On Saturday, a group of men from our church met for breakfast at a local Mexican restaurant.
We prayed for our food, but, aside from that, there was no Bible study, no theological discussion. Just 10 guys gathering for breakfast tacos and an hour or so of “guy talk.” There was a lot of laughing. A lot of picking on each other. A few mother-in-law jokes. Just fun.
About halfway through the conversation, a man who was sitting at a nearby table got up and stepped over to our table.
He said, “Excuse me, but I can see you are a group of prayer warriors.”
How did he come to that conclusion from the laughing and the mother-in-law jokes?
We all tuned in.
He continued: “A friend of mine has a daughter who has gone missing, and we believe there’s a chance she was sold into sex trafficking. Could I ask that you all put her on your prayer lists?”
Using his iPhone, he showed us a Facebook page devoted to finding the girl, JaRay Wilson. There’s also a website.
We asked a few questions about JaRay, where she was from (Oklahoma), and told him we’d certainly pray.
Then one man in our group asked if we could pray for JaRay and her family right then. So there we were, 10 men and a stranger, boldly bowing our heads in the middle of a restaurant, praying out loud on behalf of this girl and her family.
Another man in our group invited the stranger to our church. He already had a church home but was thankful for the invite. We promised him we’d put JaRay on our Life Group prayer lists and like the page on Facebook. He thanked us and left.
For the life of me, other than the prayer before our meal, I can’t see what this man saw in us…but I’m so grateful and humbled, that in that moment, a stranger caught a glimpse of Christ in us.
We’ve all honored his request to pray and to spread the word.
I implore you all to please take time to pray for JaRay — that she may be found safe and reunited with her family.