Matthew 6:7
“And when
you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that
they will be heard for their many words.”
Do you ever get asked to pray for someone and have NO CLUE
what to say or have any clue what their needs are? Last weekend I was able to go downtown to
hand out water and bars to the homeless.
Our hope was to be able to pray and share the gospel with them. As I was going into this experience I had
zero expectations. I ended up meeting
three men (two of which I will speak about) that will stay on my heart for
hopefully a very long time.
From a distance we saw three older men sitting near a
building with their bikes and bags. We
went over to hand them bars and water and the man in the middle said “God Bless
You!” Now that was an open invitation to
start talking about Christ! As we were
talking, my heart just started to hurt and I had to put my sun glasses on to
hide the tears. “How do I pray for these
men?? How do I even comprehend what they
go through?” I asked the man in the
middle how they survive? Where do they sleep, what do they do come summer and
so on. He answered these questions so
precise that all I could hear was this mans
a leader! This is the type of man
that could be a HUGE help to others on the street by guiding them to the right
buildings, shelters, finding clothing / food ect. I knelt down to pray and I have NO idea what
I said but I left asking God to help me understand their needs, and to help me
understand how they feel.
The last man we encountered was the entertainer, he spent 15 minutes showing us trick after trick on
his rubrics cube. He told us jokes and
just wanted our company!
I left that park filled with joy seeing that even on the
streets there’s a piece of community, men that come together to help each other
survive, men that come together and make others laugh, forget their troubles,
and men that come together to just be still and not feel so alone in this big
world.
That evening I went to a party, I was still really touched
by their stories and shared my experience with others. I kept saying, “man I wish I knew how they
felt..” I should know by now, not to
say that unless I’m ready to truly understand!
I wanted to leave the party earlier than my ride so I got a
ride with someone else that was leaving.
As she drove away from my place, I got to my door and realized my keys
were in my other friends car and I do not have the number to the girl who just
drove off! I pulled my phone out and
started to make my calls; roommate one – not answering, roommate two – on the
other side of town and not coming home, my brother with the spare – sound
asleep. I texted a couple others to get
a hold of my roommate but no luck… I felt SO HELPLESS. I looked at the clock and realized there was
no one I could call.. I was all alone.
So, in my high heels and cocktail dress I found a “comfy” spot on my tile
staircase and attempted to sleep. A fly
kept buzzing near my ear, footsteps nearby kept me alert. Now, I wasn’t just helpless and lonely but I
was freaked out!!!! I tried at my phone
again.. no answer!
I glanced at the stars and as I started to tell God how I
was feeling, He reminded me of my earlier prayer. He showed me EXACTLY how those men I met
feel. I may have seen them as leaders or
entertainers on the street BUT they are afraid, they feel alone and
helpless. It was at that moment, 2:15 am
that I got to pray for those men, not a prayer of babble but with a heart of
understanding!
I thank GOD for being my teacher, for giving me a heart to
understand others and revealing himself more and more each day. Most of all, I am thankful that I do not have
to walk this life alone, that I do not have to be afraid of the unknown, that
He, God himself, is walking with me, directing each step. Psalm 25:5 Lead me in your truth and teach
me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
