I saw a woman on the light rail this morning. I'm a people watcher. I like to watch people's mannerisms, expressions, how they dress, how they speak, etc. The woman that I noticed today just about broke my heart. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes tattered, and her expression was utter disappointment. She looked beaten. She wasn't poor or homeless from what I could tell. She just looked like she didn't care anymore...about her appearance, about life. She looked down at the floor. The corners of her mouth turned down. Her hands folded shyly in her lap. I don't know why, but she broke my heart. I wondered what this poor woman had gone through to make her look so beaten down. At that moment, God moved me to pray for her. Now before you start to think what a great holy man I am, I need to tell you that this isn't normal for me. I've yearned for but never quite cultivated a conversational prayer life with God. I pray, but not as often as I would like to or feel that I should. But, something in this moment called for prayer. So, as I took the 15 minute ride from the station to my stop on UC Denver's campus, I prayed. I prayed for her life circumstances, whatever they may be. I prayed for her heart. I prayed for her mind and the depression that seems to be captivating it. I prayed for God's protection in her life. I prayed that she would meet God in a mighty way and that He would give her the hope that she needs to carry on.
At one of the stops, she stood and exited the train. I don't know her life circumstances and I probably never will. Chances are good, I'll never see her again. But, I thought that it was interesting that God moved my heart to pray for her. I only hope that my time in prayer for her will be fruitful in her life. Has anyone else had experiences like this before? Did you ever get to see the difference that prayer made in their life? Or perhaps someone prayed for you anonymously and you found out about it later? Did you feel the difference? I'm just curious now about why God moves in these particular times and what results come of it.
2 comments:
We may never know the results or even why God moves us to pray at a particular moment. It's just our job to do so obediently. I'm glad you did!
Yes! Just this last Tuesday, I was sitting at a stop light waiting to turn onto Newland St. to go to work. As is my norm, I was praying [actually more like talking out loud to God]. I was feeling sorry for myself. In the car one lane over, a woman sat with her hands covering her face. She was crying and would occasionally look up through her tears to see if the light had changed yet. Immediately, I felt ashamed for how small my troubles seemed compared to her deep sorrow. I started praying for her and continued most of the way to work. I once heard a pastor say that the most blessings come when you focus your prayer life on the needs of others instead of yourself. I hope she met God that day, but I'll never know until we meet in heaven.
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