Last Friday, Ben and I decided to go to Chili’s for dinner. We loaded Katie in the car and headed that way. As we were being seated, I noticed that in the booth behind us, there was another family getting situated. It wasn’t your typical seating arrangement, though. The Mom was helping her son, who was maybe ten years old, to lay down on one side of the booth. His eyes were half closed and he was barely moving. The mom and the son both had on what appeared to be hospital bracelets. After she got her son laid down on one side, she sat down next to her husband on the other side. They went on with their meal, and we went on with ours.
As Ben and I were sitting there talking, I felt God telling me to pray for that family…and not just for them, but with them. So when our food came, I told Ben that I felt like we were supposed to pray for them when we prayed for our dinner. So he prayed for them when he was praying for our meal. The feeling did not go away. It got stronger. If you re-read the first sentence of this paragraph, I felt God telling ME to pray with them. All through that meal, I tried to more or less bargain with God for a lesser sentence. Can’t we just pray FOR them? What if they look at me like I’m crazy? What if they say no? What if they’re offended that I interrupted their meal or feel like I’m just being nosy? If I am supposed to pray with them, can’t Ben and I both pray with them? I knew I could just ignore what I was being told to do, but what would be the consequences of my willful disobedience?
So after we were done eating, I told Ben that I felt like we were supposed to pray with them. I could tell that he didn’t want to do it any more than I did, but truthfully, I was just trying to get him to do it with me because then I knew he would do the praying and I could just sit there. He peeked over at them and said he thought the little boy just had a broken leg or something because he had a cast on his foot. I knew in my heart there was more to it than that, that God was telling me to pray with them because something big was going on in their family. I also knew this was something I was supposed to do alone. So when Ben took Katie from me, I turned around, apologized for interrupting their dinner, told them I felt like I was supposed to pray for them, and asked if there was anything specific I could pray for.
They were definitely caught off guard, and my trembling voice (I was really emotional) probably didn’t help. They told me that their little boy had just had a pacemaker put in, and that at some point in the future he would have to have a heart valve replaced. I think he had just been released from the hospital that day. I asked if I could go ahead and pray with them there, so I prayed for them and fought back tears throughout (and not very successfully). I don’t really remember what else I said to them; I think the Holy Spirit kinda took over. I also don’t know what effect that had on them, if any. I do know, however, that it had a huge effect on me. I left that restaurant feeling much different than when we’d arrived. That was one of the few times I’d heard God that clearly, and was so glad that I had chosen to obey. I have no idea what He will ask me to do next…probably something even harder, and I am excited/terrified to find out what it will be.
(The next night at church, I remembered that a couple weeks ago during Life Group, I expressed a desire to be more bold when it comes to talking to others about Jesus. I don’t know that I actually prayed for that, but according to Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So…I know by now that when we pray for patience, boldness, discernment, or any other Christ-like quality, He will give us an opportunity to develop that characteristic. If we pray for, say, boldness, He will not just make us bold. He will present opportunities that make us be bold, and we have the choice at that point whether or not to obey. So, when I made this comment to my Life Group, I should’ve known that something would be coming my way. )
Acts 4:29 “…enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness”.
Stacy Tennison Said:
on July 1, 2009 at 3:25 am
I love it, Rachel!!! This story is great! Very proud of you!
megank Said:
on July 20, 2009 at 2:42 am
that’s a good story.. have you heard beth moore’s story about her brushing the old man’s hair? if not try to find it, very good, kind of similar; obedience. That story made me smile. I’m def. more of the ‘outgoing’ personality in our marriage and I think I sometimes let my fear of embarrassing matt get in the way of things. Honestly sometimes my outspoken-ness is embarrassing and has nothing to do with the body of Christ.