“The power of prayer is something that was never handed down from the Creator to just a chosen few people. It’s accessible to all for all. And the tiniest prayer from the tiniest person may be the very thing that shifts someones world into a better place.”
– River Jordan, author of Praying for Strangers – An Adventure of the Human Spirit
Today, I received an e-mail from the blog, (In)Courage – a heartwarming post for those who love to pray for strangers: http://incourage.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a9e57887af58589c4ecd6475d&id=3d61b67ebe&e=68749f449d . The author’s story reminded me that all of us have felt the Holy Spirit nudge us to such prayer…and that only God knows what life-changing wonder these prayers bring! I encourage you to click on over to read her words… and to follow the link she has there to a separate post on the same theme, This past Wednesday. Ms. Jordan’s new book, Praying for Strangers, is definitely on my list to read. 🙂
In keeping with this, I thought I’d re-post part of something I originally wrote as “Nancy Drew and Me” last Easter. The original post details my love from childhood for sleuths such as Nancy Drew, how that love is still within me and leads me to some “undercover prayer” of my own…
It wasn’t exactly a tearoom, but one of my favorite places to grab a bite. I’d taken a booth in the back to relax after work and as I was finishing, two young girls – looking 18 at the most — sat down beside me, about a foot away. I wasn’t spying really (eavesdropping as a writer is permitted, right? 
), but something in their words caught my heart…
“Why did you move out of your house?” asked one of the other, more talkative girl.
She answered with a hollow laugh. “Well, that’s a long story… do you want me to go into it?”
Her friend nodded.
“Well, back when I was little and my mom and dad and I lived together…”
Waitresses clattering dishes, coming up to check on me, made it frustratingly hard to hear – and I couldn’t catch everything. But that beginning to her story made me want to listen. And to pray for this girl. Because, despite the over-bright tone, the first few words I’d heard told me — there was hurt here.
Staccato snatches came to me as I shamelessly strained to hear… willing the waitress to stay away until I uncovered more “clues” to pray for her…
“I used to disrespect my dad… I’ve gotten over it… We get along okay now… My mom and I had an apartment with only two bedrooms and then her friend and her kids needed a place to stay because her husband couldn’t deal with her fibromyalgia… I didn’t really mind her coming, and mom said I could sleep with her if I gave up my room… But then I ended up sleeping on the floor and… and you know, I’m happy, really happy out on my own because I feel I am more independent now than ever and this is great…”
Something in her voice sounded over-convincing… Yes, there was strength in this girl. I could hear it. But, oh… the pain of a little-girl-lost-too-soon, too…
The waitress was handing me my check, and I listened with one ear… hearing the young girl’s friend encouraging her. “You are always so strong… and when I first met you I knew there was something I admired about you, because you are even more mature than I am…
I stole a glance. Yes, I thought. But too young to have to be that strong…
As they went on, so sincerely… sharing encouraging words with one another… I found my heart silently blessing them. Asking the Father to put his arms around the one who’d been forced out on her own, showing her His heart, bringing others to her who shine His love, helping her to know she is not alone… does not have to carry the world on her shoulders…
I stood, slipped into my coat, thinking… undercover prayer is a gift of wonder. More filled with clues and intrigue than any make-believe worlds of my old favorite sleuths. For it was no coincidence that I was sitting here at this moment, lifting up a girl I’ll never know and praying blessings for her heart… thinking how she had no idea of so many secret agent prayers surrounding her.
I thought of how often God seems to fill me with a quick prayer when I look into the faces of strangers, see something in their eyes. Feeling somehow, led to be there, for just such a moment as this. How even just that morning, sitting at a job I’d only just started, I found myself praying silently for two women sobbing on the other side of the row over some devastating news they’d just heard about a co-worker’s family… asking God to comfort as only He can… Putting silent “voice” to the “code” He whispers to my heart… Because He is the one who loves them so…
Yes, that old secret agent, clue-detecting nudge is still in my spirit… now so much more than kid stuff
© Pam Depoyan
There’s wonder in whispers… from His heart, to ours…and back again.
Have you done any “prayer-sleuthing” lately?
.
Linked with: Into the Beautiful
Writing... Apples of Gold 
I like the thought of being an “undercover prayer agent,” Pam. I’ve done my own little part too. So much so here in our country when everyday…. we come face to face with poverty and depravity in the streets and in our communities. There are always scenes and situations that makes one call upon our Heavenly Father to intercede. On TV, we see families in dire need of medical attentions, some in hands of perpetrators, others victims of calamities. Sometimes I feel inadequate when all I can do is to utter a prayer for their cases.
But I must not discount the power it could do to open the floodgates of blessings from heaven. Thanks for this one, Pam.
Oh,yes Lolita… I know you are doing so much more than you know – every time you breathe a prayer for one of these. Putting them into the hands of the Healer, their Provider, their HOPE… especially when they may not know to do it themselves.
P.S. If you tried to link to that “ordinary woman” link, I found it didn’t work. I just put the right link in there…
Sometimes my heart gets so filled the compassion for a stranger, for someone I hear in the news, etc.that I cannot do anything but pray for them. It’s a connection that is so deep with someone I’ll never meet this side of Heaven. How grateful I am that He has connected me with other sisters in The LORD who understand…I’m blessed to know you all.
Yes, Diane, that is so true! I feel that way almost every time I watch a movie too, praying for the actors… Praying for someone always makes me feel connected to them, just as you say! The Lord showed me a scripture about that once when I was thinking maybe it was strange or obsessive to pray so much for someone I don’t really know… “It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart…” Phil 1:7-12. He is the one who puts them in our hearts 🙂
Oh, yes! AMEN!
And AMEN!
Great post. I have neighbor like this that I feel prompted to pray for every time I see him. Not sure what God is doing is his heart but I want to obey those promptings too. Thanks for linking up!
Yes, Eileen, I’m sure God is using your prayers! I love that… the thought that God is using us beyond our imaginations in this way. And His love reaching out to each of us, leading us to pray for others who may not ask themselves, or may even be asking Him to have others pray for all we know. 🙂 I’m always blessed when I find out someone has been praying that I didn’t know… Thanks for sharing this, for your words and for stopping by!