There I was, sitting quietly in the back room at Augie's, drinking my coffee and reading my book. All of a sudden, a kid bolts into the quiet atmosphere, making all sorts of noise as he throws his race car all over the tables. Now, i'm used to being around a lot of kids, on the account of growing up among 23 grandchildren, and being the 4th oldest, so noise isn't really a problem for me. When I'm reading though, I need complete silence in order to fully take in the words on the page. So, the only other option was to get up and move outside, where I could continue reading. I admit, I was a little upset because it was definitely warmer outside than inside, but I got over it. I head on over to a bench in the shade, sit down, and continue to read. About 5 minutes later, a lady comes and sits on the opposite side of me, pulls out a cigarette, and starts to smoke. That triggers an annoyance in me again and I start to feel a bad attitude come over me. As I'm sitting there, reading my book, I start to feel the Holy Spirit tug on my heart and give me a burden for this lady next to me.
"You need to pray for her."
"But, what do I even say? How do I bring it up? Do I tell her my name? "
"Just close your mouth, and open your ears. Listen, don't speak, and I will be your mouth for you."
So I grabbed my stuff, stood up, and walked a couple steps towards her. As I introduced myself, I asked her if there was anything I could pray about for her. She proceeded to tell me that she needed a home. Immediately, the word home resonated in my heart. I knew that she not only needed a physical house with walls, but she needed a place that felt comfortable and safe to her. A place of genuine refuge. She also needed an eternal home. I closed my "mouth" like the Lord told me to, and let Him lead me in a prayer over her. As I was leaving, she thanked me and asked if I had any change. In a situation like this, if I had money on me, I would've handed it right over without a second though, but I didn't so I told her. She thanked me anyways, grabbed my hand, and said "God bless you." You could see in her eyes this new glistening that wasn't there prior to the prayer. God was doing a work in her and that made my heart happy.
As I walked back to my car and sat down, I noticed I needed gas. I went to the station around the corner, and went inside to pay. This was the opportunity to get cash back and buy her some water! A weird sense of hesitancy popped into my brain and automatically went to,
"People always say food is better for homeless people. That way, they can't buy drugs or anything illegal like that. What if she just uses it to buy more cigarettes?"
In any situation like this, my mind never goes to this way of thinking so this was odd for me. My mom raised me with the thinking that, if I am blessing someone with cash, my attitude should be to pray over it, that it would bless them, and that the meaning behind it would spark something in their heart to know that they are loved and being cared for. When Jesus performed miracles with the lowest of lows, not once did he ever question their intent. He loved them. Simple as that. So, as I drove back and went to give her the cash and water, she looked up at me like a kid on Christmas morning, with such a beautiful gleam in her eyes. She was so astounded that I had left and come back just to give her water and money. But, to her, it wasn't just water and money. It was love. Praying over someone by myself was something I probably hadn't done since the eighth grade.
Transparency time. I have been going through a "dry" time in my life. As much as I go to church, get into my word, and listen to worship music, something has felt like it's been missing. I now know what it was. It was water. Just as the lady opened up the bottle and gulped it down, that's what I was experiencing in my spirit. I had been missing putting God's love into action. Doing all of the above is great, but if i'm not being poured into by pouring myself out, the above is almost useless. We, as Christians, need to get a reality check. We need to stop playing it safe and get over ourselves. We need to stop believing the lie of the enemy that doing all of these things will "feed" us. Instead, we need to put the things we learn in church, into action outside of the church. We need to look at the way Jesus did ministry and life and follow his footsteps. He let the Father speak through Him. He let Him lead his footsteps. He loved no matter race, status, gender, etc. He lived out love. No questioning intent. No fumbling with what "perfect Christianese" words he needed to say. He just went. So let's go.
"You need to pray for her."
"But, what do I even say? How do I bring it up? Do I tell her my name? "
"Just close your mouth, and open your ears. Listen, don't speak, and I will be your mouth for you."
So I grabbed my stuff, stood up, and walked a couple steps towards her. As I introduced myself, I asked her if there was anything I could pray about for her. She proceeded to tell me that she needed a home. Immediately, the word home resonated in my heart. I knew that she not only needed a physical house with walls, but she needed a place that felt comfortable and safe to her. A place of genuine refuge. She also needed an eternal home. I closed my "mouth" like the Lord told me to, and let Him lead me in a prayer over her. As I was leaving, she thanked me and asked if I had any change. In a situation like this, if I had money on me, I would've handed it right over without a second though, but I didn't so I told her. She thanked me anyways, grabbed my hand, and said "God bless you." You could see in her eyes this new glistening that wasn't there prior to the prayer. God was doing a work in her and that made my heart happy.
As I walked back to my car and sat down, I noticed I needed gas. I went to the station around the corner, and went inside to pay. This was the opportunity to get cash back and buy her some water! A weird sense of hesitancy popped into my brain and automatically went to,
"People always say food is better for homeless people. That way, they can't buy drugs or anything illegal like that. What if she just uses it to buy more cigarettes?"
In any situation like this, my mind never goes to this way of thinking so this was odd for me. My mom raised me with the thinking that, if I am blessing someone with cash, my attitude should be to pray over it, that it would bless them, and that the meaning behind it would spark something in their heart to know that they are loved and being cared for. When Jesus performed miracles with the lowest of lows, not once did he ever question their intent. He loved them. Simple as that. So, as I drove back and went to give her the cash and water, she looked up at me like a kid on Christmas morning, with such a beautiful gleam in her eyes. She was so astounded that I had left and come back just to give her water and money. But, to her, it wasn't just water and money. It was love. Praying over someone by myself was something I probably hadn't done since the eighth grade.
Transparency time. I have been going through a "dry" time in my life. As much as I go to church, get into my word, and listen to worship music, something has felt like it's been missing. I now know what it was. It was water. Just as the lady opened up the bottle and gulped it down, that's what I was experiencing in my spirit. I had been missing putting God's love into action. Doing all of the above is great, but if i'm not being poured into by pouring myself out, the above is almost useless. We, as Christians, need to get a reality check. We need to stop playing it safe and get over ourselves. We need to stop believing the lie of the enemy that doing all of these things will "feed" us. Instead, we need to put the things we learn in church, into action outside of the church. We need to look at the way Jesus did ministry and life and follow his footsteps. He let the Father speak through Him. He let Him lead his footsteps. He loved no matter race, status, gender, etc. He lived out love. No questioning intent. No fumbling with what "perfect Christianese" words he needed to say. He just went. So let's go.