Somebody came up to me offering to pray for me today

[slartibartfast]

I was a bit shocked. I was with two friends. I guess we looked pretty unassuming. I just wanted to play my mobile game with my friends.

I asked the man "what's the success rate?" and he initially 50% and then he caught himself and said 70% and then upped it to 100% (though I think he did say it depends on the circumstances). I was going to suggest it's no better than random chance but the conversation quickly moved on. Thankfully, he did say that prayer is no substitute for modern medicine so that was somewhat reassuring, when I pressed him on that. I did suggest that maybe prayer is a placebo as he said some are more receptive than others. Wasn't there that Harvard study on prayer? The one that said prayer makes little to no difference.

I ask him if prayer could make my friend with a missing arm grow a new arm. I didn't feel I really got an answer to that question. A bit frustrating to say the least. After a short conversation he said he had to go and pick up his child(ren) from school and left us.

Same thing happened to me and my wife the other day in the middle of the supermarket. She has arthritic knees and will likely need a knee replacement in the next couple years or so and limps as she walks. Young guy comes up and says "Can I pray for your leg?".

So here's the thing. His method may be completely ineffective, and somewhat offensive to me on a "I'm just gonna thrust my world view on you, a complete stranger in a public place" level, however his demeanor, intent and genuine nature made it impossible for my wife and I to reject him. Overall I was personally taken aback by his simply very genuine desire to help another human being. It was kind of like a boy scout offering to carry your bags when you don't need any help. You can appreciate the sentiment and just accept the attempt at help and let someone else feel good about having tried without being a prick about it.