Day 11: The talker

I spotted him when I rounded the corner. It was a narrow street, with tall buildings on either side. He was sitting alone. This was where workers from a nearby restaurant came to smoke. And he was looking at me. Almost all the way down the street, his eyes were on me. I said a little prayer as I got close, but he spoke first.

“How ya doing?” It was just one of those greetings you give somebody in passing. And I’m sure he thought I’d say “great” and then head on down the street. But I had my mission. So I stopped and asked my question. It seemed to confuse him. “Pray for me?” he said. Then he paused. At first, I thought it was a good pause, a pause of reflection. And then he started talking. I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps he thought he could remain in control of the situation if he just kept his lips moving. And so he kept talking.

Here’s a summary: Sure I could pray for him. There’s no law against that. I could say anything I wanted. And it’s good to pray. Everyone should pray. But you also should pray for yourself. Do you pray for yourself? (I said I did). Everyone should pray for themselves sometimes. That’s really the most important thing. (I interjected here to reiterate that I wanted to pray for him.) Well, you can do whatever you want. I can’t stop you. I may not listen to what you’re saying. I may not listen to your words, but you can say whatever you want.

So I took that as an invitation and bowed my head. I prayed for him, asking God to bless him that day and surround this man with His presence. When I looked up, the man’s head was bowed. And he wasn’t talking. So we made progress.

All while this was happening – while my new friend was sharing with me – two more employees from the restaurant came out to smoke. One thought it was pretty amusing. The other seemed a bit confused by it all. I just thanked them and walked away.