Prevenient Grace.  Have you ever heard of this term?  I hadn’t heard of the concept before today when it was introduced to me while reading and studying the Book of John.  You see, prevenient Grace is the grace God provides before we know it is grace.  It’s the preparation in our lives before we accept Jesus and believe in Him.  Prevenient Grace can also be the doors that God closes and the way He directs us down His path in our lives.

Many years ago, I was given my first Bible as a senior in high school.  While I had no interest in the words within, I received it and held onto it because it was a gift from a very special friend.  Five years later, I was invited to a Bible study by a co-worker and after much encouraging, I attended.  My curiosity was peaked but I still had denial and many questions about Jesus.  Fast forward a couple more years, I was invited to the Walk of Emmaus where I was introduced to the sacrifice that Jesus made me for and the forgiveness for all the sin that entangled me.  It was there, at the Walk of Emmaus, that I decided to love and follow Jesus Christ. 

The Prevenient Grace is what God provided me as an unbeliever.  He was directing my path, delivering people into my life who would be used as instruments toward my newfound faith.  Looking back, I see Him closing doors that would’ve led me astray even more.  I can see His work, as well as those around me, chiseling away and softening my heart, revealing the glorious God who had been working on me since I was born.

It’s interesting how we can open a Bible and read passages of scripture and not understand a word of it, but then find the same verses another day and understand it completely.  In Luke 24:13, two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus and talking to each other about the recent occurrences of Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus appeared and started walking with them.  They were unaware that it was Jesus as they continued their walk and discussion with him.  It wasn’t until they had invited them into their homes and broken bread with Him that they became aware that it was Jesus they were sitting with.  Jesus chose the time for their eyes to be opened and for them to be aware of His presence.

The power of Prevenient Grace is inspiring.  To understand that decades can pass in someone’s life with Jesus working in the background orchestrating that one moment when an unbeliever comes to faith, when the Holy Spirit reveals the truth, and when Jesus Christ is seen as the way, the truth, and the light.  Of course, this moment and this path is not our control.  God prepares the path for us and determines the instruments and processes for us to receive Him.  “Come follow me,” Jesus said.  He seeks us and provides this beautiful prevenient grace until that moment.

Warrior for God,
Ginger Turner