Neighborhood Prayer Walk - 9-16-8

Middlebury Street

This is our next to last week for the season.  Terry Wallin is in Florida.  Terry Heath started a new job today and was therefore unable to attend.  I haven't heard from Melissa in a little while.  Her phone has been disconnected, so for only maybe the second time since March, I was walking and praying alone this evening.

We had a good night.  I spoke with Donny, this is the fellow Terry Wallin and I met for the first time last week.  I spoke with him as he rode his bicycle back from the grocery store.  He seems to be doing pretty well.  

A fellow on the porch at the Serenity Hall building stopped me and wanted to talk.  We chatted for quite a while sitting in the chairs there, watching the traffic on the street.  His name is Jimmy.  He gave me his testimony, really his life story of being delivered from drugs and alcohol some 21 years ago.  He is searching for a church to attend.  We may see him soon.

I talked with Loretta and her crew over on Aspenwald. 

 I spoke with Barb and her boyfriend, they were living over on Marion Street, but are now on Middlebury Street.  They will be at church on Sunday.

Tonight was really a night of children.  The low income apartments at Prairie and Middlebury Street are always full of children wanting Bible verse cards and fliers, but tonight the children wanted anointing and prayer.  It started with one girl maybe 11 or 12 years old.  I gave her a flier and Bible verse card and I told her I was praying for the neighborhood or for anyone who had a need, I would join with them in asking God to do a work in their lives.  She said she wanted prayer for her mother and father to get back together.  This girl was so very sweet and earnest in her request.  I took out my sweet smelling Rose of Sharon anointing oil and poured a little in my hands, gave her some to rub on her hands as we began to pray, but she stopped me.  She wanted me to put a cross on her forehead with the oil before we prayed.  I thought this little gesture of faith was very touching.  I anointed her forehead with a cross and I held her hands together between us as I prayed for God to please help her mother and father to get back together.  The Spirit of God was very powerfully present.  We were surrounded by quite a group of children, watching as we prayed, somewhere between 15 and 20 kids in all, I'm guessing.

This girl then went in turn, to each of the onlooking children and spoke quietly with them for a moment before bringing them to me for likewise, to have a little cross put on their foreheads in oil, oil on their hands and then every one of the children again also wanted prayer for their parents to be reunited. . . every one of them wanted prayer for their parents. . . it was very very touching, quite powerful and ultimately very very sad, the number of broken homes we prayed for.  I can only imagine how it must have touched God to have these children crying out to him in faith, asking Him to act upon their behalf. . .It was very very neat. . .I was there in the middle of the complex praying with these kids for quite a little while as moms and older siblings looked on.

I anointed and prayed with quite a number of other people.  People need jobs.

It was a wonderful night. 

Dave Stokely

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