Day 258: Flustered

He was a 50-something guy driving a red station wagon. And he was one of those who hangs on to the gas pump the whole time he's filling up with gas, watching the meter add up the gallons. I just thought there was something interesting about him. So I sought him out for a prayer.

Boy, did it catch him by surprise. He didn't know what to do, whether to say yes or no or to just walk away. He kind of stammered an answer and looked at me with an uncomfortable smile. But the answer was "yes," so I prayed for him on the spot.

Then I thanked him, and he immediately headed for the door of his car. I stopped him though, noting he hadn't put his gas cap back on. He mumbled an answer again and without making eye contact, came back around the car. I wished him a good night and left.

After eight months ...

I'm a little late on this (about two weeks, to be exact). But the thing I've really noticed the past month are the questions. Not from people in the church. Or people who read this blog. Or people who are on the receiving end of the project. No, the questions are from my kids. The girls are asking me pretty regularly now, when we're in the car, at a gas station, or putting them to bed -- "Have you prayed for anyone yet today, daddy?" That's something that makes me smile.

Day 257: Toothpicks, balloons

When your wife is involved in everything -- and I mean everything -- you can have a grocery list that goes something like this: 150 balloons (black and white), 500 toothpicks, and allergy medicine. There's a sock-hop at the elementary school coming up, and Mary's in charge. So balloons and, for some reason, a lot of toothpicks are required. (The allergy medicine was for me.)

So I was checking out at Walmart with this stuff and asked the clerk, a young Asian guy, if I could pray for him. He was surprised, naturally, but he said I could. So I did. He bowed his head for the prayer. Then I shook his hand, thanked him and left.

I'm not going to blow up all those balloons.

Day 256: The wrestler

I don't know for a fact that he was a wrestler. But he was a big, burly guy with a shaved head. He was maybe 20 years old, wearing a Valley Center t-shirt. I just figured him for a wrestler. I stopped him at the gas station to ask him my question. He looked me over. "Sure," he said with a look like "Why not?" So he bowed his head, and I prayed for him, asking God to bless him in whatever he was doing that night. Afterward, I told him about my project. He shook my hand with a firm grasp, "You're a good man," he said.

Day 255: A camper, a trailer

He was driving a pick-up truck with one of those camper shells over the bed. Not just a topper, but a camper -- the kind you actually go camping in. And he was pulling a flat-bed trailer behind it. Nothing was on it.

An interesting set-up. I didn't get to ask much about it -- where he was going, was he working or playing? The driver was a guy maybe 25 years old. He looked like he was just off the farm and had been working that day. But he wasn't much interested in my question when I talked to him around the side of the gas pump. He just looked at me. "OK," he muttered.

So I did all I could -- I prayed. When I was done, he thanked me and turned away.

Day 254: Yes

He was an older guy with a rim of white hair surrounding a bald top. He was standing next to a white pickup, and he looked at me kindly when I stopped to ask him my question. He barely hesitated in answering, "Yes." Just a simple response, nothing added to it -- no questions, or even a look of curiosity. I explained my project, and he again said I could pray for him. Then we shook hands, he thanked me, and we went our separate ways.

Day 253: Christian rap

The sounds of rap flowed out the windows of his white SUV as he filled up with gas. The man himself was probably in his late 20s, with a beard and baggy pants. Easy enough to stereotype. Except for the cross that hung around his neck. And the sticker in his window, one that said "No Shame" over the top of a cross. Below that, it said, "Romans 1:16."

So I'd found a Christian. He immediately said I could pray for him. And then we stood there talking for a long time. Rap, it turns out, was his thing. His name was Greg, and he grew up in a home without God. His entire life was centered in the secular world -- one filled with secular rap -- and he carried a lot of rage with him. The Christians he met turned out to be just like him, further pushing him away from this God who was supposed to transform his life.

The change came later. He said he had a child with a woman he barely knew. And when the boy was 2 1/2 years old, he found himself going to church for the wrong reasons -- with a girl. It was Newspring Church in Wichita. But something about it grabbed him and didn't let him go. (I'd call that the Holy Spirit.) Another time, he found himself watching CBN TV, and scoffing at the people there. And then he started listening to what they had to say.

And then he started challenging God. God, he determined, couldn't change him. No one could change him. That's when the miracle happened. As he told me this, I could see the emotion in his eyes. He said God picked him up and turned him around. Just like that. He was saved.

That was about two years ago. Now he rejects efforts by his old friend to turn him away from "that Jesus thing." And he goes into downtown Wichita to minister to the homeless there. And he still likes rap and hopes to bring more people like him to Christ through music.

And here I was, asking to pray for this guy. But he allowed me to. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide him in whatever path of ministry, formal or not, that God had laid out for him. My new friend's name was Greg. I'm glad I met him.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first the Jew, then to the Gentile." Romans 1:16

Day 252: Special Ed

A special day. A special guy. We spent the day between home and church, and I went out looking for someone to pray for at about 9 p.m. I found him standing next to a blue minivan at QuikTrip. His wife was sitting in the passenger's seat, and the man was standing there waiting. He was in his 30s, a guy with dark hair and a serious look on his face.

I suspected, based on how he was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, that he'd just left church. You never know for sure about that kind of thing, but this time it was true. He willingly said yes to my question, and stepped over the gas hose to me and asked me my name. His was Ed Young, and he told me he was glad to meet me. I told him about my project, just to give him a little context, and I noted it was a special day -- Easter. And so, I remarked, that made him a special guy.

"That's why they call me Special Ed," he said. So he knew how to go with the flow. So I prayed, asking God to be with Ed and to remind him of his presence on this special day of grace. And I asked God to give Ed guidance. During this, my new friend assented with "Yes, Lord," every now and then.

Later, he asked what church I attended. He said he attended Grace Assembly in northeast Wichita, and he invited me to visit -- Sundays at 10 and 6. It's the first time during this project that anyone's invited me to church! I thanked him again, and left.

Day 251: A Ford Focus

He was a short round guy, about my age, filling up a blue Ford Focus. I had a few clues about him. He had a bunch of dress clothes hanging in the back seat of the car, along with some other stuff, so I figured he was traveling. This was confirmed by a look at his license plate, which indicated he was from Ellis County (which would be the Hays area). So I figured he was going home after a week of working.

I asked if I could pray for him. He gave me a skeptical look, so I told him why. He relented a bit. "Sure, anybody can pray for me." So I asked him if I could pray for him right then. To this he had another question: "Do you mean pray for me, or pray with me?" Both, I told him, but I assured him he wouldn't have to say anything. So I prayed as he finished topping off his tank. Then I thanked him and went back to filling up my car with gas.

Before I left, I saw him pull into a parking stall in front of QuikTrip, where a woman came out of the store and got into his car. So I figured he was traveling with his wife. He'd at least have a story to tell her.

Day 250: Shockers

He was an easy target, wearing a bright yellow shirt and fumbling with his credit cards trying to figure out the gas pump. Mary spotted him first. So I pulled our van in next to his blue Mustang and started filling up with gas. He was an older guy with white hair and a beard, wearing a WSU Shockers shirt. I took him to be a business man with the evening off. It was Good Friday.

I asked if I could pray for him. He kind of chuckled at that. And I told him about my project. "Yeah, go right ahead," he said. So I prayed for him. We shook hands then. A few moments later, he got into his Mustang, "Thanks again," he said. I wished him a happy Easter.

Day 249: Teeth

It's what I remember most about him: He had teeth that were very large and very straight. And I noticed it because he smiled. He thought my question was kind of funny -- not in a bad way funny -- but a wondering-if-I-was-playing-a-joke-on-him kind of funny.

He was standing next to a white pickup, with a topper, while he was filling it up with gas. He was a tall man, maybe 60 years old. He was dressed in business-casual. He said without much hesitation that I could pray for him. So I did. I thanked him. "Yes," he said. Yes, indeed.

Day 248: The sweater-shirt

He was walking down a narrow space between two buildings in Old Town. It was on my normal path, so I stopped him and asked him my question. He looked like an average guy, maybe 40 years old and a little short and a little round. There's not much else to say about him, other than the sweater-shirt. It was oversized, and I'm still not sure whether it was a shirt or a sweater -- hence the name.

He didn't really want to stop after I spoke to him. He kept walking, and then he didn't turn around for a moment. When he did, he just mumbled a reply. I don't think he wanted anything to do with me. I looked right in his eyes and asked him my question. He thought about it for a moment, and then he pointed at me -- "That'd be alright," he said -- and he turned and walked away.

It wasn't necessarily a pleasant response, but it got the job done. I prayed for him as I walked back to my car.

Day 247: Harley

He was a big guy. Long black hair. A goatee, streaked with gray, that stretched down to his chest. He wore a black Harley Davidson t-shirt. He was cleaning the windows of a white Suburban when I stopped him. He had a scowl on his face. I asked my question. He thought about it for just a moment, stuck out his hand -- "That's alright" -- and then walked away.

Day 246: Going to Lincoln

He was driving a small blue pickup truck. He was a guy with long hair and a beard. He was maybe 30 years old. Tattoos streamed up and down his arm. He was leaning against his truck, rubbing his face with his hands, when I asked him my question.

He kind of came to attention then and mulled it over. "Why?" he asked. I told him about my project. This seemed to satisfy him. "You can pray for me," he said, "I'm going to Lincoln, Nebraska." It was maybe 9:30 at night, so he had a long way to go. So I prayed right there for him. He was a pleasant guy, not in any way standoffish. And he gave me a specific prayer request, which I appreciated. I prayed to God, knowing that I didn't know this guy and wasn't likely to see him again in my life, that he would be safe in his trip.

I stuck out my hand then, and the guy took it. Then we went our own ways.

Day 245: On the other side

I'm sure a lot of people really think this is weird. People just don't go around asking to pray for other people. It's just not, well, normal. I'm OK with that. I think the last thing anyone would want to be is "normal." God made each of us different, and if the end result of our lives is we successfully just blended into the crowd, I think we missed something. We missed a calling that each of has from God.

So this was bound to happen. I pulled into the gas stall next to a young guy, probably in his 20s, who was just finishing filling up with gas. I stepped around the gas pump, and asked him my question. He focused on the numbers on the pump as he topped off his tank. Then he looked at me. "Huh?" So I asked again. He considered this for a moment. "Well," he said, "I guess you can. But over there -- " he pointed to the other side of the pump. "You can pray some sort of blessing for me over there."

That was a new one. I could pray a blessing for him, but just not in his presence. But who was I to argue? I told him I would do just what he told me. So I walked back around the pump and prayed. As he got in his car, he said, "God bless you!" I prayed that God would bless him in some dramatic, newspaper-headlining way -- so he would know without the shadow of a doubt that it was God at work.

Day 244: A Mennonite

The beard gave it away. And his willingness to be prayed for did as well. Standing next to his car while it was filling up with gas, he held out his hand to me. I took it and prayed.

I thanked him, and he asked me "what faith" I was. I told him "plain evangelical Christian." He nodded. "I'm Mennonite," he said. We chatted for a moment. I told him about my project and that I was glad to get a receptive response. "I get all sorts of reactions," I said. He grinned at that. "I believe in prayer," he said. I do, too.

Day 243: A red Camaro

It was windy. Really windy -- like you were standing on the wing of an airplane while it's in flight, gripping stationary objects in order to keep from getting swept away. That's an exaggeration, but it was windy. I actually had to brace myself against the gas pump and yell my question at the guy, and we were no more than two feet apart.

He was a guy in his 20s with a short beard and a driving hat. I took him for an intellectual with a wild side. He was driving a bright red Camaro. He was hesitant about my question, but he said yes. So I prayed for him, pretty much shouting my prayer to God in the wind. The guy thanked me, and I left.

Day 242: In a hurry

He was an old guy who I figured would be friendly. I decided this because when I first saw him, he was walking over to talk to the guy who was driving the pick-up truck at the next stall at the gas station. The second guy was washing his windows and not seeming to pay much attention to the old man.

So the old guy wandered back over to his own truck. That's when I pulled in, hopped out and asked him my question. Actually, I waited a moment before talking to him, giving him time to put the gas nozzle back and figure out how to get a receipt from the pump. It took him a while.

Then he came over to me with a friendly smile. But it was a question, he wasn't prepared for. He gave me kind of a blank stare at first as the smile faded, and after I told him about my project, he said, very slowly, "Well, I'm kind of in a hurry. ..."

Now that was a bold statement -- because if there's anybody I've seen who's not been in a hurry, it was this guy. I told him a prayer would just take a few seconds, but I didn't let him respond. I just told him I'd let him go and would pray for him later. He just kind of sidled off toward his truck, where his wife was sitting in silence waiting. I don't think she heard any of this.

Then I left. I was out of the gas station lot and at the street light when I looked back. He still hadn't gotten into his truck. All I could do was smile and pray for the man who was in a hurry.

Day 241: Horns and Sox

He was wearing a Texas Longhorns t-shirt and a Boston Red Sox ball cap. It's just one of those things you notice. I asked if I could pray for him. He was a young guy, in his 20s probably, and he didn't hesitate. "Absolutely. Go right ahead." So I did. He removed his hat, and I prayed. Then we shook hands and went our own ways.

Day 240: A 'no' from a dog

The dog said no. I'm pretty sure of that. I had gone to Winfield to hear a lecture at Southwestern College and was on my way back when I stopped at the turnpike rest stop. I saw a woman there with a little boy, filling up a red car with gas. The boy was wearing boots, and the woman let him put the gas nozzle into the car.

I stuck my head around the gas pump and asked my question. The woman stepped over to me, but she was reluctant to turn full toward me -- instead, she was kind of looking at me out of the corner of her eye. Protective and probably a bit suspicious, I'm sure. That was understandable. But she needn't be. After all, she had a dog. I hadn't noticed him in the passenger's seat. But he noticed me. Immediately after I asked my question, the dog barked angrily at me.

I couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds like a no," I said. The woman smiled. The ice was broken a bit. She said I could pray for her. So I did, asking God's blessing and protection for the woman, the little boy and even the dog. She thanked me.

Day 239: Looking up to Jesus

He reminded me of my grandpa. He was a little old man, stooped at the shoulder. He had a warm smile. On his head was an Alaska hat -- the one with the state flag on the front -- probably picked up while on vacation there.

He seemed genuinely interested in my question. And he had no hesitation in saying yes. So he removed his hat, and I prayed for him. Then we shook hands and chatted for a moment. What he said stuck in my head. "Well, it was nice to meet you," he said. "We've all got to keep looking up to Jesus." I could do nothing but agree with him. I told him I was very glad to find him that night.

Day 238: A Baptist

I should have known sooner. All the signs were there. Khaki slacks. A buttoned down short-sleeved shirt. A Sunday afternoon. This was a guy who had been to church. I saw him there making faces at his two kids in the back seat while he filled up with gas. He said, very hesitatingly, that I could pray for him.

So I did. We shook hands then, and I told him about my project. "So you go to church around here?" he asked. I told him about Valley Center Christian Church. He said he went to church, too -- to Meridian Baptist Church in Newton. It's always good to meet another believer.

Day 237: Love it!

He was driving one of those hybrid cars, a small white one. He was an older guy with a very thin, white mustache and a ballcap. I stuck my head around the gas pump and asked him my question. There was no hesitation. "Always!" he said.

It was an enthusiastic response. So much so that it was one of the few times that I was taken aback. (Usually, I put other people on edge.) So I clarified for him. I wanted to pray for him right then and there. "Absolutely. Go right ahead!" So I did. Later we shook hands. "I like it ... Love it!" he said. "Say a prayer for my wife, too," he said as he got into his car. She was sitting next to him, looking at me quietly, the seeming antithesis of her husband. I asked where they were from: McPherson. Then they drove off, silently, in their hybrid car.

I prayed for his wife, and for him, again. I also thanked God. The man with the thin mustache loved it. He loved it. I don't always love it. Sometimes, I think it's a drag. But it's God's thing. And I get to play a part. When I remember that, I can't help but love it -- and love Him for his grace.

Day 236: Storms

The wind was blowing wildly, and large, smattering drops of rain occasionally came swooping down from the sky. I was in a hurry, just looking for someone to pray for so I could go home. I found a young guy standing next to a little red Honda, and I asked him my question. He was maybe 20 years old, with a little goatee and his hat on backward.

He looked at me like I was a little nuts. I don't blame him. He asked me why I wanted to pray for him, so I told him about my project. "Well, OK," he said. So I prayed for him right away, asking God to bless him. He was smiling when I looked up. I could tell now he was convinced. He seemed to think it was kind of cool what I'd just done. "I know it's a little weird," I said, shaking his hand, "but it's just something I do." He would have none of that. "No, I really respect that," he said.

Day 235: Gard'n Wise

He was washing the windows on a large red Ford pickup. He was about 40 years old, with glasses, a guy who looked like he watches the History Channel a lot. I don't really know how else to describe him. His shirt had a Gard'n Wise logo on it.

I asked to pray for him, and he immediately said yes. So I prayed. We shook hands. "I can use all the prayers I can get," he said. I told him we all do.

Day 234: Flip-flops

I walked through downtown Wichita, all the way to the Broadview Hotel along Douglas and back to Old Town along 1st Street. It's a pretty desolate place in the evenings. Tonight wasn't much different, although there were a few people out and about.

I came across a young guy at about Broadway, as I was headed back. Actually, he came up to me, walking behind me. I could hear the flip, flop, flip, flop of his sandals as he chugged along. I turned and asked him my question when we came to a stoplight in the street.

He paused to shut off the music he was listening to. He was a young guy, no more than 25 years old. He sported a beard and was wearing shorts, a backpack and, of course, flip-flops. To me, he looked like one of those single guys, free on the earth, with little-to-no real responsibilities to worry about.

He said I could pray for him, but he was hesitant. I didn't ask twice. I just prayed that God would bless him that night. He just nodded and moved on. I went another direction, praying for him again.

Day 233: Why not

He was standing next to a white Chevy pickup. A pony tail was trailing out the back of his ball cap. He looked at me with questioning eyes when I asked him my question. I just looked right into them and explained my project. Finally, he came to a decision. "Well, I don't see why not." So without another word, I prayed to Jesus for him. He thanked me. And that was it.

Day 232: Anger

I went out tonight. It was late, well after 10 p.m., and I was angry. There's really no other word for it -- just a pure, adrenaline-inducing anger. It's not Christ-like, I realize. But that was how I was feeling. Mary has had some bad encounters during the past three days with people -- other Christians, actually -- who have surprised us with ugly hostility. I believe they are in the wrong, and I've been angry about it. Praying about it, yes, but I still was waiting for that emotion to lift.

And so I went out after the big basketball game to find someone to pray for, but I was not particularly inspired about it. The guy I found was driving a big red pick-up truck. It had a placard on the side -- "Mike's Recycle," it read. So I asked Mike -- a guy about my age with a baseball cap and a beard -- if I could pray for him.

"Sure," he said. So I prayed for him on the spot, asking God to bless him that night in whatever he was doing. "I was just getting ready to go play video games with my brother and just chill," he said. So we chatted for a moment, and then I left. We shook hands first.

And I was gone. He was a happy, likable guy, who had no qualms about what I was doing. And as I drove home, I noticed my anger was gone. Just like that, I was harboring no grudges, just a sense of disappointment to the other situation we were facing.

The Holy Spirit, I believe, was at work. Wherever we do God's work, the Spirit is there, too. And so I knew I was meant to meet with Mike the Recycler. And I also was meant to meet with the Spirit, which I knew in that moment had taken over parts of my life that I had been clinging to and covered them with the selfless love of Christ. And so I learned my lesson.

It's not like it's magic. I don't expect the anger to be gone for good. I feel deep down like it could come back -- that I'm not above inviting it back. But I remember that moment of realization, and I'm going to keep inviting the Spirit to live through me. And I know I have to keep serving God the way he wants to be served. What better way to be in close proximity to the Spirit of God?

Day 231: New job

It was her second day on the job as a clerk at Walmart. How was she doing? "They say I'm doing well," she said as she put my box of generic allergy medicine into a plastic sack. Then we spent the next five minutes trying to figure out how to swipe my credit card. It wasn't really her fault. The card is old and the swiping strip really has been struggling lately. So we eventually gave up and tried the debit card. Worked like a dream.

Then I asked to pray for her. She agreed. I asked for God's blessing on her and her new job. She was kind off silent about the whole thing, but the fact is that she said yes, for which I'm thankful.

Day 230: Trash can

He was driving an old red van, pulling a trailer that held a metal trash can containing what looked like a bunch of brush and dirt. It was strapped down, squarely in the middle of the trailer. He sat in the van while it was filling up with gas. I watched him flip through a calendar and jot down a few things. I figured he was a handyman of some kind.

After he put the gas nozzle back, I stopped him to ask him my question. He immediately said yes. "I'll take as many prayers as I can get," he said. So I prayed for him. He was very attentive and thankful for it. After he got back in his van, he looked back at me, "God bless you," he said.

It was a nice encounter. It seemed like I've encountered some negativity lately. It's something I believe we have to embrace. Still, it persists. So when I was at Walmart later, I asked the clerk how she was doing. Not well apparently. She told me she felt a sickness coming on. I told her I would pray for her. It felt like such a natural thing to do. But she didn't say a word in response to that.

Day 229: Yes ... no

It was an interesting one. When I came across the man -- a short guy about 50 years old, smoking a cigarette next to the Hotel at Old Town -- he was very friendly. I asked him my question, and he said, "Absolutely." He looked right at me, very interested in what I had to say.

I explained my project to him, and he nodded, still interested. "Well, I'm a Christian," he said. "Great," I told him, "I've encountered a lot of them on this project." I don't know if it was that word "them" that got him -- maybe he thought I was a Buddhist or something -- or maybe he just got a sudden bout of cold feet. But when I asked if he had 10 seconds to spare for a prayer, his demeanor immediately changed.

He backed away, "No, sorry, not right now." And then he was gone. Wow. I walked away a little puzzled, but I still could see room there for the Holy Spirit to do its work. He was a Christian, which was good, but maybe God could use that encounter to help the man in some way on his walk.