Pray for her.
This is the phrase I hear about forty times a day.
We walk up to a village and are greeted by warm smiles.
People who put their hands together in praying position and say “Vandanamulu”.
Well, they are saying “praise the Lord”
This has to be a good start.
But in reality it’s not.
It means nothing.
They see white people and believe we are anointed.
They believe we have special powers of our own that can heal them.
They believe we have a magic potion that will make their life all better.
So we are told to pray.
We aren’t told their name.
We aren’t told where they live.
Or what they do for a living.
Just to pray.
So we pray.
And as we’re praying more people walk up.
Of course it’s then their turn to be prayed for.
And then there is a woman who directs us down another road.
There are people standing outside their houses.
We walk up to one lady.
And guess what we hear?
Pray for her.
Yep, that’s right we pray.
And again we open our eyes to another crowd of people.
There is more prayer.
It’s happens all over again.
We finish praying and a woman walks us down another road.
This time to a man who hasn’t been able to walk for nine years.
And then we hear the words, “pray for him”.
It’s a cycle.
We get out of the van.
We walk up to people.
And we pray.
I stand and pray for these people as they are wrapped from head to toe in sarees.
They have red dots on their foreheads.
They are holding babies with black dots on their cheeks.
They are wearing bracelets with idols on them.
Their babies have cords wrapped around their waist symbolizing some form of idolatry.
So in those moments I’m giving them what I can.
You see, these people are blind.
And deaf.
So all I can do is pray for them.
Wait, don’t be confused.
They can see me.
They can even hear my voice.
But that’s the only face and voice they see and hear.
They definitely aren’t seeing God.
They aren’t hearing his truths over the lies of the enemy.
I have discovered the smallest glimpse of how the disciples and Jesus lived.
They traveled from town to town.
Or in our case village to village.
They prayed over people.
And then they went on their way.
Matthew 9:35 tells how Jesus traveled through villages announcing the Good News of the Kingdom.
In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus tells the disciples to go tell the lost about the Kingdom of Heaven.
And then there is Matthew 12:15 where Jesus was followed by the crowds of people.
This is just three examples out of many.
Read through the gospels and you will see how Jesus and the disciples traveled from village to village.
How they were followed everywhere they went.
How they tried to escape many times just to be alone.
I am living the life of a disciple.
I am giving these people what they are asking for.
And then I am walking away praying that their eyes and ears be opened to the truth.
I am being a disciple of Christ.
