Welcoming the broken hearted – stories from a 24-7 Prayer RoomCarla Harding - 27 Dec 2010

Earlier this month I received a brilliant email from a 24-7 Prayer Room on the other side of the world.  I thought I’d share it with you all because it captures something beautiful about the sanctuary and grace found in God’s presence.  Sit back, read and enjoy…

“There were only a few hours we had to cover ourselves,” writes the prayer room organizer, “people often showed up in the middle of the night not rostered on and ended up filling gaps which was amazing. Answered prayers right there, haha!

The vision really built over the time… I didn't think about theme but I guess it was real honesty with God. Lots of people spoke to God about self-esteem, wanting to be known and personal fears I think. There were many people asking for help.

We have some AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) members in church that brought friends.  Apparently this time of the year is big for relapses so it was cool to see some of the guys (who don't necessarily believe in God) really get into the prayer room…

Some of the girls had heard of a homeless girl whose homeless boyfriend goes to our church. He had been hitting her (she’s pregnant) and he was trying to force her to have an abortion.  The girls were praying in the prayer lounge and the next thing they know they can hear her down the other end of our building. Her boyfriend was trying to stop her getting inside the church to find help. They took her in, talked and prayed with her and then drove her to her parents whilst I got a chance to talk with the boyfriend in the prayer lounge…

One of the communion times, I woke up late and instead of doing the liturgy, I read out psalm 22 and then prayed before offering around the bread and juice, the whole time hearing these sniffles to my left which I just assumed was a lady with a cold because I certainly couldn't feel God doing anything with my pithy prayer. Upon offering her the elements I looked at her and she was absolutely beside herself crying!

The prayer lounge/tea room was an awesome addition to the 24-7 Prayer space and saw almost more activity than the other rooms! It hosted breakfast in the morning and refreshments and snacks through the day and night and meant people could talk about their time in the prayer and what they were going through. During our church meeting on the last day, a lady who is having marriage problems ended up in there with some other ladies praying about her marriage. It was great…

There were a few prophecies about this being the start of something…”

With so much happening and so many people in need wandering into the place of prayer the last line seems like an understatement!  Have you prayed 24-7?  Ever thought of opening up the room to the people in your community who don’t go to church?  Let stories like this inspire you and as we enter 2011 I want to see the doors of prayer rooms flung open to all who seek.