Sherri, lots of wisdom in what you wrote. You are well grounded, and your prayer is connected to your real life.
The part of the Story where the man’s friends bring him to Jesus might suggest that we learn to encounter Jesus from the people in our in life — when and if we are open to this and ready to be surprised.
The part of the Story where Jesus takes the man aside and goes off a ways to be alone with him might suggest what Jesus does with us when we give him the opportunity in our own life.