From Him, Through me, to You

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.