When Children Pray By Mark NelsonMark Nelson - 29 Mar 2010
Passionate prayer, crazy stories and a welcoming smile? It must be time to meet this months Unsung Hero.
This is the 4th in our Unsung Heroes series which introduces individuals from around the 24-7 Prayer movement who have given everything to see prayer transform lives. This month time we (hypothetically) jet off to Helsinki, Finland to meet the lovely Eva Sarsa who oversees the Finnish 24-7 Prayer team.
Eva became a Christian at 15 when she attended a confirmation camp run by the Lutheran Church of Finland and has been following Jesus ever since. 9 years ago God spoke to Eva saying: "I will rise up an army of children in Finland and I will put you at the front to be a flag bearer. You will raise the flag and declare: ‘The King is here!’" And so a very timely journey began. In the UK at about the same time we were getting excited about a prophetic poem which talked about an army of young people standing up all over Europe. Isn’t it wonderful to think of the ‘army of young people’ as children from primary and secondary schools revolutionizing the way people see Jesus. Parents, teachers, school bullies and classmates having a radical and tangible encounter with God, and changing societies from within the classroom!
Eva’s introduction to 24-7 Prayer came through an unlikely source. In the summer of 2000 children’s worship leader (and genuine legend for all those who grew up in a Christian home during the 1980’s!) Ian ‘Ishmael' Smale visited Eva in Finland where they led worship for children together. Eva recalls, “when he left, he gave me a little piece of paper with the website address of 24-7 and with tears in his eyes said, “kids are doing something fantastic, have a look!” I did and when I read about what God was doing through all these stories, I just started to weep and cry and thought: “I want this to for Finland.”
And with that Eva got involved with 24-7 Prayer and we are, of course, extremely thankful that she did. She says:
It’s the stories and the passion I see ignited through young people when they pray continually that inspires me, and how the presence of the Lord is just with them. I so want to see the same thing happening here. So all those years ago I started to pray and four years later the first prayer room in Finland was launched.
In Helsinki Eva works at an emerging house of prayer which happens to be next door to the local bar. She is also heavily involved in her district working to reach kids aged 7-13. Every Friday in partnership with a local church she hosts an evening for around 50 children.
The DNA that 24-7 has discovered both locally and globally is fantastic! To pray together, to become friends, to find ways to serve each other and those around us, are all right at the heart of what we are called to do as Christians.
Despite the size of this movement, every time I’m connected with the wider body of 24-7 Prayer, I think how balanced and healthy, down-to-earth yet truly connected with heaven every person and each community is
If you haven’t yet met Eva, then you need to know she is a fountain of love, compassion and wisdom. She is also a great storyteller. Here is one of many she loves to share:
One of those light bulb moments happened when I prayed with friends from Helsinki in a Prayer Room - it was a built by some Swedish youth in their church basement (This Prayer Room continues to happen twice a year, every year). We felt we needed to pray: ‘Lift up your heads, you gates; Be lifted up, you everlasting doors: The King of glory will come in’. We felt it was a key word for our city. I checked my Bible and burst into laughter: ‘It is Psalm 24:7, 24-7!!’ I shouted. I completely believe these houses of prayer, different ones, all bringing God’s presence down, will be instrumental in what happens here spiritually. They are the gates to the city.
Eva has a remarkable talent of combining her gift of working with children and young people with her heart for prayer. It clearly shows how we each have a role to play in reaching all people and investing time, energy and prayer into seeing them come into the fullness of Christ. Young people and prayer are the gates to the cities.
If you've missed out on our previous Unsung Heroes articles you might like to catch up:
God Uses Clowns - Daniel Jones