Photo: Gathered in His Name Intercessory Prayer and Outreach group members Nicole, Ann, Andrea, David and Laura celebrate the goodness of God after praying with vendors during the 34th Annual Taste of Bethesda, in Bethesda, Maryland held on Saturday, October 3, 2026.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11, ESV)

Following a brief summer break, our Gathered in His Name Intercessory Prayer and Outreach group resumed its first prayer outing for this fall on Saturday, October 3. Although it was a rainy morning, we were delighted to gather! We welcomed Ann, our newest member, and returning members David and Laura.

The focus for this prayer outing was to pray for and encourage vendors participating in the 34th Annual Taste of Bethesda—a cultural and community event of food, music, and entertainment that celebrates the beautiful diverse community that is Bethesda, Maryland. At least 50 restaurants participated in this year’s festival. With the steady light rain, we prayed for the weather to clear before the festival’s 11:00 a.m. kick off so that vendors would have great sales. The Taste of Bethesda served as our very first prayer outing last October where we prayed for vendors to have a safe and successful event, and prayers for health.

Our key verse last year was from Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV) It was and is our desire for those we minister to that God would give them His joy and peace. That was also our prayer focus for this outing with key scriptures also from John 16:33, John 14:27, and Philippians 4:6-7. We encouraged and prayed for one another before heading out to pray, which was important.

No Good Thing Does God Withhold

With umbrellas and hoods, we met vendors who were setting up their booths. When asked how we could pray for them, the reverberating request was “that the rain would stop,” so they could have a great business day. We agreed and prayed the same! The rain ended around 10:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the 11:00 a.m. event started! Thank you, Jesus!! Such goodness, grace, favor and kindness the Lord bestowed on the vendors through our prayers! As blue skies began to peek through and clear out the gray rain clouds, foot traffic picked up and business got busy! Many of the restaurants we prayed for (Agora, Benihana, Big Greek Café, Eat Sprout, Hawkers Asian Street Food, Georgetown Cupcakes, Guardado’s, Mathnasium, Mon Ami Gabi, Smoothie King, Teazzi Tea Shop and others) were grateful for the encouragement and prayer. Vendors had long lines of customers throughout the day, with some selling out of food! God truly blessed!

Umbrellas, hoods, and smiles as we prepare to greet and pray with vendors participating in the 34th Annual Taste of Bethesda! God answered our prayers in clearing out the rain so vendors could have a successful sales day! Praise God!

The goodness of God extended not only to the vendors, but also to us. Some of the vendors (Benihana, Eat Sprout and others) blessed us with food in gratitude for our prayers. We received a huge, delicious Fudgy Guinness Chocolate Cookie from Eat Sprouts that we all shared (and thoroughly enjoyed!), coupons from the team at Hawkers, and fried rice from Benihana. These gestures reflected the generosity and gratitude of the people we met. It was a beautiful reminder that when we seek to bless others, God often provides unexpected blessings along the way. We prayed with no expectation whatsoever of receiving such generosity. Our only expectation was that God would show up.

That morning, Andrea had been meditating on Psalm 84:11, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” The moment our group gathered David asked, “What’s that verse about God ‘withholding no good thing’?” It truly came alive expressed through the openness of those we met and the generosity that followed many of the conversations.

Some additional reflections from our prayer outing:

• It is always interesting to see how people respond when offered prayer. Some reject it, some are curious and unsure what to expect, and others warmly welcome it and eagerly share their needs and concerns.
• We encountered people from a variety of faith backgrounds, whether Catholic, Muslim or maybe agnostic. It was encouraging to see how prayer can connect with people across different beliefs and traditions.
• One particular memorable moment was praying with individuals at Mathnasium who requested prayer for healing for their parents. Just as we prayed for the weather and for the clouds to lift, we could see blue sky beginning to peek through behind us, which was an encouraging reminder of God’s faithfulness.
• Even after the outing ended, opportunities for ministry continued as people asked Laura, David and Nicole for prayer, including a woman recently unemployed and prayed to remain housed after experiencing housing insecurity twice before.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the outreach was seeing the growth in boldness among our members. Many had never prayed with a stranger prior to Gathered in His Name, yet everyone stepped out in faith and offered heartfelt prayers of blessing. We are continuing to build that muscle of faith, developing confidence and making it a habit to pray for others wherever God provides opportunities. Because vendors were busy serving customers, it was encouraging to see our members learn how to offer bold yet brief prayers, being intentional and focused while ensuring that the prayer was a blessing rather than a disruption.

We are blessed by a good God and joyful to see how our short, bold prayers availed! May this encourage you as well!

-Nicole and Andrea