Sunday.....Christianity.....The Hospital Visit

I would like to relate here a conversation (one sided) of a few minutes that took place in a hospital room a week ago yesterday. My mother had been admitted and my wife and I had just arrived, having only had a short conversation with the nurse on duty. A gentleman of about my age, maybe a little bit older, came in the room and for a moment we thought he was the doctor but he gave pleasantries all around intermixed with the appellation the Lord. I smiled and he began a prayer so I bowed my head. I don't remember the exact words but I had heard the prayer in its many variations many times an in fact used it myself many years ago in evangelizing. It was the sinner's prayer where one prays a prayer and is saved. He instructed everyone to repeat after me, and my smile faded and my head came up. As he continued he saw that I was not complying and I think that I saw an unfavorable glance in my direction. My mother was confused about why she was there let alone what was going on, she repeated his words and after the prayer, it was announced that the saints and angels in heaven were rejoicing over a new soul in the kingdom and the topic immediately segued  into healing and we were told his medical history of serious and not so serious illnesses that were long gone. It might soon have been my turn to say something but a nurse came in walking quickly, wheeling an upright cart announcing that it was time to take my mother's vitals. We moved back to give her room and the gentleman nodded and was gone. After a few more questions to the nurse, I walked out in the corridor and looked around but could not find our visitor. So what had just happened here? Was this and angel, an emissary of God...a blessing, or was it an assault on the gospel itself? I know from where this man cometh for I resided there myself many years ago. I led men in the sinner's prayer and as I related in a previous blog, only one was being regenerated at that time in his life and he had only come to me for he knew of  no where else to go. I should add here what I did not mention previously, that being that those other  men who I so ignorantly led, with good intentions, into the sinner's prayer, may have come to faith later in life but not at my leading, at that time. Note: As happens often I leave the computer in the middle of a blog for one reason or another and tonight (8:30 pm Sunday, on 101.5 FM) it was to listen with my wife (for many, many years with my wife and our son before his marriage) to the White Horse Inn Radio program. Rather than expound on this issue here myself, I'm given the opportunity to direct you to much more capable men. Tonight's program does not deal with "the sinner's prayer" as such but does talk about salvation and is therefore related. So let me defer to those gentlemen. Please give this ministry a chance and this blog would indeed accomplish something. You can go to http://www.whitehorseinn.org/ and click on "NEW LISTENERS...CLICK HERE.