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By Mark Lockhart
Recently, I received a letter written
by Elizabeth Shertzer, the wife
of Missionary Jonathan Shertzer.

Together, they serve the Lord in the
small, English-speaking country of
Belize, located in Central America.

Prayer is vitally important in the daily life of all Christians.

Our Savior surely took the time to pray and to emphatically
teach His disciples of its necessity. Nonetheless, we are also
keenly aware of the continual laboring of the Son of Man.

Throughout the afore mentioned hymn, both prayer and
work are highlighted.

As I read the letter, I was reminded
of a commonly sung hymn, at least
here in Mexico. It was translated
from a hymn titled “I Want to Be a
Worker,” written in 1880 by Isaiah
Baltzell. The first stanza and chorus
are as follows:
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly
(Matthew 6:6).

I want to be
a worker for the Lord,
I want to love
and trust His Holy Word,
I want to sing and pray,
and be busy ev’ry day
In the vineyard of the Lord.

“I am tired of toxic relationships!” cried a young woman as
she glared at me through her gate. This statement, directed
at me, came as a shock. After months of prayer, we had
finally seen her father trust Christ as his Savior only a few
days earlier. God’s hand was at work in her family. As a
passionate and determined woman, she had a rare zeal for
God’s work; however, the enemy lurks in the corner ready
to attack at any moment.

Chorus The day before, our church ladies had been out visiting
widows in our town. The ladies had combined their efforts
to make lovely fruit baskets for each widow. There were
tears of joy as we delivered the treats while sharing songs,
Scriptures, and prayer together. I drove home knowing God
was pleased with our efforts of love for Him.

I will work, I will pray,
In the vineyard
in the vineyard of the Lord,
I will work, I will pray,
I will labor ev’ry day
In the vineyard of the Lord.

12 BIMI
Number 2, 2023
The Secret Place of Victory
The next morning, my heart sank when I received a
message from this young woman. She was angry from a
small situation that had taken place during our visits the



previous day. As I went on my knees before God, He immediately granted the peace that spiritual
warfare was at the root of this attack. I began to pray for the situation, knowing it could lead to
unrest among the ladies and disunity within the church.

After calling, messaging, and attempting to meet with her, I finally drove to her house to see her
face-to-face. I listened as she poured out the frustration and anger that had built up in her heart.

The unjust accusations pierced my own heart. I silently cried out to God concerning the evident
spiritual blindness. I thanked her for her words and told her I would talk to God about the situation.

I asked her to please consider the possibility that I loved her and that the action from the day before
was not toward her but had simply been misunderstood. My heart ached as I drove away. The battle
was not over, and that was obvious.

When I arrived home, I entered my prayer “closet.” As a mother of six young children, this “closet”
consists of a rocking chair in my living room, a Bible, a hymnbook, a journal, and a pen. Day after
day I took this matter before God. When I was tempted to become angry, I asked Him to teach me
how to love her, accept her, and show kindness to her. I asked Him to open her eyes, open her heart,
and renew the unity in our relationship.

Weeks dragged on as the situation got worse. She continued coming to church, but she came with
a scowl on her face and harsh words on her lips. Our ladies Bible study was becoming a place of
disunity and unhappiness. As her bitterness began to spread to the other ladies, my husband and I
knew we would need to take action soon; but I continued to cry out to God for His power to work
a miracle in her life.

God has a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28a). J. Oswald Sanders says in his book The
Power of Transforming Prayer, ‘This often-misinterpreted passage clearly teaches that anything
that makes us more like Christ is good. Christlikeness does not always thrive best in trouble-free
conditions. It is more often the adverse conditions we face that most effect our transformation.’ 1
How this truth rang in my heart as I watched God teach me His forgiveness, His love, and His
patience through this woman!
Several weeks after our initial conversation, I was shocked yet again as this same young woman
approached me after a Sunday morning service. With tears in her eyes, she apologized for the way
she had been treating us and thanked me for my patience with her. After a warm embrace and some
tears, I told her we loved her. Over the next few
The weeks, this woman became a loving, unifying
part of our church. The power of God amazed
me as I watched Him transform her heart.

Shertzer Family
Logic tells us that battles are fought against
people, but God’s Word reminds us that we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). These
battles take place in secret, not out in the open.

And our loving Father openly rewards those
secret battles. May we fight in prayer and trust
Him for the results.

–Elizabeth Shertzer
Sanders, J. Oswald, The Power of Transforming Prayer: The Classic Work (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 2019), 60.

1 Number 2, 2023
BIMI 13