On New Years’ Eve I was on the twelfth floor of an inner city council tower block. It was just before 11pm. I was leaving a friend’s party and was on my way to church to spend the last hour of the year praying and worshiping in the New Year.

Walking along the long quiet corridors of the twelfth floor to the lift, wearing impractical high heels and a little party frock, I felt slightly vulnerable and alone. I’ve never liked council tower blocks. The communal areas of high rise blocks have always set me a little on edge, like a no man’s land, cold concrete floor to ceiling, stories I’ve been told of what happens down the lonely stairways, too high up in the sky for my comfort and no place for escape if you needed one.

As I turned the corner to the lift shaft area there was a very large man with his back to me with a bottle of drink in his hand.

The thought crossed me to turn and go back to my friends for a bit longer, but that felt ridiculous, no one else here would mind getting into a lift with a stranger, they did it every day. But I did mind, especially locked in a steel box for twelve floors with a potentially intoxicated New Year’s reveller.

So that was it. Nicole, you’ve got twelve floors to bring Jesus to him and let nothing else come between you. I decided I would arm myself with Jesus and his words and hold them out in front of me as I stepped boldly up to the man.

And that is what I did. I approached him with the biggest smile I had, greeted him and asked where he was going. I told him I was going to church to spend the rest of the night there and asked him if he knew God. As we got into the lift he started to tell me how he’d said many ‘Hail Marys’ that year but God hadn’t answered his prayers, it had been a lousy year and he was still homeless.

As the lift doors closed to lock both of us in I felt my anxiety rise but pinned him all the more with my eyes and a smile and carried on.

‘But you know God wants more for you than you can ever ask or imagine, he loves you more than you could ever know and he is right with you all the time. He’s never left you, he’s right with you now. Just ask him’

The lift doors opened at the ground floor. As we walked into the front of the tower block his gang were waiting for him, bottles in hand, all calling and hooting for him. But I wouldn’t leave him. I said I wanted to pray for him. He thanked me and turned to his mates.

‘No, I’d like to pray for you now, here, with you. What would you like God to do for you this year?’

So I laid hands on Frank there and then, in front of his gang and asked for God to make himself known to him in 2008 and to meet his needs as only he can do.

I wished him a happy New Year and I turned away to rush off to my car, leaving him somewhat bewildered.

He called after me, ‘See you in the lift next time!’

He won’t of course as I don’t live there, but I’d like to. In fact the best place in the world to be on New Year ’s Eve was in the lift in that tower block for those 60 seconds.