How do I even begin this. I believe I have rewritten this blog 8 times, but let’s give it another shot!
Ho Chi Minh City is where I will be living for the next month in Vietnam. A total of 12 million people live here, which basically means there are 12 million mopeds driving around everywhere. Yes, this is the first time I have ever lived in a huge city, and much of it is so beautiful! The people, the parks, the food, the weather, etc. However, when one walks out of our hotel one can’t help but notice how consumed the city is with drugs, prostitution, and theft.
Throughout this month we are working in bars, rehab centers, parks, coffee houses, children homes, leper hospitals, worship classes, and more. The wonderful thing is that these ministries only take up about 3 hours of the day, this means we get to roam the city and do anything we want.
In much of my down time I go into solitude with God. I believe intimacy precedes fruitfulness. As I was alone I couldn’t help but read, reread, and be reminded of Jesus saying a variation of the phrase “Lay hands on the sick and pray over them.”
I can no longer twist scripture into getting me out of what so many people would consider an embarrassing situation. Thus, I have genuinely felt led to do the following:
“Lay hands on and pray over all those you see with a physical illness while walking through the streets.”
So here I am in a city with around 12 million people and man oh man, there are a ton of people with bad backs, legs, feet, hands, arms, necks, skin, and more! Eventually I saw a woman with a neck brace and I probably walked by her about 5 times until I got the nerve to walk up to her. As I walked up though I wasn’t nervous, I was at peace. My heart wasn’t racing and I wasn’t trying to figure out what I was going to say…simply peace, as if everything was falling into the arms of God. I felt no burden.
I prayed for her, then I prayed for a lady on crutches, then a women who was dragged on the streets by a moped, then a man with a bad knee, and more! I was simply laying my hands on all who needed prayer and prayed for them.
Has anyone been healed? Yes! The woman dragged on the streets said she felt no more pain! The lady on crutches cried tears of joy and started kissing me! These people have encountered Jesus Christ and they have forever been changed. I don’t even know what is going on.
Have people on the streets cursed me, yelled at me, looked down upon me, and more? Yes. But through all this I have learned that the greatest reward is obedience to my Father. Even when cursed I feel closer to God for the mere fact that I have obeyed. Even when hearts are restored, the reward for me is that I obeyed.
I’m just a simple man praying over the broken, and I seriously struggle to do this every day. Let us join together and pray over all we see. I don't know about you, but I have been forgiven of much and so I desire to love much.
