One Hand In My Pocket...

If you want to have someone agree to let you pray with them, there are a few things to remember. The first is that developing some rapport with them first is a great idea. The second is that you should introduce yourself and let them know why you are there (to pray for healing) and where you are from (a local church). The third is that you shouldn't come charging up to them with your hand jammed in your jeans pocket and demand to know if "they're in pain or here with someone who is having pain."

I learned each of these valuable lessons after choking down my sickening level of anxiety and rushing up to the first man I laid eyes on in the Loyola Hospital ER waiting room. A light skinned African American man in a red Comcast jacket, he looked at me standing over him, stood up, and said 'no, but that man over there does." I could tell from his demeanor that he wasn't really enjoying my presence, and I felt I needed to let him know I was 'ok.' I explained that I was there to pray for anyone who wanted it. He nodded, laughed, and relaxed. It was clear he was a nice guy and that I’d just surprised him a bit.

Five minutes later, after learning that the second man's mother was in the ER after suffering a minor stroke, and that he was related to the larger family that Jen had already befriended and was making small talk with, we got down to praying. Jen and I prayed for the woman to be fully restored and to have no repercussions from the stroke. We asked for the Kingdom to come, and for Jesus to heal her body.

When we were done, a curious thing happened. The entire family, and the man in the Comcast jacket, began to give me pointers. "Don't just come running up to people without introducing yourself first!" said one the three women Jen had been talking to. "You've got to let us know who you are and why you're here."

Then, Comcast jacket guy stared in, and as he talked, I felt my face growing red. "You come up to me with your hand in your pocket. Your hand in your pocket! You certainly got my attention. And I'm sitting there, and I'm like, man I'm not even on my feet. You know, that's not really going to put anyone at ease."

There's not much I can say except "You're right." I'm feeling embarrassed, but it's the good sort of embarrassment that comes when you realize you've made some silly mistakes, but that you can learn from them. Comcast guy is being very polite, and he's not exaggerating things. He's actually doing me a favor. He's pointing out that if you want to do the work of Christ, if you want to contend for the Kingdom, and if you want to pray for healing, you've first got to convince the person that you're talking to you're not there to shoot them in the face.

I'm thankful to Comcast guy. He gave me the opportunity to see how my spectacular level of nervousness which led to me shoving my hand into my pocket and approaching him far to directly out of fear that if I didn't, I never would, had created walls that never needed to be there. He showed me, and explained in detail, what I already knew: that developing rapport is essential. What I knew, but what I couldn't apply because I let my fear get in the way of expressing the love of Christ. It's clear to me that God put that man in my path and not someone who would have taken offense, closed themselves off (or worse!) so that I could learn some valuable lessons.