East African SmilesAlain Emerson - 24 May 2011

Last month Alain Emerson, who helps lead 24-7 Ireland took a trip to Uganda to visit churches and schools with the intention of sharing the vision of 24-7 Prayer. 

We nearly didn't make it. On our way from the airport we ran into riots in the outskirts of the capital Kampala.  The opposition leader, had been arrested the day before our arrival and his followers had taken their protests to the streets, burning tyres and blocking roads.  Our driver decided to take us off road and hid us in a house where we had to stay for 3 hours listening to gunshots over head!  Eventually someone came and got us and we found a way of avoiding the crowds to get to a safe place. It was pretty scary but funny how everything returned to normal the next day.

On Monday I met with a handful of pastors and shared the vision and heart of 24-7 Prayer. We chatted about the strategic importance of Uganda and East Africa for the kingdom of God; in light of the political unrest and wave of revolution that was sweeping through the continent of Africa there was a tangible sense of agreement that unified and passionate prayer was the key the healing of this continent and the fulfilment of its destiny to bless the nations of the world.

It was so encouraging to watch my East African friends connect with the heart of 24-7 and see the growing excitement evident in their eyes as the day went on.  It felt like this was something they had been searching for: to engage their churches and particularly the young people in their schools, in prayer.  As the day went on there was a growing confirmation in my heart that God, in ways only God can, had prepared the right people to be in the room for such a time as this!

A Pastor in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi the second poorest country in the world, overseas 14 Christian schools in Burundi and Rwanda.  Over a coffee during our first break in the day, he told me in such a sincere and meaningful way that just last week when he was preaching he felt a strong conviction from the Lord come upon him to call his people to pray.  So last week he and his church prayed and fasted for 3 days.  He went on to share that being with us that day had further confirmed that God was speaking to him about prayer and that he felt the Prayer Room model of people committing to an hour of prayer each day was a way he could encourage a wave of continual prayer among his people.

Richard (from Lira in Northern Uganda) pastors a secondary school of over 500 students called Dara High School.  He told me that God had been speaking to them about prayer recently.  Ironically he said that there was a place in their home town called 24-7 where people went to drink, dance and engage in immoral sexual activities around the clock! Richard said that he and the students had felt convicted and challenged that 'if the world can do this 24-7 then as Christians we can pray 24-7'!! You can imagine how blessed he was to hear about 24-7 Prayer!! Amazing!

There will be contextual differences and practicalities that we will talk through and it will very much be a matter of learning as we go but when my beautiful friends had caught the vision of what I was trying to communicate they looked at me with their beautiful Africa smiles and said repeatedly with joy and encouragement, 'It can work!'

Please join me in praying that 'it will work' and that God would raise up a movement of prayer across East Africa that would touch and bless the nations.