The Minister Called Out a Condition That Almost Fit Me – Should I Go Up for Prayer?

This refers to a case where it sounds for sure like the minister is talking about you, but some minor detail that might be a bit off makes you wonder if it’s really you.

I was in this situation once.  I got very technical, as we computer geeks are known to do, and I did not go up because of a minor point.  I should have gone up and I knew it, but I talked myself out of it.  If it sounds like you because of a series of details and there is only one fuzzy point, I would go up unless the minister was being emphatic about that one fuzzy point.  Ministers are human beings like you.  They can miss God or misinterpret what they pick up in their spirits.  Most of the time, God has not spoken literal words to them about anyone.  They simply sense something in their spirit and attempt to articulate it the best way they can.  I don’t think that God would be upset with you for getting in a line if there is a reasonable likelihood that the minister means you.

Sometimes it is just a slight communication glitch, and the person didn’t quite come across saying what he meant to say.  Take this case of a lady who had a headache and went up for prayer.  Later on, the minister asked her, “How’s your head?”  She exclaimed, “It’s GONE!”  (I didn’t make this up.  I was on the platform leading worship at a convention when this happened.  I almost had to stop playing the piano because it struck me so funny.  No one else seemed to catch the irony.)  You know what she really meant, even though that’s not quite what she said, right?

Another key is what you sense on the inside.  If you’re not sure if you should go up, go with what seems right to you on the inside.  If you’re supposed to go up, something will stir in your spirit.  You’ll have a knowing that you ought to go up there.

I am not saying that you should get into a line for ear trouble if the minister calls out nose trouble just because your nose is near your ears.  However, if he called out a very specific condition that you have and said he sensed it was someone’s left ear, and it was actually your right ear, I would go up.  There is no clear-cut answer to this question, but the best advice I could give you is that if you think it sounds like you, go up.  If you get sent back to your seat, don’t be personally offended.  I still have to remember “his left, my right” when I’m ministering to someone with a “left side” problem.  His left side to me on the platform is the person’s right side!  We’re all growing in these things.  Stay open and stay teachable.