I may never understand this side of eternity why the Holy Spirit catapulted me out of my seat that day to leap over two rows of occupied stadium seats to speak to a young man that I didn’t know. Why, out of 15,000 participants at this youth conference, him? Why, in a crowd of youth pastors and sponsors who appeared more connected to youth culture and definitely more physically able to run ‘body hurdles’ – me?
I haven’t always been this quick to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but on this occasion, sleep deprived as I was, I knew the voice and I decided to act before I had a chance to talk myself out of it. The startled young man (to say nothing of what my husband, the other sponsors and my youth group thought as I uncharacteristically started body surfing the crowd to get to him!) looked at me with a puzzled expression. He had just taken his seat at the close of a powerful service where the speaker had given an invitation for people to commit their lives unreservedly to God and to stand as a sign of their covenant to seek God’s will. The speaker prayed for those who stood and the ushers handed each one a Hershey kiss as a reminder of God’s ‘kiss of blessing’ on their lives – all except this one young man who, somehow, had been overlooked by the ushers.
“I don’t want to weird you out or anything,” I said, “but the Holy Spirit has just prompted me to come over here and tell you that I will pray for you for this year. What is your name?” “Graham,” he said quietly, still trying to take in what I had just said. Then after a few seconds he thanked me and hugged me tightly for a long time. He told me where he was from (a town about 6 hours from where I lived) and what church he attended. We chatted very briefly and not wanting to make him more uncomfortable than he already was, I told him again, that I would be praying for him and went back to my seat.
We saw each other a few more times that weekend and each time he would smile and wave. At the close of the conference, as the crowds stood to exit, I told him in sign language I would be praying for him. Then it was his turn to leap over rows of seats and he came to give me a last hug and to thank me for praying.
True to my word, I began to pray daily for this young man. Each day as I read the Word, I would ask God to draw my attention to something in the passage that I could pray for Graham. My prayers included asking God to keep him from drunkenness and sexual immorality, to give him a clear and alert mind as he studied, and to have the desire to passionately obey the Word. I kept a pad of paper in my bible where I recorded the scripture passages and what I had prayed that day for Graham. This went on for just over three months before I heard the Spirit prompting me to cease the season of intense prayer. Then, just as I have done for nearly all of my “kids”, I added Graham to my prayer journal, where each day of the week lists teens that we have ministered to during more than 15 years of lay youth ministry and I pray for all of them through the course of a week. I composed a letter of encouragement to Graham, giving him the list of scriptures and prayers I had prayed on his behalf. I found the address of his church and sent it along with a big package of Hershey’s kisses. Not wanting him to feel obligated to reply, I didn’t include my last name or address on the package. I then briefly explained the parcel to his pastor and asked him to deliver it.
A year later, as the time for “YC” approached, we, again, made plans to take our teens to the conference. Each Tuesday as I prayed for Graham, I would think about how wonderful it would be to run into Graham and find out how his year went. Just three days before the conference, I prayed, “Lord, You know I would love to see Graham, but with over 16,000 people coming this year, I know the chances are very small. I might not even recognize him again if he walked by in the crush of people. If I never see him again this side of eternity, I will be ok with that, but Lord, it sure would be nice if You would arrange a meeting.”
The first night of the conference was exciting as thousands of people streamed into the arena to worship and hear the Word preached with clarity and power. The next morning was equally exciting and the afternoon of workshops and concerts were terrific. I tried not to search faces in the crowd and just entered into the worship and teaching times. After a supper break with our teens, we returned to the arena for the second evening of sessions. We were a little early, and feeling tired and a little restless from sitting, I decided to take a short walk before everything started. The walkway behind our seats was crowded, so I went up a floor to walk around the next level, which was almost deserted. I had just come out of the stairwell to the walkway, when I saw a familiar looking young man walked toward me. He stopped, looked at me, and said, “What is your name?” “Sandy,” I replied, “and your name is Graham.” His face lit up as he said, “I have been praying that I would run into you! I brought your letter with me!” We laughed and thanked God for His goodness! And, although nothing that God does should really surprise me anymore, I learned that his family had moved to small community where a former member of our first youth group just ‘happened’ to be helping with his youth group!
I still do not understand all the purposes of God in this call to ‘stand in the gap’ for this young man, but I do know that God has His hand on Graham’s life for a special purpose. I will continue to pray for this young man that I barely know as he prepares to attend bible school in the fall. Why? Because the Lord asked me to do it. Does God need my prayers in order to work in Graham or anyone else’s life? No, but He does ask that I intercede for others. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.” (1 Tim. 2:1) He delights in showing us what He can do when we obey Him in prayer beyond ourselves and those closest to us.
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
Who is God calling you to ‘stand in the gap’ for? Your pastor? Your neighbor? Your unsaved relative? The local drug dealer? A political leader? The obnoxious kid who rides his bike on your lawn? Your boss? Those in bondage to a cult? There is no shortage of people who need the Lord to intervene in their lives – but I do believe there is a shortage of people who will stand in the gap and ask Him to intervene through intercessory prayer. Will you step out in obedience and faith?
Sandy Semenyna, BGC WM Nat’l Prayer Coordinator
