Here am I, send me…Prayer in action
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May 25,2016|
Here am I, send me
One thing I have learned about prayer over the years is how often God will invite me to become part of the answer to my prayer. I have heard people say, “Be careful what you pray for”. I think they are referring to the possibility that sometimes our prayers are not in our best interest and that God may in a moment of frustration just give us something that is not good. We may unwrap that thought in a future blog but what I want to share today is the possibility that when we pray, God may use our prayers to launch us into the situation at hand. Jesus said, Luke 10:2, “… pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest…behold I am sending you.”
I have a list of times that God has answered in just that way. One of those times, that is especially meaningful to me, had to do with a man named Mel. I met Mel while ministering in Wilmington, CA. A friend and I had gone into an area where we heard there were people living on the street in makeshift shelters.
We had delivered food each week and talked to the people we met about how they could have a relationship with Jesus. On one of our trips some people had asked us to take food to the people living in a hotel called the Old South. It was there that I met Mel. He was a Vietnam veteran and had been wounded in the war. Now he spent his days sitting in his wheelchair on the porch of this dilapidated hotel.
Mel was always eager to talk with us when we came and we looked for ways to share Christ with him. One week we got there and Mel was not in his usual place. We asked around and discovered he had been sick. We came back again several days later and he was still not there.
As I prayed I felt impressed by the Lord to go into the hotel and pray with him. The hotel was really not a safe place and I wasn’t too eager to obey. I stood outside by the van and tried to explain to God why this probably wasn’t the best plan but I had prayed that God would bless the people of this area and that they would hear the gospel. I knew what he was asking me to do.
As I started into the hotel a man was coming out and he said, “Lady you don’t want to come in here”, he didn’t know how right he was but God had a plan!
Mel’s room was hot and cramped and I could feel the sweat immediately forming on my face. His roommate had taken me, and one of the ladies that had come with us that morning, into the room.
As I spoke with him about the Lord the room seemed to be filled with the love of God. I don’t think I had ever experienced God’s love and presence that strong before. I shared the Gospel and asked Mel if he wanted to ask Jesus to come into his life. He said yes and we prayed together. There was such a sense of joy knowing that this was his moment with God and I had been privileged to be a part of it. Mel died the next morning.
I don’t often see the results of obedience that dramatically but over the years I have seen God call me to pray and then open doors for me to participate in the answer many times.
How has God used you in answer to your prayers? I would love to hear your story. You can email me at brenda@communitiesinc.org
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