Derek Carr is the star quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. He’s also an outspoken Christian. Last year, Carr shared a story about obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit at a speaking event.
“Seek the face of the Father to see what he wants you to do—every single day,” Carr recalls his friend Matty Montgomery telling him. After making a commitment to do exactly that, Carr was given an opportunity to put his faith into practice in a meaningful way.
In the following video posted by Play4Him, Carr tells the story of speaking at an event with his brother, who is a pastor. At the end of the speaking time, the pastor of the church held an altar call.
During the altar call, Carr heard the Holy Spirit say, “Someone in here is going to commit suicide unless you say something.” Carr wrestled for a few moments with the idea of interrupting the pastor giving the altar call. Eventually, he found the courage to obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings and asked the pastor for the mic.
After delivering the message, a man in the crowd stood up and pointed to himself. “Is it you?” Carr asked him. Crying, the man said yes and came forward. Carr said he teared up as he embraced the man and told him “how much Jesus loved him, how much I loved him, how much of a plan God has for his life.”
After praying for the man and embracing him again, Carr turned around to see his brother praying for a different young man. Joining his brother to minister to this individual as well, Carr realized he had heard correctly.
The experience “was amazing,” but left Carr surprisingly tired. “I’ve never felt so exhausted,” he recalls. Even after playing football all his life, praying for those two people left him more tired than he’s ever been.
But Carr’s obedience to the Holy Spirit didn’t end there. As he was getting in his car to leave the event, a third person approached him. “That suicide thing that you were talking about—that was me.” For the third time that night, Carr embraced a total stranger and told him, “I love you. Jesus loves you… Whatever you were thinking about doing tonight, don’t do that. God has allowed you to be here tonight to hear his message and to take a different path with your life.”
As amazing as this experience was, Carr recognizes it was simply “being obedient.”
For someone in the spotlight so much for his talent, his admission is notable.
