Taking the plunge

This is the third and final part of a series of blogs to encourage us to be carriers of the presence and the power of God to those we meet.

Somebody once said that the Holy Spirit in us is meant to be a river, not a lake. Jesus said that rivers of life giving water should flow out of us. Too often believers have enjoyed the presence of the Holy Spirit in them, but the experience has been more like having a lake, rather than a river that pours out life wherever we go. At some point, what we carry is meant to impact the world around us. We have a light within us. Now is not the time to hide that light under an upturned bucket. Now is the time to let it shine. That doesn’t mean going round telling everyone that you are a Christian. That means going round and being a Jesus follower; the one who brings God’s supernatural power into the lives of others – just like Jesus did.

So, the time comes when we need to take the plunge, take the risk, step out and trust God. When we someone around us who needs healing, or has some other need, we have a choice. Do nothing and give them some empathetic words of comfort, OR put our money where our mouth is and offer to pray – because we have a friend who sorts stuff like this out all the time. Jesus. You will be surprised at how many people will say ‘yes’ to the offer to pray. If you never ask, you’ll never know.

Even if they say no, it’s not the end of the world. (And if it was the end of the world that would be pretty exciting anyway!). Seriously, occasionally someone may say no. That’s ok. Some people will say no to a cup of coffee but we’re not embarrassed or rejected, or saying to ourselves what an awful experience that was and how we’ll never offer anyone a coffee again! Sometimes we just need to get over ourselves.

So, the person says you can pray for them. Great. Sometimes they imagine that you mean you’ll “remember them in your prayers” when you get home. You might need to clarify….. “so is it ok if I do that now?” If it is, fine. But never push. For healing, ask if they are comfortable for you to put your hand on 1) either where the pain is, or, 2) on their arm. If not, then that’s fine too. Be casual. No pressure. Don’t be needy.

Pray a dead simple prayer. No churchy stuff. (Christians often don’t realise how weird they can be!) “Jesus, I thank you that you love Karen. Would you please help her to find another job, that pays her well and that she enjoys. And would you make yourself real to her. Thank you.” Or “Jesus, thank you that you love Stephen, and that you have power to heal. Ankle be healed in Jesus’ name. All pain go now. Thank you Jesus”

Short prayers! We are not heard for our many words. Never pray in tongues with an unbeliever – it’s a misuse of the gift and just creates issues. With healing, ask them if they notice any difference. Ask them to try it out, test it. If it’s a little improved but not completely healed, ask if you can pray again. Thank Jesus for the start of healing. Many times, people are healed later, or as they go. Don’t be disappointed if there isn’t an instant result. You did your bit and the rest is up to God – and He gets to choose what He does and when.

In all this, do you know what the most powerful thing is? It’s that you love people. If you love them, they will be aware of it. It will show in your concern. It will show in your desire to pray. It will even show in your easy attitude as you cheerfully accept a ‘no’. Love them anyway. They are not projects for us to get successfully sorted using supernatural power. They are people whom we are to love.

Your interaction with that person, however unsuccessful it may seem to you, may well turn out to be an essential link in the chain that Holy Spirit is forging to pull them into the Kingdom.

In my experience, people feel loved and valued when you pray for them, and often in that moment they sense something they may never have felt before – the presence of God.

There is loads more that I could say about this. I teach a five week course on this (2 hours a week – not 5 solid weeks!) to train and release people. But you have enough here to go on – if you want to.

If you never take the plunge, you’ll never find out what you and Jesus can do together. Remember Elisha from last week? If he had never hit the water of the river with the coat, the waters would never have parted and he would never have gone on to do the amazing things that he did. What about you?