A Saturday Morning Men’s Prayer Story

The silent alarm in my head sounds. I open my eyes and the room is dark. Squinting over at the small, dim green light, the alarm clock shows 6:42am. Ahhh! It’s too late to make the effort to go. But, a voice in my head responds, “No, it’s not.” Alright then, I just don’t want to go. I don’t want to go! I simply don’t want to go! In the words of Tommy Boy, “Me want sleepy!” Soooo much easier on a cold, dark Saturday morning to roll over and just nestle in.

The men’s prayer group has been meeting for most every Saturday morning for over 20 years. I have had the privilege of seeing God do crazy, amazing things among the bleary-eyed, stubble-faced, tussled hair of pre-dawn prayer refugees. Meetings where guys consistently walk out healed, restored and refreshed. Many of the players have changed over the years but someone had always picked up the mantle to keep it going. Guys like Pete and Jim and Dan and Hal were now holding down the fort.

Why do these guys do it? Because these guys who drag themselves out of bed are always satisfied by a God that is a rewarder of those that make the effort to seek Him. And 6am on a Saturday morning is truly making an effort.

Getting there is rough, but being there is awesome – virtually every time. Knowing that is what gets me up and going and soon I’m stumbling out the door.

Most of the guys have already been there since 6:00am. I used to be one of those guys but more often these days when I do come, I show up around 7:00am for the 2^nd hour.

The door creaks open to the darkened prayer room as I discreetly make my way in. A quick look and I calculate that there is a group of about 10 guys sitting in chairs formed in the obligatory circle. I spot an empty seat and head straight for it, keeping my eyes down. As I slither into my seat I notice that there is no one talking. (actually, not a bad thing in a prayer room). But, there is a strange rumbling sound. More like the sound of oily mechanical gears slowly rattling away. I glance to my left and to my shock there appears to be 2 men slumped in their chairs, leaning towards each other, almost laying their heads on the other’s shoulders. It’s snoring that I’m hearing!

I shake my head. This is not good! This prayer meeting has sunk to an all-time low, with the spiritual temperature so low that guys are just dozing off. Oh, God help us! Jesus’ great admonishment to the disciples in Matthew 26:40 pops into my head. “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?”

Then I realize that the other guys are praying but I am so annoyed and so distracted that I’m not following the prayers. In fact, I’m getting angry that the other guys aren’t as disgusted with the situation as I am. My impulse is to just get up and leave. What a waste of time. But, I find myself crying out to God, “This is pathetic – Father help us!”

Just as I’m about to leave, the sleeper who is furthest from me snorts so loud that he wakes himself up. I realize it is Dennis, a man who has recently had an amazing conversion to Christ. He groggily sits up staying silently frozen, not moving. After a few minutes, he stands up and begins walking around the room slowly stretching his shoulders, head and neck. I notice he is soaked in sweat.

Now, I’m getting even more annoyed at his lack of decorum. But I look at the rest of the guys and they are looking on as if they are expecting something from Dennis. What is going on here? Finally, Dennis announces, “I’m healed! My neck is absolutely fine! And I feel totally refreshed.” With that the guys start clapping and praising God.

I’m stunned and still wondering, “What is going on?”

Now, the other guy, who I thought was sleeping, is up. I realize that it’s my friend, Hal. He too is praising God. I am really confused and don’t know what to think as all the guys continue to high five and cheer.

I am more than a little slow-on-the-uptake but at this point I get the idea that something good has happened. I join with the others in prayers of thanksgiving and worship until we conclude the meeting. It was at that point that I learned the whole story.

Six weeks earlier Dennis had hurt his neck while pulling weeds landscaping. He was in tremendous pain and went to see a doctor. There, he had a CAT scan revealing a bulging disk. The doctor ordered an MRI and that too confirmed a badly bulging disk. He was told by the doctor that his options were either surgery or physical therapy utilizing pain medication and regular injections into the neck. He was still deciding on the course of treatment while he struggled in agony. The pain got so bad that he had not slept for days before coming back to the prayer meeting that particular morning.

Dennis had come into the prayer meeting with his body so twisted from pain that he could not sit in the hard chairs. The guys brought in a more comfortable lounge chair for him to sit in. They then began praying for Dennis while Hal (who I had judged as sleeping) was actually leaning over comforting Dennis and soothing him, messaging his head and neck while praying for him. A peace then came over Dennis and he fell asleep while Hal continued laying hands and praying for Dennis. It was about an hour later that I walked in thinking that both men were sleeping.

Later Dennis woke up to find himself covered in sweat. He sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what was happening, not feeling the pain but afraid to move fearing the pain would return. But, after a few minutes, he got up and began walking around, manipulating his body to realize the pain was indeed gone! He announced, “I’m healed!” and the guys broke into cheers.

So, here am I, rightfully feeling quite foolish, having this idea that I know something about how God works in prayer meetings shattered (not the first time). I took no part in praying for this crazy miracle but I have the joy of seeing God, once again work in a mysterious way. And, I am privileged to be able to testify, once more, to His amazing power and love through a rag-tag group of guys who are being the mustard seed of faith that is blossoming into something much bigger. It is a place realizing the dynamic of exercising expectant faith, resulting in God responding, which in turn increases faith and expectation, resulting in more rewards – the increasing faith cycle.

For me, I had walked into that meeting and in spite of what I know to be true, I had dropped all expectation of God showing up that morning. Fortunately, as Jesus taught in Luke 12:35 all the other guys had their “waists girded and their lamps burning.” They were ready.

The question for us is – “Are we ready and what are we expecting?”