Saturday, May 1, 2004

11:30 PM Another very good, very long day. I feel like I’ve been talking nonstop since I got up. After I finished preaching at 10:30 AM this morning, I didn’t get back to my room until 12:15 PM because one man after another wanted to talk and pray with me. Everywhere I went, men stopped and talked and told me their stories. I’ve never been to a conference where I’ve had such intense interaction with people. It’s a sign that the Lord has worked in a powerful way. The two messages I preached today weren’t the ones I planned to preach. But the Lord impressed them on my heart—and the men responded powerfully. Tonight as I finished my message, I asked the men to get in groups of three to pray for each other. They immediately formed groups and you could hear the sound of hundreds of prayers ascending to heaven. One man told me that he had carried the burden of a secret sin for 20 years. It was so terrible that it had almost destroyed him. We prayed together that he would confess his sin so the Lord could set him free. I hope he has the courage to follow through. A number of men thanked me for preaching on “A Man and His Anger” this AM. Obviously many men struggle in this area—and needed the encouragement to come clean with the Lord and with their brothers. God has done a strong work during these days—and there is more to come tomorrow morning. As for me, I’m a bit worn out from the week of teaching and then speaking this weekend and all the conversations. So far I’ve spoken 16 times. Now it’s “one and done.” God willing, I’ll be home in 22 hours.