Wrestling with God

This morning I was sitting in a coffee shop, reading my bible, listening to music, normal morning routine. Then something happened to upset my happy medium of introspection.....

A lady walked in and sat down, acting rather ruffled. I unfortunately have a bad habit of people watching and so, well, watched for a little while.

As soon as she sat down she pulled out her mobile phone and started making phone calls. It was quite early and the coffee shop was still quiet, so it was very difficult not to over hear "They found something in my liver..... on the ultrasound scan". I kept on listening as she made numerous calls, obviously upset by this news.

This is where my "normal" morning became slightly less normal.

"Go over and offer to pray for her" I hear a voice inside me saying
"Is that You God?" I ask.

No answer.

Gnawing feeling that I really SHOULD go over and offer to pray for this lady.

Over the next 20 minutes or so a battle ensues inside me, surely God wasn't asking me, in public, to go over and actually PRAY for this woman? Getting very frustrated at my lack of courage, man I am wimp when it comes to stuff like this, I pack up my things and head to the toilet to prepare myself for the conversation.......... and this is how it went.

"Hi, my name's Andy, I'm sorry to bother you and I don't normally do this, but I was sitting behind you over there and I felt God was asking me to pray for you" I said.

Pause.

"Are you a madman?" the lady replies

"I don't think so" I said (knowing perfectly well that if I WERE insane I would probably have no insight into the fact) "But I happen to work for a local church and couldn't help overhearing you, and I just feel that God was prompting me to pray for you, maybe if you could tell me your first name and I'll pray for you over the next week or so"

By this point I had chickened out of praying for her on the spot.

"Oh, I am a christian as well, that's very kind of you, maybe you could pray for my work and that I would be physically well"

At that I quickly got her first name and practically ran out of the coffee shop.

It's odd how DIFFICULT it can be to do things that are not "normal", for fear of being a weirdo or out of place. God has really been convicting me over the last little while about my desire to blend in, to be a "cool" Christian. Instead he calls us to a life where we are to "conform no longer to the pattern of this world" - something which is so much easier to say than to do.

Please keep me accountable to pray for this lady, Suzy is her name. I hope God will heal her and bring her to a relationship with Jesus.

Peace