The ball is in the hole! First experiences with golf and prayer for strangers

I am jubilant. Yesterday I hit a ball into the hole for the first time while playing golf - putted, as the jargon goes. And I offered prayer to a stranger for the first time in my life. Although the latter was the bigger milestone for me. But first things first.

Since the impulse came to go to England and get trained in the supernatural, I have resolved to be braver and to offer prayer directly to strangers when I hear of problems. That was the plan. To this day, I haven't done it once.
An employee in my favourite falafel shop tells me that he and his wife can't have children. I tell him that I will ask God for it. But don't you dare do it right away. In that context - with other customers waiting - it might not have been quite right.

More serious for me was the taxi driver here to the centre. She cried out in pain as she loaded her luggage. The suitcase was indeed very heavy, but the real problem was her sprained foot. I told her that the people here at Little Mollington Hall pray for the sick, but didn't dare to offer her prayer directly. I felt so bad afterwards. I want so much to share the love of Jesus with people, at least to help open the door. And I was so sad about myself that I couldn't find the courage. Even if Jesus hadn't acted immediately and obviously, it would have been a sign of closeness and compassion.

On the second day, we then had the task of asking God to show us a person to whom we could offer prayer. That in itself is already challenging. But when it is raining non-stop, there is no bus into the city and only a few people are out and about, even more so.

I bravely plunged into the rain and walked to the next village. On the way, I met a golfer who wasn't in the mood for a chat but was kind enough to warn me about flying golf balls. Then a cheerful group of hikers who didn't seem to be the right object for prayer either. And then I saw a woman from South Asia - in a beautiful turquoise traditional dress and with a red dot on her forehead. I felt that I should speak to her. By the time the thought had worked its way from my brain to my feet - command to stop - there were 20 metres between us. She actually turned round to look at me again. But I didn't have the courage to approach her. Missed opportunity. Frustration again. I prayed that I would meet the woman again, if it was indeed the person God wanted to speak to through me.

I kept walking through the village, but in this weather there was practically no one on the street or so far away that I would have had to run to catch up with them. To make matters worse, the rest of the village consisted of a huge hospital complex, but the sick and any visitors were obviously all holed up in their houses and the church was also cordoned off.

When I left the village about an hour later, the woman from before came towards me. With her mobile phone to her ear. During the night I had dreamt that I had encouraged a woman I know. That God tells her that she is a good mother and that when she reaches her limits, she should ask him for help and he will help her. I prayed for her directly in my dream, which I found quite practical. If you pray in your sleep, you save time during the day. I emailed the woman about my dream but haven't received an answer yet.

Because the dream itself had moved me so much, I asked myself whether God was perhaps also telling me through the dream that I should encourage a mother here too and had therefore prayed again and again that - if I was seeing this correctly - he should lead me to the woman. So when I saw the woman with the Asian robe again, I opened the door - somewhat inelegantly - and asked her:

„Do they have children!“ She replied: „Nanny!“ I told her about my dream and said that God would help her with her task. She asked „Help?“ I said „Yes, God wants to help you with that.“ She was beaming all over her face. Then she asked „House?“ „I pointed to the other side of the valley where I currently live and asked where she lived. „Chester!“

Then she left - before I had a chance or could take a chance to pray for her. I have no idea what of what I said got through to her, as her sentences consisted only of nouns. And whether it was actually what Jesus wanted to say to her. But at least she was beaming. Something positive had come across to her. So not a brilliant success in terms of „Prayer for strangers!“ - but probably an honourable attempt.

And in the evening, the mother I had prayed for in the dream wrote to me to say that this was spot on - the issue of parenting was keeping her very busy at the moment.

What I like here is that so much emphasis is placed on prayer, meditation on God's word, personal encounters and spiritual exercises to broaden and deepen the space of encounter with him. Yes, the longing danacThe desire to see him act in all his power is there. But the focus is on growing in our relationship with him, not on acting with him.

So I spent the afternoon under a blossoming cherry tree - marvellous - and completed the afternoon's task: Reflecting and meditating on Psalm 1:1 - 3.

• Happy is he who does not live like people who do not want to know anything about God.
• Lucky is the one who doesn't have an exampleel on those who violate God's will.
• Happy is the one who keeps away from those who harp on about everything holy.
• Happy is he who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree that stands near the water, that bears fruit every year and whose leaves never wither. 

After two hours of reading, repeating and pondering these verses, I felt the need to move and walked across the nearby golf course. I prayed that God would give me enough new experiences here in the area of prayer for healing etc. so that I would feel safe in the new one until I got home.
A man was playing a round of golf with his son. As I had never held a golf club in my life, I asked if I could have a go. The first two shots went in the air, then I actually hit the ball. It rolled - and I received an appreciative „Not bad for the first shot!“ from Colin, the father. But the hole was...well...still about 20 metres away. So on we went. After all, the ball was supposed to go in the hole. After the fifth attempt, it made the longed-for „plop“! Putted in!
Then Colin asked me what I was doing here. I told him that I was here to be trained. Jesus had always healed people and I wanted to learn how to do it - just like you have to learn how to play golf. And that I was with people who often experience Jesus healing people through prayer - from arthritis, broken bones, chronic headaches.
„Chronic headaches - that sounds like me. I have headaches all the time. I think it's because of my wife!“ Colin said. „I can pray for Jesus to heal this!“ I said. „Thank you!“ he replied. I explained to him that it would be easier for me to pray for him right here than far away. He said okay. So I prayed a simple prayer: „Jesus, I don't know where Colin's headache is coming from, whether it's from the woman or something else. But I ask you to heal him and free him from his headache. In the name of Jesus. Amen!“

Colin said cheerfully: „It's much better already!“ - I'm not sure whether he did that out of politeness, in the I was joking or serious. But it almost doesn't matter - although of course I very much hope for him that it is actually better and even completely gone. I believe and hope that Jesus met him there.

And I was happy - for the first time in my life I prayed for healing for a stranger. That's a milestone for me. The first time is always the hardest. And the first time is now behind me. What a relief and joy! Not so bad for a first time. The ball is in the hole. Plop.