The Crazy Prayer

Years ago, I sat in a small group with fifteen other people, including a couple who happened to be new believers.  My sister, Brooke, was visiting from Indiana that week as well and decided to join in the fun.  The topic of the conversation that night in Millbury, Massachusetts was on prayer.  After the conversation, we prayed for friends or family in our lives who needed prayer.  One of the new believers, Scott, asked if he could pray for someone close to him.  I said yes and he prayed for a coworker of his in Westborough, Massachusetts.  For the record, Westborough is about 20 minutes west of Millbury.  Scott said his coworker’s life was falling apart because of sickness, financial problems, family drama, and a hundred other issues that burdened his friend.  Our small group gathered together and prayed intensely for his hurting coworker.

After the group, my sister and I decided to drive back home and on the way, we stopped at a Wendy’s about twenty minutes east of Millbury in north Worcester, Massachusetts.  We made it in the dining room as the staff were locking the door, but they graciously allowed us to come in and eat.  The room sat empty except the staff and one lady who sat in the corner eating by herself.

My sister and I sat and talked about our evening at the group, and in the middle of our conversation, she stood up, walked across the room, and began to talk to the lonely lady, which in turn caused me to sit lonely and tired from the long day.  I waited for my sister to finish talking, which she eventually did.  Then they walked over and my sister introduced me to Susan, a familiar name because our mother’s name is Susan too.  Brooke asked me if she could borrow my car to spend a little time with her new friend the following day, which I obliged.

Brooke drove and spent some time with Susan the next morning, then brought her back to the church where I worked, and told me she wanted to become a Christian.  Susan and I prayed together that day, and with tears in our eyes, we all hugged and prayed for Susan and the new life she found in Christ.

Brooke went home, and the next week, I was pleased to be able to share with my small group the awesome story of Susan and how she came to Christ the week before in a Wendy’s after our gathering.  As I told the story and shared the lady’s name, Scott, the new believer, looked at me like I had three heads.  He asked me to repeat her name and to describe what she looked like.  I gave him that information.  Then he proceeded to tell me that the person my sister walked across the room and talked to, and spent time with, and introduced her to Christ, was the same lady who we had prayed for an hour before in our small group.

We all felt goose bumps as we understood the power we accessed when we called out to God.

How much time have you spent this week connecting to the Creator of the universe?

Written by Martin Holman

Pre-order Marty’s new book, “Back to Acts:  How to start a home church” here.