It’s easy for people to live with God completely off their radar–with no awareness of His presence and power. In fact, for most people that’s where they are most of the time. They’re missing out on the thrill and healing of noticing the living God.

Can you help wake people up to the reality and presence of God? Yes. Here’s a simple way that works.

1. Make sure you, yourself, are aware of God’s presence in and around you. Learn to enjoy Him and spend time lovingly interacting with Him throughout the day.
2. Approach someone and ask them if they have anything that you can pray about for them.
3. If they say yes, ask them what it is they need pray for.
4. Then ask them if you can pray with them right now. (It will surprise you how many people will say yes.)
5. Next put your hand or their shoulder (or take their hands if they offer them to you) and begin to pray a heart-felt, compassionate Spirit-led prayer for them and the concerns they voiced. Let the words freely flow from your inner most being. Let deep concern and love for them that rise in your heart.
6. They will usually close their eyes. If you keep your eyes open and watch them while you pray, you will see evidence of God working in their life. Their facial expression will become more peaceful. Their body will relax. Their breathing will slow down. They may sigh, or relax, or smile, or tear up, or jerk, or show other physical manifestations of become aware of God’s presence. When you say Amen, they’ll usually sincerely thank you and may even hug you.

Don’t just take my word for it. Try it today. You will be amazed both at what God does in the person you pray over and what He does in you. I love to pray over people! It’s so glorious that it is addicting.

My wife and I and others used to regularly prayer walk the most dangerous innercity streets in Nashville. Tough looking people would ask us what we were doing there. We’d tell them that we were praying and ask if they wanted prayer. Often, as they were hiding the evidence of their drug dealing, they would stick out their hands, bow their head, and say yes. We would take their hands and begin to pray. Afterwards they were often wiping away tears, hugging us, and saying thank you.

Currently we pray with people on the phone, with people we encounter day to day, with friends and strangers, and on Sunday nights we gather with students at a technological college and pray with them. We’re always amazed at what God does in people (and in us) when we open our heart and pray for them as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Breathe in the air of prayer. Then breathe it out with sincere compassion for others.