I was a little slow in getting out of the street today after being away for almost 10 days visiting family in Minnesota. But, the day couldn't have started better. My friend Jeff (who lives in the building right across from where I am) came by and said that he was happy to see me. I told him "I spent a week in Minneapolis with family" and he said "That's what I figured, since last time you were away for about a week you were visiting family in Texas." He even mentioned that a couple people in his building were asking about me. Wow, I am just blown away that there were people I never met before wondering were I was. So, I told him to tell them to come by and say hi to me one of these days.
Honestly, after Day 22, I needed some heavy duty encouraging and I'm thankful that God knew it and timed it so Jeff would cross my path when he did. His words were like a ray of light to my overcast spirit. It truly warmed my heart to know that people are beginning to expect me to be out there. So, amazing the favor God is giving me on this small corner in the Wicker Park community of Chicago. Sometimes I wonder just how many people I've impacted by being out here. Regardless of the number, I'm looking forward to the day when I finally get to see Jesus face to face and hearing about how He used this little Mobile Prayer Station for His Kingdom. I'm also looking forward to meeting in Heaven all the people who were impacted through this prayer ministry. Very exciting.
Today, there was a broad spectrum of people with whom I was blessed to pray with. I'll mention a couple. The first is Dan who must have been in his 50s and as we talked he shared his desire to work for a non-profit organization. He said he's been looking around but to no avail. From my sense of him, I'd say he wasn't a Christian but more of a good moral person searching for significance. So, I prayed for divine guidance, revelation of purpose and direction for him. It's cool when I'm prophetically praying the desires of a person's heart because there's this excitement mixed with tenderness that happens. It was very neat to see Dan's heart and spirit light up during the prayer time. I'm having faith for Dan that God will pave the way before him to not only find satisfaction in this world, but also eternal satisfaction within his soul.
Next, Che kind of surprised me as I must have been in deep thought about something or just looking off into the distance because next thing you know I have this 6 foot plus African American man looming in front of me. And the very first words out of his mouth was, "Can you pray that I would win the lottery?" At first I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. I find this interesting because just the other day I was challenged to not judge or critique people's prayers. But, to be honest I have a bias about the lottery because I believe they prey on the poor by giving them false hopes and teaching them to put their trust in the quick fix, rather then teaching them to work hard and to spend their money on necessities. I especially saw this in the Dominican Republic where people living well below the poverty level were spending half their income on lottery tickets when they hardly had enough money for food and clothing.
Anyways, I shared my thoughts with him and though he said I had a point, he countered that "If, someone is to win the lottery it's better to pray that that person be someone who would do a lot of good with the money, like me or you (I was flattered but little does he know of my secret desire to live on my own private island - yes I'm kidding), rather than someone else who would just blow the money or use it selfishly." I'd have to say Che had a point and I was humbled. I apologized for being critical of his prayer request which he graciously accepted. It was another neat prayer time. If there was one thing that stuck out to me about Che was that he was full of life and this really came out as I prayed that God breath even more life into him, that He would give Che favor in people's lives to encourage and impact them for good and that he would win the lottery. He asked, so I prayed. No judgement.
Today, was an all around good day. Afterwards, I went to Wicker Mic which is an outdoor open mic happening in WIcker Park. So after finishing with the Mobile Prayer Station I walked over and signed up to read a section of my poetry from a work titled "A Seeker's Return." I only read a portion of the work which gave a snapshot of the internal struggle and cosmic battle for my soul as Jesus' Kingdom of light broke into the darkness surrounding my life both internal and external. I've only read my work publicly say 5 times. So, I was a bit nervous because of this but also because I write very personally and honestly which maybe people don't want such a deep glimpse into my heart and soul. But, today they did if they wanted to or not. Overall, I felt the hand of God upon me and His compassion both for me and those I was blessed to talk and prayer with. God truly loves His creation and desires goodness and blessing for us.
Thank you for praying for me. And please let me know how I can be praying for you!
Today, there was a broad spectrum of people with whom I was blessed to pray with. I'll mention a couple. The first is Dan who must have been in his 50s and as we talked he shared his desire to work for a non-profit organization. He said he's been looking around but to no avail. From my sense of him, I'd say he wasn't a Christian but more of a good moral person searching for significance. So, I prayed for divine guidance, revelation of purpose and direction for him. It's cool when I'm prophetically praying the desires of a person's heart because there's this excitement mixed with tenderness that happens. It was very neat to see Dan's heart and spirit light up during the prayer time. I'm having faith for Dan that God will pave the way before him to not only find satisfaction in this world, but also eternal satisfaction within his soul.
Next, Che kind of surprised me as I must have been in deep thought about something or just looking off into the distance because next thing you know I have this 6 foot plus African American man looming in front of me. And the very first words out of his mouth was, "Can you pray that I would win the lottery?" At first I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. I find this interesting because just the other day I was challenged to not judge or critique people's prayers. But, to be honest I have a bias about the lottery because I believe they prey on the poor by giving them false hopes and teaching them to put their trust in the quick fix, rather then teaching them to work hard and to spend their money on necessities. I especially saw this in the Dominican Republic where people living well below the poverty level were spending half their income on lottery tickets when they hardly had enough money for food and clothing.
Anyways, I shared my thoughts with him and though he said I had a point, he countered that "If, someone is to win the lottery it's better to pray that that person be someone who would do a lot of good with the money, like me or you (I was flattered but little does he know of my secret desire to live on my own private island - yes I'm kidding), rather than someone else who would just blow the money or use it selfishly." I'd have to say Che had a point and I was humbled. I apologized for being critical of his prayer request which he graciously accepted. It was another neat prayer time. If there was one thing that stuck out to me about Che was that he was full of life and this really came out as I prayed that God breath even more life into him, that He would give Che favor in people's lives to encourage and impact them for good and that he would win the lottery. He asked, so I prayed. No judgement.
Today, was an all around good day. Afterwards, I went to Wicker Mic which is an outdoor open mic happening in WIcker Park. So after finishing with the Mobile Prayer Station I walked over and signed up to read a section of my poetry from a work titled "A Seeker's Return." I only read a portion of the work which gave a snapshot of the internal struggle and cosmic battle for my soul as Jesus' Kingdom of light broke into the darkness surrounding my life both internal and external. I've only read my work publicly say 5 times. So, I was a bit nervous because of this but also because I write very personally and honestly which maybe people don't want such a deep glimpse into my heart and soul. But, today they did if they wanted to or not. Overall, I felt the hand of God upon me and His compassion both for me and those I was blessed to talk and prayer with. God truly loves His creation and desires goodness and blessing for us.
Thank you for praying for me. And please let me know how I can be praying for you!
