'Somebody is praying for me'

Don't underestimate the power of prayer or what it means to stop, take time and pray with someone.

Case in point, during a recent mobile kitchen outreach we met a man we had never seen before. We gave him a plate of food and offered prayer. As most people do, he welcomed the prayer. I asked him if there was anything specific and he just said, "everything." So, Martha and I began praying about "everything."

As we prayed, he started weeping, then he squeezed the to-go plate that held his hot meal. At that moment, the food didn't matter to him. God and the fact someone was praying for him were his top priorities.

His weeping increased as he said over and over again, "Somebody is praying for me. Somebody is praying for me." He was moved by the fact we were praying for him. He was at a point in his life where he didn't think anyone cared, so he was in awe there was a group of people who cared enough to come to where he was and pray.

Without any prompting from Martha or me, the man started crying out to God, "Forgive me God. Forgive me. I've sinned against you. Forgive me." The Holy Spirit was moving so strongly upon this precious soul that he had to cry out to God.

When we finished praying, I opened the Bible on my phone and showed him 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

He understood God had forgiven him, which made him start weeping again. While wiping the tears from his eyes, he thanked us. We all hugged and he started walking off. He made it about 5 yards and he started crying again. He thanked us again and slowly walked away.

That was a very powerful moment. We all thanked God for moving on that man's heart in such a mighty way. When we step out of what the world calls ordinary and live out the Great Commission, it's amazing what we see God do.

Let's stop trying to live an ordinary life as the world defines it and start living an ordinary life as God defines it. That life is living in obedience to Him under His Lordship. It's living out the Great Commission, understanding that it's not an event or specific outreach, but it's a lifestyle.

Living a life totally committed to God shouldn't be looked at by believers as out of the ordinary. It's what God expects. It's what He deserves, and what we should desire.

Don't miss what God is doing downtown

God is doing something very unique in downtown Dothan. It's something Martha and I have prayed for since first traveling overseas and experiencing powerful moves of God. We saw people so hungry for Jesus that nothing else mattered. Daily people thirsty for the truth received Jesus. Christians who desired nothing more than to bring glory to God and reach the lost. We experienced Acts 2:42-47.

We always return home praying that the fire, desire, hunger and thirst we saw there would come here. We are beginning to experience it here now. We are seeing people saved almost daily. Nearly every week we are baptizing people. We aren't seeing yet what we experience when spreading the Gospel among unreached people groups in Third World countries, but we're seeing the beginnings.

It started last year and has increased through the first three months of 2019. People we have long ministered to and prayed with have turned to Jesus. New people we just meet are giving their lives to Jesus. People who were never interested in Jesus are now seeking.

We've baptized hundreds of people over the years in oceans, lakes, ponds, swimming pools and 55-gallon drums. We've also borrowed baptistries at churches. But as more people started coming to Jesus, we needed to be able to baptize on our LIA campus. Now, thanks to Covenant UMC, we have our own baptismal trough, and people are following Jesus in baptism.

We shouldn't be surprised God is moving so mightily among the homeless and poor. Just read what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

More of the Body of Christ is seeing that being a believer is more than going to a worship service once a week. We must get outside the walls and reach people for Jesus, and that includes reaching out to the "least of these" as Jesus describes in Matthew 25:35-40.

We have some awesome volunteers who are so faithful and dedicated to serving every week. Some on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Others on Wednesday and Friday for the mobile kitchen outreach, and some for the Samaritan Clinic. Some serve multiple times.

We praise God for each one. It's life-changing. As Pastor Matthew Barnett of the LA Dream Center said, "Once you put your feet in another man's shoes you will never be the same." That quote has stuck with me for nearly two decades. It's so true.

We need more volunteers; more believers who want to love on people and serve the homeless and needy in Dothan. We need more volunteers who want to go through our discipleship method Training for Trainers (T4T) and help us disciple more new believers. We need more volunteers who are willing to mentor those we reach.

If God is leading you to do any of that, please come. Feel free to email me at ken.tuck@loveinactionministries.com or call us at 334-494-4995.

The Holy Spirit is moving on hearts and drawing people to Jesus. Come experience it and be part of what God is doing. We read throughout the Gospels how Jesus chose the outcasts to do mighty works to and through. He picked fishermen and a tax collector to be His disciples. That's not what people were expecting.

He's doing the same today. The homeless and poor are considered outcasts by society. Jesus doesn't think that way. He's changing hearts and transforming lives, and bringing people out of darkness into His marvelous light.