One of the invitations came from a host
whose name I knew, so I decided to go.
There were a dozen women of God present,
with an anointed pastor, or Intercessor,
leading the
Biblical discussion, according to
scriptures she had received in her
spirit from God. We sat in chairs and on
couches in the living room with our
Holy Bibles on our laps, ready to find pertinent scriptures when
asked.
The anointed pastor began to pray, and
after about ten minutes, asked each of
us to find a quiet space and pray out
loud. Instantly, the other women in the
room reached for scarves or shawls to
cover their heads, and bowed, knelt
beside the coffee table, or stretched
out on the floor, face down. Prayers
were coming from every corner of the
room.
I hadn’t left my seat on the couch yet,
wondering why nobody told me to bring a
head covering. I presumed that was
necessary to block out all distractions
during the prayer. I took a tissue from
my purse and placed it on top of my
head, then leaned forward so my head
touched my knees without letting the
tissue fall.
Having mastered the positioning of my
body, I began to pray into the space
between my parted knees, asking God to
grant me a number of wishes. Then I
prayed for the strength and health of my
immediate and extended family. No one
had stopped praying at that point, and
some began wailing through their
prayers. I didn’t know praying could be
this intense!
So I prayed for our world leaders,
planet Earth, the end of all wars, a
hundred of my closest friends, my
neighbors, the Grief Girls, the BFFFFs,
the persons on The Glory Call at 5:30
a.m. each morning, and God’s continued
grace and mercy in my life. I was
certain I had covered everything vital
to the universe, so I removed the tissue
from my head and opened my eyes. Mine
were the only eyes opened.
Feeling insecure about what else to do,
I decided to go into the bathroom and
sit on the toilet, hoping to glean
enough inspiration to find something
else to pray about. There were no new
insights coming to me in the bathroom,
so I returned to the living room, where
covered bodies were moving back and
forth, as if in pain. Still, they prayed
unceasingly.
I decided to return to my seat on the
couch, but lean over far enough to hear
the words of the woman who was lying
face down on the floor right below me. I
remembered in learning how to pray more
effectively that there’s a benefit to
mimicking the prayers of another. So
when the woman said,
“Father, hear the cries of your humble servant,” I softly repeated
her words.
“If we fail to ask, Lord, please don’t
fail to grant because you know the
hearts of every man.” I may have
missed a word here, but I repeated most
of what she said.
Then she began speaking in tongues! They
call it our “Heavenly language,” but
it’s a language God has yet to reveal to
me. I had no idea what she was saying,
so I listened for a few syllables I
thought made a word I recognized, but I
should have guessed that our Heavenly
language would not be English. Then I
said, “Yes, Lord, I’m asking of you what
this woman is asking. And that, too, all
of it! Your humble servant wants the
same things, so please send them down
from Heaven in a mighty way. I ask all
of this in your precious name, Amen and
Amen again.”
Fortunately, everyone rose to a standing
position within a minute of my last
“Amen,” and our host went to the kitchen
to set up for
dinner. I had worked up an appetite
doing all that praying, and was grateful
that the only prayer left was to bless
the food.
