Every Prayer Room Tells a Story. What's Yours? - 15 Jul 2013
The first half of 2013 alone saw over 700 Prayer Rooms in 114 nations. I have spoken with people setting up years of prayer in Cuba, others running Prayer Rooms in the most dangerous areas of South Africa and seeing addicts and prostitutes come and encounter God. All across the world God is inspiring his church to pray.
Have you ever felt the pressure of trying to set up a Prayer Room, wondering if it was going to be ‘good enough’ or ‘engaging enough’ or some other ‘enough’? What if nobody signs up? Or what if they do, but nobody really connects with God?
My work on the 24-7 International Prayer Team means that I get to talk with people all over the world who are, were or will be praying. When someone shares with me their questions or concerns about setting up a Prayer Room I get to tell them the stories of people who have already done it.
Just this year, in a village in the African nation of Togo, there was a group that set up their ‘Prayer Room’ under the shade of a grove of trees. They were so excited about their time praying that they sent me a low-res, un-slick, amateur picture taken on a mobile phone that is hands-down one of the most beautiful ‘Prayer Room’ pictures I’ve ever received.
I’ve heard recent stories about small but faithful groups in Mexico and Brazil that were amazed that they were able to fill their entire 24 or 48 hours with just themselves. There’s a group in Cuba working through a strategy God gave them for covering their entire nation in prayer! Another group in Singapore is doing a monthly 24-1 in their café. Here in the UK there are dozens of schools hosting prayer spaces where children can try praying, many for the first time. In one of the roughest areas of South Africa (photo of Prayer Room below) there is a group hosting Prayer Rooms and seeing addicts and prostitutes come and engage with God. In Austria a charismatic Catholic youth network has been holding prayer weekends multiple times a month. This (and so much more!) has all been bubbling away just since January!
The first half of 2013 alone saw over 700 prayer rooms and prayer spaces in schools in 114 nations. And those are just the ones we know about! God is engaging with people in Prayer Rooms all around the world, strengthening communities, releasing miracles and revealing His love, but 9 times out of 10 we don’t hear about it. So I have this question for you:
What did God do when you prayed?
When God set the laws and culture for the children of Israel He commanded them to re-tell the stories of their deliverance at their feasts and celebrations to remind them what He had done for them. In that re-telling, their own faith was established and renewed in the trust that He is still faithful and worth their devotion. The same is true today.
So please, send us your stories, pictures and videos (even lo-res!). Let us share what God is doing in your corner of the earth so all of us can be blessed, and those preparing their own Prayer Rooms can be encouraged to go for it!