I’ve known for quite some time now that one of my spiritual
gifts is intercessory prayer. I don’t know why God chooses me to pray for the
people He lays on my heart. I just know it happens. I also know there are 2 things I could do with these random urges to pray
for people:
1. I could
drive myself to the brink of insanity trying to figure out why OR
2. I could
simply enjoy the fun of watching the Holy Sprit urge me into prayer
Like the time I was lead to pray for someone in Tennessee.
It was wing night at a pub; me and my buddy Cliff decided to
meet there and chow down a pound or 2 of wings. Earlier in the day, Cliff
managed to cross paths with an MRI repairman from California. After some small talk, cliff
invited the man to join us and make it a trio. As I got to know the
guy, he told me he was sent by an MRI company to tinker with one of their
machines at the university.
For some reason, meeting this MRI repairman immediately
brought to mind a friend and her husband living in Tennessee. What an odd connection, I thought.
Why is an MRI repairman from California reminding
me of friends I have in Tennessee?
WeIrD!!!
I didn’t understand the connection, but I still prayed for
my friend’s husband.
The next day, while talking to them over Facebook, my friend
Michelle tells me her husband needs to get an MRI done on his shoulder and asks
me to pray that things will go well when he’s at the appointment. A bit
shocked, I tell her about what happened at the pub and the Lord’s
already got me praying and will have a better prayer time now that know more about their situation.
Recently the editor of my book went to
Russia on a
short, 6 week mission trip. Prior to her leaving we built a rapport and she
shared some details about her going. I told her if the Lord lays it on my
heart/mind to pray for her while in the land of borscht I would.
I recall one time The Holy Spirit did so through the mouth of a barista in a
Second Cup.
While filling an order for a French Vanilla Latte, the
barista makes an interesting observation:
“What’s the deal with French vanilla? Is it any different
then regular vanilla? Why does all the fancy stuff have to be named French, what’s
wrong with calling it Russian Vanilla?”
The word "Russian" triggered a memory of that promise of prayer support for Jeanette, my book editor. this lead me to prayer on that
occasion and many others during her 6 week adventure. The prompting to pray
often accompanied her requests for prayer via her
blog or Facebook page. As a
thank you, Jeanette sent me a fridge magnet and a picture from the
time she spent there with a note saying that my prayers often lifted her
spirits during that time.
I responded in an email saying it was a pleasure, and that
my prayers are merely a blessing from God, through me, to you; and that He
deserves some credit too.
Maybe that’s (in part) the point of a spiritual
gift. Whatever the gift may be, prayer, hospitality, an edifying word, it is God’s way of blessing someone through you.
So if your befuddled with the “why me?” question, remember
this simple little phrase. It’s a blessing from Him to someone else through
you.
