Celebrating 10 Years of MissionScot Bower - 13 Sep 2010
Since 24-7 Prayer began 10 years ago Prayer Rooms all over the world have been spilling over with mission. The logic is simple: In prayer we begin to see the world from God’s perspective - our hearts are changed to be more like His - we go out from the place of prayer with Him, to take the love and message of Jesus to the world. Simple and true.
In the words of Brian Heasley from 24-7Ibiza:
We want to be the prayer out on the streets.
From first time encounters with Jesus in a Prayer Room to lives uprooted for the sake of the gospel, we’ve been gathering stories of mission for 10 years. Here are just a few highlights that we’ve featured on 24-7prayer.com:
Kansas City, US
My roommate Mandy is part of a task force in Kansas City initiated by the Department of Justice. It’s an incredible coalition between the FBI, local law enforcement, social service agencies, and faith-based groups coming together to fight human trafficking. It can be hard to believe that there’s much for them to deal with, but real people - mostly women and children - are regularly trafficked into and through Kansas City for forced labor and the commercial sex industry. We know so little of the darkness they’re caught in.
In May, Mandy and I had an amazing opportunity to support this fight in small but practical way. We found out that 15 Chinese women were about to be recovered from forced prostitution in Asian massage parlors of our rich suburbs. We, two redheads living in the Midwest of the U.S., waltzed into the police station with pots of steaming homemade Chinese food. The women devoured our food to the neglect of the deli sandwiches the police had bought them.
You won't believe the response we got after this from the woman who heads up this human trafficking task force. Tearfully, she said, "When I saw you walk into the police station with that food, I wanted to yell out to the women, 'There's a whole community of people in Kansas City who love you and they don't even know you!'" This woman keeps telling Mandy how moved she was over this simple act.
Because we were privileged to know about the FBI raid before it actually happened, we were able to pray. I don't think I've ever prayed that hard for something in my life. We saw God literally liberate captives and set prisoners free through our prayers, before our very eyes!
Hobart, Australia
At 3 a.m. the youth group left the Prayer Room and walked the streets of the city. On their journey they were confronted with and challenged by the sight of the marginalised and homeless of Hobart.
A New Soldier found himself writing: “When asked by JESUS, 'Do you love me?' We say, 'YES!”
As he was traveling home he saw a rather disheveled chap lying on the ground. He appeared to be asleep and was covered with bull ants. He bent down and shook the chap calling to him to wake up as he would be eaten by the bull ants. When he bent down close to call to him a third time the chaps eyes opened and looked straight at him and said,
“But do you love me?” He stammered… “Yes I love you”…
The chap got up dusted himself of and walked away.
North Africa
A Muslim who's been seeking for 5 years spent 3 hours in the prayer room with a friend, he’s finally come through to faith - HALLELUJAH!
Vancouver, Canada
…So we have all moved into the Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood in Vancouver which is considered by many to be a serious blight on an otherwise world-class city. We don’t see it that way. This is our home, these are our neighbours, and we have learned that there is great beauty, love and possibility on these mean streets. We run cell groups here, small Church fellowships in apartments, slum hotels, homeless shelters, and local parks, and invite our friends and neighbours to come learn and worship with us. We play and work and garden and raise our families here as a regular pattern of life, and we fight for our neighbourhood as well. There are very large forces and powers that wish to see this place demolished, our friends locked up or moved elsewhere, the people we love controlled or kept until they die off from AIDS, drug overdoses, violence, or just plain old poverty. So we fight.
But most importantly, we pray. This is not distinct from our living or playing or working or teaching or fighting. It filters through everything we do, is the reason for everything we do, and is the strength behind everything we do… in reality the prayer room has moved beyond the bounds of those four walls, and takes shape in and through the daily warp and woof of community life.
Burma
It’s just after 2 in the morning. Around me are a dozen young people, teens and twenties with heads bowed. We are praying. Amongst us scuttle Geckos, unnaturally large, and slightly scary bugs. Above us bats flying around our heads feeding on the bugs. Around us, the Spirit of God is so thick, it feels like you can reach out and caress His invisible hand. .. We are in a small church in the mountains on the Thai / Burma Border, the youngsters are Karen refugees, each one displaced by the Burmese government’s policy of ethnic cleansing that has gone on, virtually unnoticed to the rest of the world, for almost 60 years...
Uganda
“Praise the Lord. Thank you for 24-7 Prayer. It works and has worked for us.” Writes Paul Masindende from Victory Kings Ministries, Uganda. “In our prayers the Lord revealed to us an island without a church, we all had the same name, ‘Kacunga’. Yesterday we found the island: 50 people were saved and a new church is planted. All because of prayer.”
And that’s just a fraction; random highlights from 10 years of prayer. Each week we receive story after story about Prayer that's exiting the 4 walls and making itself known on the streets, the stories continue to be written. If you've got stories to tell we'd love to hear from you.
Later this week 24-7 Prayer will be announcing some very exciting news which we hope will enable and encourage mission across the movement. Be sure to check back later in the week to find out just what that announcement might be.