You already know that I was in California this past weekend right? Well, if you read my last few blog posts you’d know that. I met some interesting people along the way. When you have a chance, you should read it. Here is where to find out about Matthew who I met on my flight from Texas to California. With a quick smile and a profound “Hi, I’m Matthew” this special man stole my heart!

On my way to California I wasn’t very tired so I entertained any conversation I could have with those around me. In fact, at times I initiated the conversation myself. Now on the return to Boone, NC it was a completely different story. I was in California for only the weekend and my schedule was extremely packed. On Saturday and Sunday alone I worked for about 20hrs so by the time I got on to my flight, I was exhausted to the T. I requested a window seat so I could lean my head against it and just sleep through the whole journey. However, that’s apparently NOT what the big Boss above intended!

Once I boarded my flight, I smiled at my neighbor, made my way to my seat and then just gazed outside the window. I tried to get some reading done and then attempted to sleep. However, I had this unexplainable stirring of the spirit if you must, to have a conversation with her at a time when I just didn’t want to talk to anybody. I hoped if I ignored the feeling long enough, it would go away and I would be saved from human interaction! I know I sound like an anti-social entity right now but in my defense, I spent the entire weekend being surrounded by a lot of people and I just desperately needed some alone time. Nonetheless, I could not shake-off this insistent prompting, which eventually became clear to me, was from the Lord. So, I relented. I mean, she seemed nice enough.

Turns out, she was nicer than I thought. We hit it off really fast and we chatted up a storm – not literally… when you’re flying, that’s probably a good thing! But, I digress! Anyway, my newfound friend and I talked all through the flight. I don’t know how those 3hrs zipped by so fast. By the time we began our descent into Charlotte, NC, I was very glad that she and I started talking and even established a bond of friendship. I did something I almost never do the first time I meet someone… I exchanged numbers with her. Yes, I did that. I was proud of myself for listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. But clearly I was naïve to think it ended there.

Through out my conversation with my co-passenger, I felt this nagging feeling to pray for her. I tried to hush that feeling (like that would work!), but to no avail. I sat there on the flight thinking, “Oh Lord, how do I ask her if I can pray for her? That would be so weird!” I mean, I didn’t want to be that person who would walk around thrusting her faith in to other people’s faces. Sure I love Jesus and I want to share Him with everyone I meet, but praying for someone I just met, that too on the airplane, surrounded by several passengers, was, how should I put it… awkward! However, truth be told, when the Holy Spirit gets on your case, there’s no running. So I relented once again. I figured, if this turned out to be an uncomfortable ordeal, I can just never see her again so I didn’t have much to lose. Taking a deep breath, I turned to her and asked, “Hey, would you mind if I prayed for you and for your family?” Expecting her to either laugh at me or give me a bizarre look, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her face light up as she smiled the most genuine smile at me and said, “Really? You’d do that for me?” Of course I would! Why wouldn’t I? We quickly shut our eyes and I prayed for her. During our earlier conversation I identified some needs that I then laid before the Lord in prayer and together, as the flight landed, we said, “Amen!” As soon as we opened our eyes she reached out to me and gave me a tight hug. She looked at me and said that she was very grateful that I’d prayed for her. She was touched that I would do that. We walked together to the baggage claim and before she left the airport to go home, she hugged me again and said, “You will never know how much you praying, meant to me.”

The genuine joy she felt over something as simple as prayer, is undeniable. I felt humbled and ashamed at myself, all at the same time. I was humbled that the Lord would use me to minister to her. I was ashamed that I was so reluctant to listen to Him. However, I’m glad I obeyed. Yesterday, when I was in Charlotte again for some speaking engagements, I met up with her and her children and I was just so blessed. This experience truly taught me what it means to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and truly just trust His promptings. I learned that when you offer to pray for someone, one of two things can happen – either they will reject it, or, like my friend did, welcome it like a breath of fresh air! Either way, what have I got to lose? So the next time my spirit is stirred, I won’t hesitate to turn to my neighbor and ask, “May I pray for you?”

In closing I must say – I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord!