Commencement
Page 96
Time seemed like it was rushing by. Already it was the middle of February and Valentine’s day to boot. This would be a very special Valentine’s day because it was the last day Tim was going to be in town before going out to Baltimore for his second opinion. Allen and Davis had made arrangements with some of their friends to have a special prayer service for Tim in the Upper Room of the church. Allen was the first one to arrive. As he stood in the main area of the Upper Room with it’s red, carpeted floor and little white podium in the middle, Allen was overcome by the solemnity of this gathering. Everyone wanted this day to be a turning point for Tim. Yet, Allen couldn’t help but think about what happened with Momma Merta.
Allen and Davis had called as many people as they could, just like what had been done for Momma Merta, but none of the elders were there. It was just going to be the younger people. And there weren’t that many of them. Tamiko, and Daniel were coming; even Richard was coming. Given the urgency of the situation, Allen thought about contacting Jim (to at least make him aware of Tim’s illness), but given how similar the circumstances were to those that had caused his apostasy, he didn’t. It would be too much for him to bear, not that he’d come anyway. He didn’t even consider Callie after what she had said the last time they were together. Allen didn’t know if he should have called his parents, and the Pastor and his wife. Since they had known the Lord for a lot longer, maybe God would be more apt to listen and have mercy. But like Davis said “If two of you agree touching anything that they shall ask it shall be done of them by my Father which is in heaven.” Soon Allen’s silent reverie was broken by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. It was Davis and Daniel. They exchanged friendly greetings of “Praise the Lord” and then there was a quiet moment between them, when finally Allen broke the silence.
“So what’s on the program for tonight? How’s this going to work?”
“Daniel is going to lead us in the main prayer. Then we’re all going to pray individually. You can stay here in the main sanctuary or if you feel
you need privacy you can go to the booths”, answered Davis.
“How many other people are going to be here?” asked Daniel.
“There should be six of us; Tim included.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to see if the Pastor can come down
and join us? He’s a man of God, Allen. He can intercede for us, like the way Moses did for the people of Israel”, suggested Daniel.
“It’s probably too late for that. We’ll just have to make due with who we have”, said Allen thoughtfully.
“I don’t think it will matter. The Bible says: the prayers of a righteous man availeth much.1 We’ve got at least 5 men and one woman. As long as everyone here believes in God and His power, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t hear us. I mean he heard the people of Ninevah when they prayed, didn’t he?” said Davis confidently.2
As they were speaking, Richard came bounding up the steps.
“Praise the Lord”, greeted Davis.
“Oh, is that what you say? Yeah, Praise the Lord, y’all.”
“Thanks for coming, man. We really appreciate it.”
“Yeah, I know me and Tim - sometimes we cross paths, but when it
comes to somethin’ like dis, I’ma have his back. Fa real.”
“You’ve prayed before, right Rich?” asked Allen.
“Yeah, man. I be prayin’ all the time. How you think I stay large
man?” They all laughed.
“So where’s the man of the hour?” asked Jim.
“He probably stopped by to pick up Tamiko. They should be here any minute”, replied Allen.
And no sooner had their names been mentioned than they arrived.
“Praise the Lord Everyone!” greeted Tim as he came up the steps with Tamiko.
“Praise the Lord!” they all responded.
“Wow! This is a bigger crowd than I expected!” he beamed “Hey, Rich. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hey, I know we don’t always eye to eye, but I’ma always have your back.”
“See, I told you”, said Tamiko.
“Thanks, man”, said Tim humbly.
“Since we’re all here, I guess we should get started.”
“Hold on Al. There’s something I’d like to say first. I’d like to take the time to say thank you to all of you for being here with me tonight and for all of the love, support, and guidance you’ve provided me in my life. I was thinking the other night about the ways that God has blessed my life and I didn’t even realize it. But of all the ways that he has blessed me, you guys are the most special blessing of all.
Daniel, I just want to thank you for your time and your prayers. You didn’t even know me that well, and yet you’ve treated me just like a friend. And thanks for spotting me in the baptism pool.
Davis, thank you for having patience with me. I know I gave you a hard time when we first met, with my snide comments and sarcastic innuendos. Now I know you’re a real Christian man of character. You would have to be to put up with me, right? I have to say, I am more than proud to call you my friend.
Look Rich, I know I’ve always given you a hard time. I’m ashamed to say it was because I always envied you because you were so independent. You made your own standard and didn’t try to fit into the one society made and you succeeded. That’s because you had the one thing I didn’t have: courage. Now instead of envying you, I admire you.
Allen, what can I say? I didn’t know what friendship was until I met you. I didn’t know what family meant until I met you. I’m not sure if I even knew what love was until I met you. In fact, I think I first experienced the love of God through you. There were so many times in the beginning when I was just absolutely rotten to you, but you kept coming back and you treated me with so much compassion. At first I thought you were crazy, or stupid, or naïve, but finally, I realized that you are proof that there are still good people in this world. We’ve been through our highs and lows together and you’ve been better to me than I’ve been to myself. I can say with certainty that you are my brother.
Tamiko, it was your example of unwavering faith that drew me into God’s fold. You were always so passionate and so bold. You always held fast to what you knew and you never backed down, even when things got heated. And no matter what you were facing in life or how down you would get, I noticed you have something inside of you that would always pick you up. I would look at you sometimes and wonder what it was that kept you going like that. And because you were so willing to share yourself with me, I know what it is. It’s God living on the inside of you. You opened me up to a love that I never thought was possible. You’re an angel on earth if there ever was one.
So thank you all. There were times when I was first thinking about giving my life to God that I doubted that He would want me. I didn’t think God could love someone like me. Now I know He does love me, because if He didn’t, He wouldn’t have blessed me with friends like you.”
By the time Tim was finished, Tamiko was sobbing and the men struggled to keep their composure. Allen quickly wiped at the tears that had gathered in his eyes. Then everyone started reaching out to Tim for hugs. When they had done sharing the emotionally charged moment. Daniel began to start the prayer service.
“If everyone could just form a circle around the altar, join hands and bow your heads please.”
Everyone did as Daniel directed. Daniel was at the head of the circle leading the prayer.
“Heavenly Father, we have come together in your presence this evening to send up a petition for our friend, Tim. Father God, You know his condition, and the trials he has to face concerning his health. Lord we know that You are all powerful and full of mercy. We know that You are a Healer as your word has revealed the countless times how You have healed the sick. We are faithful to believe that You are the same God then that You are now. We beseech You Lord, God, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, that You have compassion on our friend Tim
. Please God, show him the same compassion that You showed to the woman with the issue of blood who was sick in her body. We ask that you show our friend the same compassion that you showed the Ninevites when you were ready to destroy them. They prayed and you had compassion. We ask that You come down and touch his body and rid him of this disease. Lord we pray that You break the bands of the enemy and let this illness be for Your glory. We will give You the glory, the praise, and the honor. Lord, God, we give You the glory right now for what You are about to do. Hear us, Lord, God. You said that where two or three are gathered together in Your name You are in the midst.3 We ask that You come in the midst of us and deliver. You said in your word that if we believe, there was nothing that would be withheld from us. Lord, we believe in You today and everyday and we know You will do. So we come before You in sackcloth and ashes. We come before You knowing that we don’t deserve it, but we beg for mercy. And so we present this petition to You in the spirit of humility acknowledging that there is nothing that we can do but to ask You to speak into this situation. In the name of Your precious Son, Jesus. Amen.”
When the prayer was over there were more hugs and tears. Then everyone spread out for silent prayer. Allen, Tim, Daniel and Richard went into the booths, while Tamiko and Davis stayed in the main sanctuary. At first, there was total silence as each person poured out his and her hearts to before the Lord. Then after a while, muffled sobs could be heard rising up throughout the room as they prayed more earnestly and fervently. Allen was soaked with tears and sweat. When he grew tired and weak he felt something take over him and keep him going. It was as if his spirit was praying separately from himself. Everyone else felt it to. They stayed on their knees for hours tarrying and travailing into the night.