Called to All

This is no ordinary book. It’s written to be a movement, not a product—a battle cry for those hungry and longing to serve. Especially among the next generation.

Are you one? Has he called? Is he calling? Are you a chosen vessel? Could he be doing in you what he has done in me? Are you deluded or is it real?

How will you know? Will it come in an angelic visitation … a dream … an image … a transcendental experience … the written word … a message … a revelation … a sense of divine presence? Will reason rule your decision?

Christ Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen.” Are you one of them—his chosen? Shouldn’t you be sure? I dare you to find out, to read and engage this message to the very end.

Could you be among us? Follow the five spiritual waypoints in my testimony and find out. You can share this love supreme, a supernatural love from above. You can find the pearl of great price.

Be sure of your heart; hungry as it is for his presence, purpose, and power. He demands purity of purpose. “Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Start as early as possible in life, but remember that the call isn’t limited to youth. Age, beauty, breeding, ethnicity, gender, nationality, or skill set does not determine your election. He who calls has his own reasons and seasons.

This book is not based merely on my experience. It is based on authentic, Word of God demands. And God cannot lie—his promises are ultimate truth. When followed, they will overcome the “killer barriers” holding you back from submission.

So, if you think there is even a remote possibility that God is calling—consider the path that unfolds in these pages. I’m not saying my story is precisely normative for you. Your details will vary, but the road map is roughly the same. There is no skipping a waypoint. Your shining path will rise to meet you as you step out and follow, one stage at a time.

If this were a self-help book, it could be titled, “101 Ways to Live the Yielded Life” or “Discipleship for Dummies.” But that’s not how it works. The Almighty uses process, not formula; grace, not law. There are no shortcuts.

You’re unlikely to find these five waypoints featured in titles on the checkout line of your local supermarket. Those looking for instant spirituality will not find it here.

This is not about self-assertion but winning by losing. It frees you from the prison of self-effort. It helps you find God’s personal, unique plan for you.

Hopefully, by the time you’ve finished this book, you’ll never look at your “five fingers” the same. The way to find your call is right at your fingertips.

Every good read involves making a covenant with the author. So, make one with me now. Let’s believe together for three things on our journey:

First, let’s be practical. This “called life” is one that you can live. Millions have trod it successfully before you. These principles are eternal and universal. They work equally well in every context—you’ll be able to apply them whether you end up on stage or in the audience … running a business or presiding over government … single or married … in war or peace … teaching or studying … as doctor, nurse, or patient. They work equally well in Africa, Asia, China, Europe, India, the Middle East, or Oceana.

Second, let’s be urgent and brief. From my life experiences, you’ll learn to: (1) enter his presence through dialogue, hearing his voice in prayer; (2) discern his will in the Word; (3) access his power through believing faith; (4) unite in love with others, (5) yield to supernatural power. These principles last a lifetime, through every phase and stage of your earthly journey. Whether you are six or 106.

You can live in victory. You can connect to God’s will. If you seek, you will find. That’s not my promise. He who calls you provides.

Third, let’s handle your spiritual emergencies. Perhaps you are facing a personal spiritual crisis today. Maybe you are at a fork in the road.

Then I have good news. You can start enjoying the benefits of yielded living today. Presence, purpose and power are yours for the asking now.

Once you yield, you can begin immediately. In real time, I learned the five waypoints in less than 41 months. However, the critical decisions which took only minutes to choose have taken a lifetime to process!

In 1964, I following a voice that called me from Chicago’s gold coast to the howling wasteland of Thar – the Great Indian Desert. That Spirit led me to Kota Junction (a place I had never heard of) in Rajasthan – a state on the Pakistan border!

As I obeyed, I learned to yield. I found peace with my creator, even in times of outward failure, fear, rejection and uncertainty.

This is the life I still enjoy today. It is a life I have lived on battlefields and in torture chambers, in natural and man-made disasters, in executive suites, in news rooms, broadcasting studios and at the University. This is a way of life I have lived through successes and failures, betrayals, broken hearts, misguided love affairs, marriage, divorce, parenting, and the AIDS death of a wayward child.

Through it all, I have learned that a yielded life is the only path to answer the call … the only path to having passionate, purposeful meaning. If you choose to enjoy this kind of life, then please share our secret with your family and friends.

That’s why the publishers have included a presentation page in the front of the special Legacy Gift Edition. May you use it to pass along what you find here – a fulfilled, joyous, passionate, and yielded life.

Billy Bray, Author

Charlottesville, Virginia