "On Fire with the Spirit" and is featured in "God Uses Ordinary Believers." Taken from the website of Asia Harvest: http://asiaharvest.org/testimonies/#13

Life Application: How to Practice This Humility Today

The story of these two young women gives us a clear spiritual blueprint. If you want to see God move in your life, you don't need a theology degree or massive resources—you just need a willing heart. Here is how you can apply this meditation to your life this week:

1.     Shift from Planning to Praying: When faced with a problem at work, in your family, or in your ministry, don't rely solely on human strategy. Stop and pray. Ask the Holy Spirit: "What is the very next thing You want me to do?"

2.     Obey the "Micro-Steps": The girls didn't have a 5-year plan; they just did the next thing the Holy Spirit told them to do. Watch for small promptings today—whether it's sending an encouraging text to a friend, helping a neighbor, or speaking a word of faith. Obey the small instructions immediately.

3.     Deflect the Glory: If God blesses your efforts or gives you success, practice the girls' "holy amnesia." Keep your head down, stay modest, and acknowledge that you are simply an instrument. True spiritual power is safe in the hands of people who refuse to take credit for what God does. Keith Thomas