Our Thursday morning team is reading the book Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker. It has been such a blessing to me in the five weeks since we began. God has shown me how important prayer is in this ministry—it’s the most important thing—and in my life in general. Time spent praying will never be wasted.

Today’s devotion really stood out and gave me a wonderful perspective on our ministry to our friends in the park. The book’s author, Randy Sprinkle, mentions the passage in Luke 7: 11-17 when Jesus heard the great sorrow of the widow whose son had died. Jesus was very moved and said, “Don’t cry.”  Then Sprinkle makes what was to me a profound statement: “The key to genuine empathic intercession seems to be identifying with people. This is true, but only secondarily. Primarily, the key to this kind of praying is identification with God.”

When I read this statement, I was blown away. One thing that I struggle with in the park is our relevancy in the face of such great need and seemingly hopelessness. There are so many situations that I just want to fix. But that’s not what God has called me to do. He has called me to be obedient to Him and to seek Him first.

What I heard the Spirit say when I read this statement was that the most important thing I can do for our friends in the park is to pray expectantly to our Heavenly Father. I don’t know everything about them, just as they don’t know everything about me. But God does know everything and only He can intervene in the appropriate, perfect way. If we pray focused on God and lean not on our own understanding, His perfect love will be manifested through our actions and in our conversations. Then He will begin to remove all those things that hinder our usefulness. Yes, we can make personal connections with those we serve and that is important, but our connection to God should be foremost—all else stems from that. In fact, this applies to all relationships in our lives.

Thank you, Father, for the ability to speak directly to you and for the assurance that You hear me.

—Paula