In the early morning hours, Paul Behrens stirred awake in Pennsylvania. He hadn’t been asleep very long and thought it strange he’d suddenly awakened.
“Really, 12:30 a.m.?” he wondered. “Is this the Lord waking me up?” After a time of lying there, he thought, “I think God’s telling me to get up and get on the phone.”
Paul was already approved to take volunteer phone shifts on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s (BGEA) 24/7 Prayer Line.
>>Depressed or anxious? Call the BGEA Prayer Line anytime day or night at 888-388-2683.
So he signed on and waited.
The calls started coming in, mostly from people distressed about the COVID-19 outbreak. He listened, talked and prayed with each one.
The busy morning confirmed for Paul that God was calling him. He signed up for the prayer line’s graveyard shift and has answered calls from 1–5 a.m. nearly every day since.
As a church elder and a Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplain, he’s experienced in one-on-one ministry.
“You just have to be there for that person,” Paul said, and “support them in their spiritual journey.”
He considers it a privilege to be a trusted source for strangers. “They need to know they’re going to get good support when they confide in somebody.”
Like when a man from New York City called the BGEA Prayer Line. He cautiously confided that he was HIV positive, most likely wondering if Paul would judge his lifestyle.
When he didn’t, the man was open to talk. He was calling to say he’d seen Franklin Graham’s commercial on TV, heard the Gospel message and prayed for Jesus to forgive his sins and be Lord of his life.
“How awesome it is of God that He loves people and is saving people out of all kinds of situations,” remarked Paul.
Another call was from a distraught woman living in a COVID-19 hotspot area. She was struggling with her faith and felt like a hypocrite. And she wasn’t comfortable talking about it with anyone at church.
They talked it out, and using Scriptures, Paul was able to assure her that her faith in Christ was secure. “I am saved,” she happily told him before their conversation ended.
>>Read what Billy Graham wrote about being saved through faith in Christ.
“It’s easier [to confide in] someone on the phone if you don’t know them, as long as it’s a responsible person,” he explained.
“One of my favorite things in the Gospels is Jesus’ interactions with people. … [He’s] my hero,” Paul said. “I’m just crazy about Him.
“Jesus felt compassion for people. … He went to the people; He didn’t stay in His ivory tower. He went to the leper; He went to the blind man; He went to Zacchaeus.
“I just love that,” Paul said, getting emotional. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to be a follower of Christ, maybe I’d better do that too.’”
And he does. Paul makes weekly ministry visits to local prisoners, though that’s on hold because of the coronavirus. He also volunteers for Samaritan’s Purse, BGEA’s sister ministry.
“God’s really changed me through compassion ministry,” he shared. “It’s been transformational.”
There are times, though, when Paul has to exercise patience. When people call the BGEA Prayer Line to angrily vent about their circumstances, politics or God, he silently prays for them.
He knows that Jesus cares for them, too.
“I just try to listen and understand them, and be a friend,” he said. Paul admits that he may not change their mind about faith but leaves the door open for the future.
“So as their situation gets more difficult or things happen in their life, they’ll remember, ‘Well I did talk to somebody there, and they really did listen to me. They really seemed to care even though I was being rude.’
“I’m not the answer to these people, I’m just one person along the way,” he said. “But what I can do with them is important. Whether it’s planting seeds or listening to whatever it is they want to talk about. Or sharing something from the Bible with them and praying.”
With a tender heart for others to find freedom in faith like he has, Paul carries on.
“There’s no downside to Jesus Christ,” he said. “If you want to know somebody who’s going to love you, help you in your life, help you grow to be all that God’s created you to be—this is it. He’s the real deal.
“Everyone’s afraid of Jesus, and it’s not like that at all. He’s the best boss I ever had.”
