Sandwich and a prayer

If you want to help the homeless, find a niche and fill it. In other words, look for places where people are not already receiving help and inject that with love and support. You don’t need to be a big organization: just a big heart and some effort behind it. In my town, various organizations provide beds, clothing, and meals throughout the week. I did find, though, that on Friday afternoon, no one provided food. So I decided to fill that gap. How sandwiches and prayer.

A sandwich gives short-term sustenance for our bodies, but Jesus gives eternal food for our souls. So I figured I’d start with sandwiches and go from there. I am a horrible cook, but even I can make a sandwich. Get two pieces of bread, put some cheese and meat between, and you've got a meal in a ziplock. Best of all. I can do this all on my own, even if I can barely make cereal. I don’t need any help or coordination of schedules, and it’s reasonably cheap. Also, clean up takes minutes. Sometimes friends join, but usually I’m on my own. I kinda prefer one-on-one interaction. More intimate and less intimidating to the person I’m talking with on the street.

So every Friday, I fill my kitchen counter with bread and meat while my dog watches, hoping I'll drop a slice for him. When I’ve made all the sandwiches, I stuff them in a bag and head downtown. I know where the homeless people hang out. I walk the streets and alleys. I ask whoever looks hungry if they’d like a sandwich. I have not yet figured out the magic number to make. In my town, it seems to be between two and three dozen. After I give them a sandwich, which seems to brighten their day, I ask each person if they need prayer.

A quick word about prayer: for most of my life, I hated prayer. I thought it was a waste of time, and the idea of saying what I thought was nonsense out loud was absurd and useless. Boy, was I wrong. For decades, I had everything except a relationship with Jesus, and suddenly all that was gone. That’s when I found the only things I really needed was Jesus. Don’t get me wrong a house, money, kids, and a spouse are great in all. Unfortunately as I found out all those things are sinking sand. They can topple over or be swept away in a second. The rock of Jesus, I found out the hard way, is the one thing that is eternal and he will never leave your side. He and prayer saved my life. Some people will say “thoughts and prayers” are useless sentiment. I know differently. As a Christian, to me, it is the most potent weapon we have other than the Bible. For me, learning to pray was a faster learning curve than the Bible. I read the Bible every day, but pulling endless scripture on command is not yet in my evangelical playbook. Additionally, many people don’t take kindly to scripture thrown at them out of nowhere, but offering a prayer is like a warm hug with words.

Anyway, sorry for the side track on the merits of bowing your head and Jesus. Once you get him in you heart he jumps out a lot. So I figured I should learn how to use the weapon of prayer as effectively as possible. Staying silent was not the answer. So I keep practicing. I started just saying my prayers out loud on my knees in my house. Why not God already knew what I was thinking anyway. Then, for a few people at Bible study. Soon, I was leading prayer, and now I’m out on the street praying for strangers. On the street at least, it’s all about your posture. Humble and vulnerable. If they are sitting on a bench, I ask if I can sit next to them. If a person is in a wheelchair, I kneel beside them. If they are laying or sitting on the ground or sidewalk I get down to get eye to eye with them. Most anyone agrees to prayer with the right posture. After I get on their level I say “is there is anything specific you need me to pray for.” Often, they tell me, or I pick what the Holy Spirit puts on me. The last thing I ask them is if they mind if I put a hand on their shoulder, because when Jesus found me in my darkness, he literally put a hand on my shoulder. So I’d like to do the same for them in a symbolic gesture. Sometimes it’s a quick prayer, or other times it’s a few minutes. It can be pretty deep and extensive, lead to tears, and even a hug. On occasion, it allows me to share the Good News about Jesus. I don’t know a lot of scripture by heart or much Biblical wisdom, but I know what Jesus did for me. So I share with them what I think Jesus can do for them. 

So that’s sandwich and a prayer. Try it where you live. People need not just a sandwich, but also prayers all over this planet. It cost me about $50 a week to make the sandwiches, three hours in prep, and time walking the streets. Most important, it allows me to do what I love without relying or bugging anyone else. Help people in need and spread the love of Jesus. God bless you, and remember this. Christianity is not about the rituals of church every Sunday, learning the Bible backward and forward, nor getting it right. We all fall short of the glory of God. In book of Isaiah it says our most righteous works are filthy rags in the eyes of God. Christianity is about an intimate relationship with Jesus. Through that he will create great works in you. Start a simple talk with him today. You won’t regret it, and it could become your greatest friendship. He’s been waiting for it your whole life.