When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:7-10)

Juergan Koetter was a man who was a disciple and who discipled people around him. He actively held spiritual conversations with people, regardless of status, and of all forms, shapes and sizes. Educated, not well-educated, state judge, felon, man on the street, rich, or poor - Juergan knew how to talk to people and move to the spiritual. Juergan was genuinely interested in the person in front of him and elevated that interest into a caring relationship that became central to his ministry. I am intimately familiar with this because I was one such recipient of Juergan's conversations.

John 4 is rich with Christ's own example of a spiritual conversation that leads to the topic of salvation. Jesus introduces himself to a Samaritan woman by asking for a drink. We see in the verses there that the woman instinctively knows this is strange because He's a Jew and she's a Samaritan. Christ builds a relationship with her by doing so which allows him to move to a new level.

Matt Peeples (Kairos Ministries) notes that "mission happens at the speed of relationship." Even before the era of soundbite talk (prompted by media and certainly reinforced by social media), we somehow thought we had to move in quickly to make the sale or score the kill. "If you were to die tonight, are you certain of where you will go?" was the evangelist talk of the 1960's and 70's. "I'm sorry, what's your name," might be the reply.

Jesus does no such thing in this conversation. He intrigues her with His "living water" comment, and now the conversation goes deep. She's following His lead, but He's not pushing. He's talking naturally to a stranger whom may or may not be familiar with who He is.

A spiritual conversation unfolds. It's not scripted but an awareness of opportunity is key if we are to "make disciples." There are other things Christ teaches us in this that we will see in the next few devotions.

Pray for opportunities within relationships for a spiritual conversation. Pray for God to give you words to use when those opportunities arise. Pray for the skill of listening as the person speaks.