One of my regular customers came into my shop with a computer problem. As we talked she mentioned that she was taking care of an elderly man who has dementia. He is getting worse and has become more verbally abusive. So much so that she fears that it will turn physical. He’s in his late eighties and she is mid seventies.

She said that she had to go to the eye doctor for a treatment and when they took her blood pressure it was high. She told the doctor that she has never had blood pressure problems before but now knows why. She is under the constant verbal bashing while trying to care for this man.

Now I am a firm believer that God brings people into our Christian lives for two reasons. One is for us to be a blessing to them or for them to be a blessing to us. For the ones that we are to be a blessing for this can happen several different ways. It may be a chance encounter or brief passing. It may be someone that you keep running into. Or a familiar face in your dream. Maybe it’s someone you haven’t seen in years who suddenly shows up. Or sometimes it is God who brings them to your memory.

How you are to bless them is what you need to figure out. One thing that we ALL can do is PRAY. Even if you don’t know what to do praying is the first and best way to bless others and let the Holy Spirit guide you as you pray. EVERYONE NEEDS PRAYER! Anyone who says they don’t is deceived. I try to remember to pray for those who come to mind or I run into but still miss it at times.

So back to my story… After she left I felt compelled to pray for her and that is when it hit me. I had missed it! I blew it with no one to blame but me. This time I wasn’t to pray for her but with her. All I needed to do was to ask her if it would be okay to pray with her. The sad part is, though it should’ve been second nature to a Christian to do, it never even entered my mind. How shameful that I had missed giving my God, my Lord and Master the golden opportunity to touch that woman. To let her know that He cares and loves her.

It takes a step of faith to go from praying for someone in private alone to praying with them out loud. To declare God’s Word in prayer over someone is one of the most powerful things that we Christians can do! By declaring God’s Word in your prayers demands an answer from heaven because God is ALWAYS faithful to His Word and to His children! I wish that I could say that it has become habit with me but sadly I’m not there yet.

One thing that I have to say is in all the times that I have asked to pray for someone that NO ONE has ever turned me down! And I’m talking about people who I don’t know very well or don’t know what their religious backgrounds are or what they believe. Even one of my employees who was suffering with severe arthritis pain in both hands let me pray for him. What was amazing was that he was a self-proclaimed agnostic. You couldn’t tell with the tears rolling down his face as I prayed.