Should I Go to the Local Big-Box Store and Offer to Pray over the Sick?

I’ve seen well-meaning Christians do this, but I don’t.  That store is private property, and you don’t have the same right to stand in the store or in its private parking lot that you would in a public park.  I do my public ministry in public locations.

Now, I HAVE laid hands on the sick (as opposed to “praying for them,” which is technically an incorrect description) in big-box stores, but the situation always involved someone telling me how horrible he felt.  I figured that because I had the authority to do something about it, I should.  I watched one lady dance around the meat aisle thanking Jesus, instantly healed of a flu case that had bothered her for days.  But I don’t head to the store with the purpose of trying to turn a section of the store into a revival meeting.  (In this case, I got to lay hands on two other people in the meat aisle, but that was the extent of it.)

The well-meaning Christians whom I saw making regular trips to a certain store to pray over people were eventually chased out by store management, and rightly so.  You will be a better witness if you respect people’s property rights.

See also:

Should I Just Go to the Big-Box Store and Lay Hands on People in Wheelchairs?