Sermon Illustrations
Man Experiences the Power of Everyday Prayers
Rick Richardson writes in his book Reimagining Evangelism:
My friend Sam works at Einstein Brothers Bagels, where I write my books. Sam has a Muslim dad and a kind-of-Baptist mom. Recently, as I was going through the line, Sam waved me over. "I've lost my wallet again. I don't know where it is!"
"Sam, I will pray for you," I assured him.
"I guess it can't hurt," he replied (I get that response a lot).
Ten minutes later, he came over and told me he had found it. "All right!" I rejoiced. "Hey, you can ask me to pray for you any time." He laughed.
The next week as I went through the line, Sam let me know his ulcer was acting up. "Sam, is there anything I can get you?" I asked. He sent me over to the nearby Cub Foods to pick up some medicine. When I came back, I told him I would pray, too. This time he welcomed my prayers a little more enthusiastically.
Ten minutes later, he approached me and said he felt much better and hadn't needed to take the medicine. That was very unusual for him. "Man, I wish I had prayed for you before I went and bought that medicine!" I exclaimed. He laughed again.
These days, he doesn't wait for me to ask. When I see Sam, he often asks me to pray for him without any suggestion from me at all.