Ready at a Moment's Notice
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
This week, I learned something important. I wish I had a better story (like I was the research king, and I discovered something amazing). But here’s the actual story.
I was walking my neighborhood when I ran across a guy I’d never met. He was in a wheelchair, the kind you drive with your chin or mouth—no hands. I stopped to talk to him, and it wasn’t too awkward. We were on the same side of the road, and conversation happened pretty naturally. I learned a little about him.
And then we went our separate ways.
I reflected on a book I’ve been reading, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit by Jack Deere—one the elders are reading and discussing together. I wondered what Jesus would’ve said to this guy. What He would’ve had me say to him if I’d been a little more tuned in to His voice. I really wanted the chance to pray for him. I walked by where he’d said his house was, and then I stopped. I turned around and just determined to go back the way I’d come and see if I ran into him again.
All the way, I was asking, What do I say? How do I even start this conversation? What I wanted to know was, Would God heal him? But I didn’t feel like that’s where God wanted me to start. As I prayed and walked, I kept asking, God what do YOU want this man to hear?
Where I landed was that I wanted to talk to him about Jesus. That’s the most important thing, and it has to be. He is the life-changing one. And wherever God wanted the conversation to go, I wanted to go there. I decided I’d ask him if I could pray for him. I’d pray for blessing, for goodness, for support, for strength in his bones, for life, for peace. And if that led to him asking some questions so I could actually introduce him to Jesus, I’d go there. And if he asked me to pray for healing, I’d go there. And I wanted Jesus to grow my faith in asking for these things.
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
What happened when I retraced my steps and tried to find the guy?
I didn’t. He wasn’t around. To be honest, I felt 90% disappointed but 10% relieved. I didn’t know if I was ready for a conversation like this, and it felt—for a minute—like I was off the hook. But then my heart shifted. I wanted NOT to feel relief, but simply to feel determined. Ready for next time. Ready in a moment to share the hope that I have in Christ, wherever that conversation goes.
