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A Change of Allegiance  /  Chapter 12, My Defender is God  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 2
After the fight, Dean says that although he wasn’t a Christian, “something from within me cried to God for defense” and he sensed he needed “an omnipotent defender”; what does that instinct suggest about God’s character and availability even before someone has clear doctrine or conversion language?
Another way to ask: After the fight, Dean says something in him cried out to God for protection even before he was a Christian. What might that say about what God is like and how reachable He is before someone understands faith clearly?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests God can be appealed to as a real defender even before someone has full Christian understanding; Dean’s instinct assumes God is powerful, personal, and accessible to the helpless. It also shows that human weakness can drive an honest cry for God, even without polished “conversion language.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean emphasizes his pre-Christian state: “I wasn’t a Christian yet.”
  • Yet he describes an inward prayer-like reflex: “something from within me cried to God for defense.”
  • He admits he could not fix it: “I could not do it myself.”
  • He names what he believed he needed: “what I really needed was an omnipotent defender.”
  • Later he connects this to trusting God rather than self-defense, using Romans 12’s call to not avenge and to leave repayment to the Lord: “Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.”
Discussion Follow-ups What kinds of fear or shame tend to produce your most honest prayers? How does Dean’s story challenge the idea that God only listens after we have everything figured out?

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