We are having some work done at our house and unfortunately, there was a slight error made in how the work was done. Nothing too bad, but it needed to be corrected. So, I called the company responsible and explained my perspective. To my surprise, I got no pushback but rather an enthusiastic offer to send someone back to correct the issue.
Fast-forward a few days and said technician is at my house wrapping up the work, now correctly done. It was then that I remembered something I had prayed about earlier that morning:
“Lord, please open my eyes to what you are doing around me so that I can join you there.”
A simple, mission-minded prayer of someone who just really wants to enjoy Jesus and help others do the same. I had no idea that on a day when I had no other appointments, I would have an opportunity to encourage someone and join in on what Jesus was already doing in their life.
The cynic or the secular mind would, at this point, start questioning and pushing back:
- “How did you really know it was Jesus leading you in that moment?
- “How can you really be sure it was the right thing to do?”
- “What if he got offended by my comments?”
And so on.
But you see friends, Jesus is not in the habit of setting up his followers to fail (read any of the Gospels and see if ‘prankster’ ever described Jesus). And of, course, one can never be exactly sure in a spontaneous moment. Bomb-proof certainly has no need of faith or God. And I need both. What about you? Faith is also spelled R-I-S-K. But, what if he got offended? Well, two things:
- Being offended doesn’t actually hurt anyone. It’s just, well, offense. Being offended is an emotional reaction to a decision one makes about what a circumstance means. It would be his choice, not mine.
- He was in my house. I understand basic human boundaries (and so do you all) and I wasn’t going to actually do him any harm by asking a simple question. An invitation really.
“Sir, I’m a Christian, and one of the ways Christians help people is to pray for them. Is there any way I can pray for you today?”
And I waited.
And he paused for a moment.
In an instant, a lot of weird thoughts rushed through my head as I catastrophized about all the ways this could go sideways. But, I reminded myself, I had asked The Lord for such an opportunity, and here He went and arranged one right inside my own home. When I had prayed earlier it was very early and I really wasn’t thinking about the service callback that day. So I had no idea how The Lord would respond to this prayer.
But here we were.
He looked up, and quietly he spoke; “My girlfriend has Ovarian Cancer. It’s the second time it’s come back. I don’t know how this is going to turn out.”
More silence.
I remember saying something that acknowledged how difficult that must be and how grateful I was that he shared it with me. He took a few more minutes and told me a bit more of the backstory.
And then, I said, “May I pray for her with you right now?”
He looked up and simply said, “No, I don’t do that sort of thing.”
I was a bit taken aback. In many years of doing this sort of thing, I have literally never had someone turn down the offer to pray on the spot. I think it’s pretty terrible to hear a story about someone’s struggle, announce that you’re going to pray for them, and then never get around to praying. Often, people with the best of intentions, say, “I’ll pray for you” and then never do. So I make it a habit to offer prayer on the spot.
I’ve never had someone get offended at the offer. Never. I have now had the experience of being turned down to pray in the moment. But hey!
Still, no one was harmed.
No one.
Period.
I’ll bet you were expecting me to share that he said yes, please, and we prayed,
- And it was a beautiful moment.
- Now he is going to come to church
- Then beg to take a membership class.
But no.
It was a beautiful moment though.
For two reasons:
- I recognized a moment the Lord had arranged for me to demonstrate my obedience and I took action. You don’t have to know much about the Bible to know that God loves obedience.
- I did pray for her. Her name is Debbie, by the way. Would you please pray for her?
When we shift away from me-mine-and-ours thinking to Kingdom thinking, God shows up in ways we never expected. I wasn’t thinking at all about adding a new member to our church (yes, I do know that’s important, but also, we won’t get very far being kind to people only to use them, or treat them like a project).
The more we start our days with a prayer as I shared above, the more opportunities we will see, the more people we will bless. And, I promise, some of that will come back to us. But first, we must demonstrate that we simply want to serve others, no strings attached.
Because it’s what Jesus calls us to do.
Will you follow Him with me?
Pastor Mark
P.S. By the way, with Halloween approaching, there is a perfect opportunity to practice being missionaries to our neighbors. We are doing that this year by repeating our Fire Pit invitation to our neighbors. We will host a fire pit in our driveway and provide Cocoa, Hot Cider, and S’mores for any who stop by. Halloween is one of the few days of the year when many people come out of their homes and talk to their neighbors.
- Don’t have a fire pit? Just consider serving Hot Cocoa as you pass out candy in the driveway.
- Still sounds like too much? Then consider investing in full-sized candy bars and start the process of being known as THAT house so you build a reputation and see what you come up with next year.
- Don’t have neighbors? Well, people can get pretty over-the-top in coming up with reasons not to try this sort of thing. Consider partnering with others in the church who do… you get the idea.
P.P.S. Will you follow Him with me?
0 Comments