stuff i think

if ever you find me wracked with pain...

IHOP is focusing our prayer around a certain man regularly. I'm not at liberty to discuss his name or nationality...he is an international guest and I'm afraid that him being here may make things difficult for him upon his return.

Our guest has a number of cancerous tumors. He sits for hours in the prayer room, on a deluxe lawn chair. He came here when someone from his country asked us "...won't you pray? He means too much to us to lose right now." Regularly, we gather around and pray for this man. He is small, almost frail. He rarely smiles - perhaps it's the pain - but he has very kind eyes.

As I write this, about a hundred people are gathered around him and doing spiritual battle with whatever is aflicting this brother. Within the crowd I can easily count 3 who are struggling with tumors of their own. They aren't thinking about that right now - they're focusing on this one man. If ever you find me wracked with pain...

The band is rocking behind them. Whoever runs the decibal meter is apparently not concerned. The the singers are crying out in unison "Holy God of Jacob, give ear to our prayers." If the doctor ever looks at me and just shakes his head....

Around the hundred or so that have been praying for him for the past forty five minutes, the prophetic dancers dance as if life depended on it. Perhaps it does. If ever they find me filled with tumors....

It's hard telling where you readers stand on this thing. I'm beyond caring. When you're sick and feel hopeless, you borrow hope from others. If ever you find me wracked with pain, doubled over with tumors in my body, I charge you to battle for my life in this way or get me to a place that will. Your failure to do so would make me wonder whose friend you are.