Praying for Strangers and Overcoming Fear – Part 2
Here are more responses to my Facebook discussion question about overcoming fear of praying with strangers:
Jane Williams:
God given compassion is a huge driving force. It can compel me to do things I would never naturally do by myself.
I don’t fear God won’t do anything. I know He always does something. If it’s healing prayer, even if healing doesn’t manifest straight away, the person always gets a touch from God – usually they say they feel relaxed or peaceful, at the very minimum. And if it’s a prophetic word, they feel loved and encouraged.
But even having done street prayer with others for a few years, and seeing some wonderful things, I’m still not good at approaching people if I’m out on my own! I’m asking God for more boldness – I’m very serious about it. I’m just naturally much more at ease with a prayer partner or small team. I get quite frustrated with myself, to be honest, because I’m not afraid to pray at all, and I don’t doubt God. I’m probably just not extroverted enough for conversation starters out there on my own!
I personally think praying for people is easier if you have a forum – Healing on the Streets banner, stall at a psychic fair or at an outdoor sale, etc. Because then the conversation starter is simple – Need any healing? Want a destiny reading or a dream interpretation? Etc.
If approaching someone on my own, I’m more likely to offer to pray if I’m having a regular conversation with someone, where they volunteer information about their need for healing. But I want this to be more of a normal lifestyle, not just an event, so I’m following this thread with interest!
The praying is the easy bit. Approaching people is harder. If I had an extrovert person to team up with, I would be praying for people all the time! But I’m not going to be using that as an excuse!
Kaylani Steele:
Most important lesson I’ve learned was from a journalist, teaching on interviewing techniques. “Don’t be afraid of silence,” she said. “Don’t interrupt because you’re uncomfortable. Silence is almost always followed by the meat of the interview.” When I apply this to prayer, the same is true. When laying hands, I’m learning not to be afraid of silence. I can take the quiet time to engage with Holy Spirit and get direction, to line up with Dad’s will. I can take as long as needed until I’m given clear words to speak. I’m learning not to jump in with formulaic prayer just because you’re worried its getting awkward.
Clarity is also very important for me, especially with people I don’t know. I’m learning that if I’m extremely open and forthcoming with my intentions and beliefs, leaving nothing to mystery, I’m more well received. It’s when I’ve been shy, worried that mentioning Jesus or healing will be offensive, that I’m either rejected or don’t see much happen with our prayer. If I’m going to pray to Jesus, I tell them. If I’m going to speak to their body, I tell them why. If I’m going to be silent for a while, I let them know.
Helle Stock:
Personally I like going out on the Streets together with my friends.
Unless a divine encounter happens then I just have to go after it and Holy Spirit totally takes over and put His words in my mouth.
But we have good experience just approaching people… We keep it simple.
Ask them if they know Jesus is alive. If they need prayer for anything, sharing the gospel.
If we see a physical ability we ask them about it and pray for it.
If I receive a word of knowledge I ask the person about it. Again. I keep it simple.
I never use the phrase: “God says!” though. (because if my word of knowledge is wrong that’ll freak them out and maybe cause worry)
About fear.
If the enemy tries to sneak in fear when I’m about to pray, I still pray, not listening to that voice. Fear is a liar.
I don’t know if this is relevant to this post but sometimes people don’t experience healing right away. If that happens when I pray I always make sure to tell the person that it has nothing to do with them. If someone’s to blame it’s my own faith.
Ginger Salton:
It depends. Sometimes I ask Holy Spirit for a treasure map, with clues like description of person, color of clothing, location, etc…then when I find them I show them the map, tell them they are the treasure God wanted me to find so He could bless them, and go from there.
Other times, God will highlight someone to me. I ask Him for a word and after sharing it I ask the person if that means anything to them, and go from there.
If I see an obvious injury, crutches, walker…I ask them what happened, then ask to pray for healing.
I always try to have some conversation and get to know them a little. Gathering information to gauge what kind of belief system they have and how open they will be to healing. If I know I’ll see them again, sometimes I wait till God gives me more and He has time to soften their heart.
Every situation is different. The most important thing is staying aware of Him and discerning what’s going on in the atmosphere around me.
As far as overcoming the fear that God won’t do anything, that is not low-self esteem. That is low-God esteem. The only way to overcome that is getting to know Him and building your confidence in His character and His ability.
That’s why God gave us a covenant….so we could have confidence and faith.
Some take you up on it, and some don’t, but it very rare that they are not appreciative of the offer.
Praying Medic:
I’ve found that it’s much easier for an extrovert to do street ministry than it is for an introvert. If you happen to be an introvert – you might consider teaming up with an extrovert who is more comfortable talking to strangers. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. I don’t know, but maybe he teamed up the introverts with the extroverts.
One thing that has helped me recently is having an awareness of the different ways in which God relates to us. I used to (probably still do) get most of my revelation from God in the form of visions. I’ve been learning to hear Him more in the thoughts that wander through my head that are not mine. But most recently I’ve been tapping into His emotions for others. This is probably the trickiest way in which God speaks, because it’s so easy to mistake the feelings He gives you as your own feelings.
I don’t normally have a ton of compassion in my heart for homeless or drug-addicted people. But lately God will give me this unusual feeling of compassion for them. When I feel that compassion and love – I know it isn’t coming from me. I also know it’s not coming from the enemy; so by process of elimination I know it’s God giving me His heart for them.
Knowing that God’s heart is to bless people makes it so much easier for me to pray for them with confidence.
God often reminds me that even when I pray for healing, the healing itself is a secondary issue. The main issue is that they feel His love. He can show His love to them in a lot ways that are personal and tangible, and that’s the main thing I try to focus on.
I prayed with a man last week with a bad hip and knee. He didn’t show any signs of healing after I prayed with him but as I had my eyes closed, God showed me a silver chain and I gave him a prophetic word about God’s plan to redeem his past from all the heartache and persecution he had suffered. The prophetic word carried a lot more weight than the physical healing could have and who knows…. maybe he ended up receiving both.
One helpful thing to remember is that we’re not the one ultimately responsible for what comes out the encounter. If we can’t take the credit for the healing when it does happen – we can’t shoulder the blame when it doesn’t happen. Although in a sense we act as His hands and feet, it’s not really about us. It’s about Him.
People are usually concerned about making a scene when you offer to pray with them at work. I try as much as possible not draw attention to what we’re doing. If an out of the way spot is available, I’ll use it instead of a high-traffic area. I try to speak in a low volume and I usually place one hand on the person’s shoulder in a casual way. The last thing you want is to make it seem like you’re at a Benny Hinn crusade.
