Moving on from atheism, Commitment-Phobe toured churches and tried God. Now, as a new Christian, the journey continues

During our Sunday service, everyone is invited to come up to receive personal prayer should they want it. Someone on the prayer ministry team thought I might be interested in praying for others. I am more than keen, but I am not sure I really know how to do it.

It turned out I was not the only one who felt this way, so our current training ordinand led a session after one Sunday service to guide those who wanted to learn. It was the night before this that I was invited to volunteer for the team in the morning, and though I was yet untrained, in my usual gung ho manner, I decided to have a go anyway.

I stood in a corner of the church near the altar, I prayed for two older women, and afterwards I felt full of elation and blessings. I thought: This is what church is all about! You can attend every service for over a year and never really get to know someone or help them in any way, but through a short burst of prayer for them, you can transcend all social barriers and help them feel better. It was a heady feeling, and I am glad that I attended the course directly afterwards to keep my ego from overinflating.

The first thing that was made clear to us is that when you are praying for someone it is a type of service. Get clear information. Make sure you get the person’s name and what they need help with, bearing in mind that this is not counselling but prayer. You are helping this person do business with God…

Commitment-Phobe is a new Christian

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This is an extract from the May 2016 edition of Reform.

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