I had a certain amount of time to finish off some chores up at the local shopping centre before our accountant was arriving at our home at 12 Noon. I was with my four-year old M and I had promised him a donut. We bought the promised item and as we headed back to visit our last store I saw a familiar face … Gwen. She was in her mid 80’s at least and she used to help out on reception at the Community Centre where I had run a babies play group.
Over the time I had run the playgroup I had prayed many times for Gwen. The first time she early fell down and we quickly got a chair for her to stop her from toppling over. I hugged her and she gave me her list of physical complaints. I looked at her and said I would pray, placed my hand on her chest and prayed for her lungs to clear and for her voice to grow strong. She swayed … her voice sounded better than it had and I waved goodbye, giving her a hug and a new copy of my home phone number. M and I hurried upstairs to where we needed to go next.
I walked into the next store and there was Marie. I had prayed for her a year before, and again a year before that. The first time was nearly to the day the anniversary of her brother’s death, the next time was a year later and was for favour, and favour had been released nearly immediately … today something was amiss, she had no colour.
I mentioned how I had not seen her and how it was nearly to the year that I had last seen her and laughed that it had started to be a yearly event. I asked about the flow of favour on her life and she indicated that things had slowed down somewhat … I said I would pray again, give her a “top up” like an annual check up … she agreed that would be good.
I completed my purchase, with a 4-year-old toilet stop mid purchase (yes mums we did make it in time, but I had to find a toilet quickly). By this time I calculated that I was running late to get home for the accountant, but I took Marie’s hand anyway and asked the Holy Spirit to come … The anointing did not seem to “flow” as it had on previously occasions and I sensed something was amiss. I asked about whether she had been dealing with some issues and whether she had been able to forgive … she felt she had, and it was then that I sensed it was herself that she could not forgive … she agreed that she was hard on herself …
I explained how important forgiveness was and I recited the Lord’s Prayer to her – knowing she was Catholic and knowing she would know it …
As we got to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us” I pointed out that the forgiving of “others” included forgiving herself, that she was not to hold unforgiveness against herself for Christ had died for her as well and that He would forgive us as we forgave, and that the word “those” included her … He had forgiven us and so we must forgive ourselves too …
As she forgave herself out loud, a rush of anointing came. She felt it just as I did and I looked at her and said “did you feel that!” She did … We both got teary and I felt God’s compassion for her flow through and over me … I looked and prayed that she would be washed with the blood of Jesus, that she would see herself as God saw her, and told her that I felt God was showing me that she was indeed a very forgiving person, but too hard on herself and that He delighted in her, that he was so very proud of how she forgave others … I finished the prayer gave her a kiss and left … making it home just in time for the accountant …
God visits us, and revisits us, and visits again. We are called to knock and keep knocking, but I have a hunch that He keeps knocking too …
My day was punctuated by two previous “prayer assignments” … but they were not just prayer assignments! These two girls were two people with lives, issues, complaints, loves, joys and hurts … two people loved by God. I believe God wanted both girls to know that He had not forgotten them … it was time for them to hear from Him again … He was reminding them that He loved them and that He was there for Him, just as He reminds us too …
He will always keep coming back to us, just as He will revisit others through you – if you are willing to release Him to those hurting by your side. He will never stop coming to us, and He will never cease reaching out to the world, through us, through you, through me, if we will let Him … because He is love, because …
God is Good!