I was ready to lead prayer.
I was participating in a ministry to “un-housed” people on a sidewalk in Pittsburgh. We bring them food and clothing. We bring them connection. We try to reflect His love and His light for them. And they reflect it for us. The pastor offers prayer before we serve the food, but the pastor wasn’t with us.
Knowing it is always difficult to find someone to lead prayer, I was preparing to answer the call. Mentally, I assembled some of the phrases and concepts the pastor uses in her prayer. Silently, I lifted a prayer for God to share some of His Light and show me the way through this opportunity.
And this is what He showed me:
As I watched and waited for someone to ask for prayer, my friend W. stepped forward.
Let’s pray, he said.
W. is always the first person to volunteer for any chore. He drives. He lifts and carries. He sees and responds to needs. He’s the quiet leader, not the vocal leader. He talks to people, one at a time. He’s never at the front of the room.
In the three weeks before this night on the sidewalk, W. worried about losing his job. His employer, impacted by the pandemic, was cutting personnel. Someone in his department was going to lose a job, and W. had the least seniority. Imagine the stress, day after day, wondering if one of the foundations of your life was crumbling.
W., when we were alone, told me about his concerns; finding another job, maybe working two part-time jobs, paying for health care, using money he was saving for retirement. For two weeks, he was anxious about the possibilities.
On Monday, he learned that he would be losing his job. Possibility became disorienting, discouraging reality.
On Friday, on a city sidewalk, at the center of a crowd of more than 30 people, he stepped forward and lifted a short prayer of gratitude. “Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you’ve shared with us.”
I wanted to lead prayer. God wanted me to listen to prayer. He wanted me to see a man trusting in a foundation that would never crumble. I was blessed in the moment, strengthened by W.’s faith.
I recently heard another pastor say “prayer is essential” because it allows us to see the “presence” of God and the “power” of God. When we share prayer, when we pray together, when we pray aloud, when we ask for prayer, when we offer prayer, we amplify His presence, we acknowledge His power.
Thank you, Lord.