I’m sitting in a back corner of
the prayer room tonight. There’s a guy In the community room catching up on some emails. He likes to spend his down time here, even when he’s not specifically praying. A couple of teenagers come in, one showing the other what’s here. Another person stumbles in shortly after. Makes his way round the room. I check in with him briefly to let him know there’s coffee to be had & that I’m here if he had any questions or needed prayer. He pauses & begins to tell me his story. It’s the story of him & the church he helps lead. He talks of their hunger to pray & their lack of it in the now. The whole time looking at him I can feel his need & his burden to become a man of prayer. God’s been busy to make that hunger happen. It’s not really prayer he’s after. That’s just a means to an end. What his heart is really crying out for is more of God. God closer, much closer… and also more answers showing up when he makes the big ask for things he & his community needs from God. Intimacy & efficacy… Yeah…we can help with that. He hangs out a bit longer praying, then heads out to make it to his bible study on time. I head back to my desk, check my emails… Got a message from the Lead Pastor of that guy’s church. An email asking 24-7 for help cultivating prayer in their community. Yeah, we can help with that. God on the move….
January 30, 2008 at 11:51 pm (Uncategorized)
January 18, 2008 at 4:41 pm (events@24-7)
Had dinner, great conversation, & ministry with friends & new acquaintances last night at 24-7. Good food & good words of the Lord as we listened to & prayed for one another. There was a liberality of ideas, a diversity of conversations, much talk of vision, & authenticity in confessing need. It went later than we’d planned. I watched people slip out briefly to reschedule their other appointments that night rather than choose to leave while God was moving. It was a good night!
January 14, 2008 at 1:12 pm (tales from the prayer room)
It’s late night & a member of the 24-7 Team heads to the prayer room to lo
ck up. As the door opens there’s a girl alone in the prayer room, clearly engaged in deeply thoughtful conversation with her Maker. She’s crying. She’s talking. She’s toe to toe with God. The team member slowly & quietly backs up & departs, giving her the space this scenario seems to be calling out for. Returning 30 minutes later, the young girl is sitting on a bench by the door. She knows the prayer room closes at 10pm, but she wants to be there until she absolutely has to leave. She’s still crying as she recounts a tale of leaving Atlanta, traveling to Charlotte bound for MorningStar, but never making it passed 24-7. She says she’d been in the 24-7 prayer room for six hours that evening, blowing off other plans she’d made that night. She speaks of encountering Christ in an uncommon way in that uncommon space & the uncommon concept of being alone with God. Almost always surrounded by people, her prayer life was built around corporate prayer but not individual prayer. Prayer was hardly ever just her & God alone. She had developed a public relationship with God, but not a private one… and the private one was far more piercing & poignant than anything she’d ever experienced. For six hours she sat, paced, stood, danced the length of the space, & engaged the 24-7 liturgy while asking herself the posed questions & permitting herself the quiet listening space which most public settings disallow. She spoke of how God met her there through the images & music & liturgy & room to roam & run the span of the space while praying for herself & others. The whole time she recounted the tale, she cried. Ever seen someone cry tears of joy? It’s almost unnerving to behold. While remaining committed to corporate prayer, now she plans to invest more deeply & consistently in her personal prayer life to encounter those aspects of God which He only reveals when we engage in some wholehearted one on one.
January 8, 2008 at 4:25 pm (events@24-7)
Are you finding yourself desiring greater depth in your relationship with Christ? Are you gravitating more towards scripture, but finding yourself frustrated by archaic language and stories that seem inapplicable to this day and age? Intersection is a new Bloc exploring the Scriptures in community, and coming to a deeper understanding of how these ancient writings can inform our daily life. These Blocs will meet regionally, and will be centered around a facilitated discussion on Scripture. Intersection Blocs are open to anyone with a desire to engage the Scriptures on a deeper level, and a hunger to pursue a greater level of intimacy with God. 2nd, & 4th Sundays 6-8pm at 24-7. Click here for more information!
January 6, 2008 at 5:53 pm (Uncategorized)
Had a really good God-Cafe at 24-7 last night. The room filled with the sounds of people connecting & sharing stories. At the couches sat with a bunch of people talking about African/Sudan justice initiatives. At the big table a group gathered & expressed themselves through drawing & a lot of laughter. One drawing they created was of Christ. It was so stunningly piercing that I asked if it could be on loan to 24-7 for a month. Had to talk slow,as some at that table did not speak English well. A culturally diverse night. But the best part of the night for me was the guy playing the acoustic guitar. The songs & melodies under girded all the conversations. Thanx Jere! At the end of the night a group of us prayed for each other, for Africa, & for justice around the world. The couple that hung around afterwords, signed on to join this 24-7, helping to staff, administrate, & serve in the prayer room & with the stuff leading up to the EMC gathering we’re helping to host. They are headed to Hatti in a month as Mennonite missionaries. Yeah…There was alot of spiritual diversity there that night… from Seventh Day Adventist, Mennonites, Baptists, Emergents, Charismatics, to the spiritually curious…. I dig that. God-Cafe 1st Friday of every month 5:30-10pm. Stop by for the next one.
