Saturday, March 10, 2018

City Sidewalks and My Little Black Book

This time a year ago I was just west of London bearing witness to the good work of a church called New Life Masih Ghar. Before touring a Sikh gurdwara and Hindu temple we stopped in the middle of a neighborhood sidewalk and prayed for respect, empathy and understanding. Almost as soon as we said amen a man came running up to us. He was a Pentecostal minister who had been driving past when he felt a strong sense of the Holy Spirit. He saw us praying, parked his car, and came to meet us. Christians are hard to find in that community so when you see them praying on the street you gotta jump out of your car and say hello! Later in the week we took a tour of Southall. We walked in pairs from one spot to the next and prayed. People around us thought we were just walking and talking, unaware we were seeking the face of the True Sovereign on behalf of their city. 

Fast forward a year, downtown Chattanooga, again praying on a sidewalk. It had been a difficult week and I was a bit tender. As providence would have it I had a lunch date with one of my Covenant kids. After rich, encouraging conversation we walked out to Broad Street where he asked if he could pray for me. As I sat in the weeds of my world, his bird's eye view provided wisdom beyond his 20 years. I needed to hear his prayers as he sought the compassion and care of our Father on my behalf. 

I tend to be a little, tiny bit obsessive about most things. The less control I have the more mental fixation occurs. Not owning the struggles of others is a constant battle. I want to be faithful to listen as I share life. I want to sit with them, provide wisdom when attainable, and then with great effort I want to give them to the One who actually has real control. When the hamster wheel inside my head won't stop spinning it helps to intercede. A few years ago I began the practice of writing intercessory prayers in a little black Moleskin journal. The pages are small and just the right size to pray for a specific person and their need of that moment on that day. It renews my faith to look back over three year's of these prayers- prayers for guidance,  jobs, wisdom, resistance against sin struggles, relationships, hopes, dreams, healing, joys and sorrows. So many answered prayers! Some still pending...

What kindness it is for God to command us to pray for one another. Either standing on the sidewalk of a busy street or wherever I am when I need to break out my intercessory prayer journal. I'm thankful for the relief that prayer provides when the love that Jesus gives us threatens to overwhelm. 


This pretty lady is battling pancreatic cancer. Wherever your March Madness loyalties lie, pray for Brenda! She is one of the kindest people on the planet.