A police officer in North Carolina was deeply touched when a young man approached him to offer a prayer.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer Brad Potter said the unexpected gesture made by 10th grader Caleb Turner "floored him" and made him realise that the essence of this act—"looking out for one another; caring, and wanting to let someone know that you care"—is what the world badly needs.

Sharing his experience in a recent Facebook post, Potter said he was sitting in his patrol car at a gas station several weeks ago when the 16-year-old man came over and asked him, "Can I pray for you?"

"I stammered out an 'of course' and I sat there, in a bit of awe at the heart of this young man," Potter recalled. "To go up to a complete stranger and ask to pray for them. What an amazing act of pure kindness."

The officer suggested that they pray together.

"We clasped hands, and we prayed," Potter wrote. "We prayed for our safety, for the safety of my brothers and sisters in blue, and for the safety of our community."

Turner's father was there and Potter told him how impressed he was by his son's gesture.

The father smiled and said, "He does this kind of thing all the time."

Potter said he could not forget the kind gesture Turner extended to him, and he wants to share the inspiration he got from it.

"I implore everyone, please take a lesson from this young man. Spread a little love around the world," he wrote. "We are at our best when we open our arms, our hearts, and our minds to each other. We are at our best when we show compassion and care for each other. We are at our best when we show love for each other."

Last Friday, WFMY-TV arranged a reunion between Potter and Turner.

The local news outlet asked Turner why he approached the police officer.

Turner replied, "I wanted to share Jesus with him,"

"I didn't know if he was a believer or not, but I thought doing something like this might make someone's day a little better," the young man said.

He said he's glad he decided to take time to pray with the officer. "It was awesome," Turner said. "It's a great feeling to have."