by David Fawcett

Every prayer time during the Food Giveaway has a different flow to it. You never know what to expect.

You might get a bunch of people coming midway through. You might get some right at the end. Sometimes, those needing prayer come in waves but it’s spread out during the two-hour time frame.

Or sometimes most of them come at the beginning, which was the case this past Saturday when we had 50 of our eventual 59 prayer recipients come in the first hour. That total was by far a record, although I have to remind myself it’s not about the numbers.

But what’s been really cool over the last two months is having people we’ve prayed for intentionally come back and let us know how God answered those prayers.

In November, we heard these two accounts: A man came to All Saints' a few weeks prior and received prayer from Valarie Whitcomb to find a job. This same man was at the food pantry. When he saw Valarie, he made a point to seek her out and tell her he had gotten a job.

Another woman came through to tell Kat Zwingle her shoulder was healed. Kat had helped pray for this woman at another food pantry and wanted to let Kat know she was healed. 

On Saturday, we were blessed to hear more. One came from a woman named Johnnie. In a previous food pantry, we had prayed that her husband would have successful heart surgery. She told us Saturday he did.

Another came from a woman named Blanca. She had come in for prayer at the July food pantry for her 28-year-old son. The next day, her son was going in for his sixth surgery for intestinal issues. Understandably, she was quite concerned. But in her time of need, she turned to a God she trusted to help her deal with the weight of this challenging situation.

She made a point to come to the sanctuary Saturday and tell us that her son was walking on his own and on his road to recovery. She didn’t ask for more prayer. She wanted to make sure we knew what God had done through prayer.

A big thank-you to our team who comes out faithfully and joyfully to pray for these people.

Thank you to Elizabeth Munzert as well who stands at the end of the final table and asks people if they want prayer. She does a wonderful job inviting people in with her welcoming words and tone.

Thank you to Heather Adams, who provided a device to help translate English into Spanish and vice versa. Thank you to Rudy, who unexpectedly joined us later and provided in-person translation for our Hispanic-speaking recipients.

Thank you to our Dorcas Ministry who makes the prayer shawls we hand out to women. We gave out all we had Saturday (I believe 10). We also handed out several Spanish-speaking and English-speaking Bibles.

It’s such a blessing to pray for people who not only know God in their heads, but who truly entrust their lives to Him to meet their many needs. Some are further along in their walk than others, but they still come seeking. They are all carrying heavy-duty burdens, but so many of them first come in to say thanks to God with smiles on their face. There was no griping, no woe-is-me. They exude gratitude. That was definitely the case Saturday.

We got a lot of new faces. 

We also get a number of repeat customers who come back each food pantry to connect. They are so grateful this is a praying church and that we faithfully pray for others.  I often hear a variation of the same theme: This is the church that prays. It’s a joy to serve them all.  

We appreciate it even more when they come back to let us know that God answered their prayers. You never know what to expect other than God is always on the move and will answer in His way and His time. 

To Him be the glory.