I was once again amazed by God's grace today. So, my friend Nate joined me for about an hour today and while he was there we met two women, Lucy and Ana, who stayed in a nearby apartment complex that my church has been interested in blessing and serving. Not only did we get to pray with them, but Lucy was the woman who, up until a few years ago, organized the activities for the seniors who lived in the building which is exactly what my church has been interested in doing. After brainstorming ideas with her, Lucy gave Nate her contact info. Talk about a God orchestrated appointment. So cool!
Even though the weather was so wonderfully warm today, some people I encountered still had storm clouds looming over their lives. Case and point, I give you Edwin and Ada who are going through quite a bit of financial stress and anxiety in their lives right now. They actually walked past me and came back around to me. After saying hi to them, the very first thing Edwin said to me was "I wish I could find $1000 on the ground right now." We talked for a little while, but mostly I just listened both to Edwin and Ada, but also to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God helps to highlight which burdens I need to focus on in prayer and will oftentimes give revelation of what may be the underlying cause while also giving me pictures of hope to share. For Edwin and Ada, God let them know that He sees them and is concerned that they are distressed.
A new comer today was Larry who complimented me on my burnt orange Converse high tops and asked me what I paid for them. We then proceeded to talk about where to find Converse Allstars at a low price which lead to him talking about why he loves wearing Converse low tops because of an old ankle injury that gets swollen from time to time. Seeing an opportunity, I told him why I was out on the street and asked if I could pray with him and ask God to bring healing to his ankle. He said "yes" and we prayed while bumping fists. I love the diversity of people's personalities and style. I also prayed for blessing and favor over Larry's life. There was no immediate healing that happened, but I'm still glad I asked God for healing for Larry because if we don't pray for healing, healing will never happen. But if we do there is a chance that God will heal. So, no matter the results, I never regret praying for healing for someone.
Finally, my new friend Lao, the ice cream vender, was out today. We talked about faith while eating one of his very tasty ice cream pops. He said that he has no faith, but that he believed in a higher power. I told him I was a Christian and he stated that he thinks that people humanize God too much and that he has a problem with that. What I was discerning from Lao was that this "higher power" of his was an impersonal being, a nebulous intangible power. So, I ended up sharing my testimony with him and my own personally encounters with God. I shared that it's not only about reading about God in the bible, but also about personally experiencing Him; that knowing God is both understanding and experience. His eyes popped open and I could tell he was interested in encountering and experiencing God. So, I prayed with Lao, asking God "If you are real God, reveal Yourself to Lao." A very simply prayer, but one filled with revelation and power. I have a feeling that my conversations with Lao about God are only just beginning and am looking forward to engaging with him more on the things of faith and life.
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