But she was sitting there, phone to her ear and panic in her voice.
In the midst of a hurricane hitting New Orleans, she was in our break room, talking hurriedly with her brother, a resident of a now flooded house with no rescue in sight.
By the time she had hung up I had walked over to her. Embracing her and taking her shoulder, I listened as she explained her panicked tone.
Fast rising water. No electricity. Having to make it across the formed gulf for rescue. A neighbor with a new born baby. Rain. Unending rain.
Her words flowed together like the very water she described.
I knew what the Spirit was moving me to do, and nervously, I asked, "Miss Wallace...can we pray? Let me pray for you?" I held out my hands for hers.
My heart ached for the right words, and only Lord knows if I found them. I prayed over her, her family, and the rescue teams. When I heard her phone buzzing, I ended quickly, leaving her to answer the calls coming from the rest of her family.
There are several times within the last year that the Holy Spirit moved me to pray with people, and I refused. Making excuses, I withheld, letting others lead them in prayer, or walking away and avoiding the situation entirely. It took months to be able to even pray out loud with friends. Strangers? No way.
And then, like everything else in my life, He usurped my wants and, in all my discomfort, has had me pray over two people within the last four days.
Crazy.
Though my words are simple, I know they're really His, and that the Lord will use whatever moments for His greater glory and divine purpose.
Not only have I been praying with people, but I've been creating prayer circles and prayer partners. Suddenly the fear of no prayer is greater than the fear of being rejected. And so I sought out a few others to pray for her intentionally.
Searching out people to pray for each other has become a mission. And actually, prayer, all around, seems to be becoming a bigger portion of my life.
God is trusting me with so much, and I just want to do right by Him.
And I know that this is only just the beginning.
