On the Other Side

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” So says Hebrews 10:31.

I remember one time I was on the receiving end of a prayer.

His name was Curt. He was a cool guy. He was quarterback of his high school football team or something like that. What was such a cool guy doing hanging out with me? He needed something.

I could type, and in exchange for being my friend, he would have me type his papers for class. It was pathetic. I know. I actually thought he was a true genuine friend. I didn’t know that the only reason he hung out with me was to get his papers typed.

He was ministry bound. It was his intention to, after college, go into the ministry starting as a campus minister preaching the gospel to college kids and discipling and teaching them. He was cut out for it. He was a cool guy. People liked him. He had a way with people. He was a people person. I think he had many qualities that would make a good minister. As someone who read most of his college papers I can tell you that he wasn’t necessarily incredibly intelligent, but he did have gifts suitable for ministry to young Americans.

After a while I started catching on. He would only come to visit when he needed a paper typed. One time he said he was coming over, and I made a point to be sure that I would not be there. I went to the library.

After the time of his schedule arrival, I started feeling tired. I was sleepy. The library chairs weren’t comfortable. I didn’t want to be there. I thought about going to the gym, but that wouldn’t have been very comfortable either. The only place I wanted to be was laying on my bed. I knew that Curt guy would be lurking around so I tried to delay. I stayed as long as I could bear it and then went home thinking that he would have noticed my absence and given up.

When I got there, he was there. I typed his paper, and then he took off. He told me later that he made it to class just in time to hand in his typed paper. Then he told me something else. He said that he had been praying the whole time he was waiting for me. He had been praying that I would show up.

I really think that Curt’s prayer was answered. I really think that my strong desire to go back to my room was put on me by God himself spurring me to go back where I would help this guy. It’s a pretty cool feeling thinking that I was touched by God even though it might not have been a pleasant feeling at the time.