[extra]Ordinary Moment

Today was one of those days that you drive home in complete silence because there is no sound sweet enough, no lyric poetic enough, to compare to the reality of an experience. Let me tell you a story...

2:17 pm I am at work and get a phone call from a man, Eric, who is simply returning a call from a number he didn’t know. I inform him that it was probably one of our prayer call volunteers who calls members of the church to ask how we can be praying for them today. The conversation went something like this:

Confused, he responds, “Ok…”

Me: “So, anything we can be praying for you about today?” (routine answer)

E: “Actually… yes.”

Now, I’m used to getting these calls… people wondering why they are getting a weird call, only to find out its their church, i take the prayer request, have a nice day. This time was different though.

            E: “I just want to get back on the right track… with God.”

            Me: “Ok, well is there anything specific (I started into the digging deeper process so I could fill               out my prayer request card)… or... can I pray for you now?”

I don’t always offer this. But I just felt like… eh… why not? He accepted. I prayed for him, a pretty general prayer. Nothing super. Just a small prayer, 30 seconds of my time. After ending the prayer, Eric said…

            E: “Thank you so much. What church did you say you were from?”

HAHA! He most definitely was not a member of the church, in fact, he didn’t even know where the church was located because he lived in another town! Tickled, I told my boss, “Well I guess he just needed someone to pray with him today.”

2:46 pm The phone rings again… I answer. Its Eric.

E: “I’m sorry… I am just still sitting here trying to figure out… how did you get my number? Haha!”

After we discussed all possible options… there was no natural way that we could make sense of the phone call. Wrong number was the most realistic answer we could come up with… 

A wrong number I would argue to say was actually the right number.

Eric continued to inform me that he was going through a very rough time, and I won’t go into all of the details, but that phone call was not by accident. He told me how the phone call happened at the absolute perfect time. He told me that he knew that God had heard him. Eric told me how God wrecked him in that moment, in awe of the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to us and use others to speak to us.

He thanked me.

In my usual awkward manner, I thanked him in return. 

But the reality was I was just as in awe as he was!

I hung up the phone… for the second time. But before I continued my work…

I smiled,

took a deep breath,

and held back tears.

I go to my job, my job where it is in the description to pray for people’s needs, and I do that every day. My job that I am humbled to have, but some days still feels like work. I make it a point to call people and pray with them, I WORK at doing this… very hard… and so does everyone I work with. But in that moment, God simply reminded me that He will put those in our path that need to be.

I smiled because it made me feel…. Relieved… to know that despite all of MY efforts, God knows who to place where and at what time. 

Effortlessly.

I took a deep breath because it made me realize that as long as we are obedient to that small voice that says… Pray for him now… that God takes care of the rest. 

Powerfully

I held back tears because I realized… He used me. 

Humbling.

So, as I drove my car in silence, for the 15 min trip home, I decided to share this with you. 

Two blogs back to back… I’m on a roll!  :) 

I hope it encourages you to pray for someone. I thought Eric was a member of our church, but he might as well have been a stranger at the grocery store. Now, I’m not saying to go grab a stranger at the grocery store and pray for them… your kids would be embarrassed and the stranger might not “feel the anointing.” What I am saying is, be sensitive to opportunities. 

Don’t say “I’ll be praying for you” when it is just as easy to say, “Can I pray for you now?” 

Don’t know what to pray? Just open your mouth. God doesn’t need your words anyways, He just needs that open door.

Try it.

I bet things will change for you.