Romford Community Takes 24-1 OutdoorsPhil Togwell - 9 Sep 2009

Rosi and Jon hosted our latest 24-1 prayer, from midday on Saturday until midday Sunday... in a tent/gazebo in their back garden.

As a local community we've been trying to develop a daily, weekly, monthly rhythm of prayer.

• Daily, wherever we are, and with whoever we find ourselves, we pray the Lord's Prayer... many other Boiler Room communities and 24-7 friends also do this.
• Weekly, we pray on a Tuesday evening, mostly round at Rosi and Jon's, and there's no particular theme or leadership to this... we just come together and pray and see where it goes.
• And roughly monthly, we pray 24-1, more recently joined by friends from other churches, which has been encouraging. Our hope is that we can grow this to 48 hours soon, and maybe to a full-on 24-7 week by the end of the year.
  

This was the first time we'd prayed for 24 hours outside... but Rosi and Jon created a beautifully inviting, inspiring tent/gazebo space, full of fabric and sheets, string and sticks, cushions and blankets. There were pictures of close friends who are serving Jesus around the world, and pictures of local schools that we have some connection with... all kinds of things to reflect on, and pray about. As always, an hour in the prayer space wasn't enough...

Megan (my eldest daughter) booked herself in for an hour slot on Saturday afternoon and then persuaded Poppy and Angel (my younger daughters) to join with her. They loved it, writing their prayers on cardboard and post-it notes.

Emma and I booked the 12 midnight until 2am slot, which we unexpectedly shared with a large number of flying insects, hovering and buzzing around the hanging torchlights. Lovely.

It was wonderful and provocative and challenging to be praying outside... with the cool night air on our faces, with twinkling stars (and a few planets) filling the dark skies, and with the constant hum of traffic driving around the ring-road and the shouts and screams of drunken clubbers heading home... this was, and is, Romford, England. And it needs Jesus...