Lady in the Hood

Lady in the Hood

City Place is a relatively new, large apartment complex, but it is located right in the middle of the central Phoenix “hood.” Our church outreach team would often go there to invite people to church.

On this Saturday several of us approached an older lady who was in front of her ground floor apartment. After she was invited to church, I began my normal soul winning presentation. She shook her head and refused to hear further.

I then asked her if there was anything we could pray for her about. Immediately she opened up and said: “Well I have a son in prison. Would you pray for him?” I led the prayer and we all prayed for God to be merciful to him and that he would be released from prison.

We had been hearing of not a few attendees at the church who had been released after accepting Christ in prison. So basically, the prayer went along those lines.

After the prayer the lady was grateful and happy that we had prayed for her and her son. It then occurred to me that maybe I could try again with the salvation presentation. This time she agreed, believed the gospel and prayed to accept Christ as her savior.

According to Pastor Tommy Barnett, it is a principle that if a person will pray with you, it brings them under the influence of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know what the theology of that might be, but it does work.