I feel like I’m in the middle of a rollercoaster ride that is going so quick the only thing I can do is really sit back and go along for the ride. Forget trying to determine the direction, I just need to trust God.
Coming back from my holiday in Hawaii was quite hard. Reality hit, as did the realisation that although I did ask God a lot about what He has for me for the time ahead, the only thing He really said was to trust Him and rest in His peace. I mean, they are important truths and things I should do, but not really the answer I was looking for. Still, He is God and I am not, so I guess resting in His peace is what I need to do.
The week after coming back I headed down to the HOPE House of Prayer, the Hope City prayer room. It is stunning! It is a beautiful prayer room. I think the best part about it is the natural brick wall that makes for a backdrop for the stage. The floors are a brown glaze and walking back and forth on them reminds me that we are in the inner city and that I can literally be prayer walking the inner city when I walk on them.
There are so many impressions that I could share about how this prayer room looks and feels like (that I was able to prayer lead a Worship With the Word set and growing in confidence as I on the microphone), but what I was really wanting to do, was share my heart about this morning. I got a real reality check this morning and it messed my heart up...in a good way, I think.
We started the 10am intercession set and got going praying for the inner city and our outreaches that are coming up this weekend. I actually prayer, twice, which is a huge deal for me as I get so nervous speaking into the microphone. As I prayed I got such a heart for the young people in the city, the young men who are escaping into drugs when they need to encounter Jesus who will be their refuge. It was good to pray and good to know people were agreeing with me and knowing that God moves at the sound of my prayers. Many prayed and it was a powerful time of intercession and impacting the city in that way.
Then we put action to our prayers. We jumped in the shuttle and a few cars and drove down to 35th and Prospect, probably one of the roughest parts of the city, to distribute flyers about our event on Saturday where we want to impact the city through giving free food, haircuts and having music and testimonies. It’s going to be a great time! I teamed up with 3 others and we set off to cover our little area. About a minute after we’d started walking a man on a guy stopped us and he was not in a good mood. After a few minutes it was clear that he wasn’t really trying to make friends with us to say the least. It got a bit hairy for a few minutes and I wasn’t quite sure what would happen next, but eventually he cycled off. We prayed for protection over ourselves, and I know for me it was a real reminder and eye-opener to the area we are trying to reach and a quick introduction to the hardness that is in the people there.
I am looking forward to Saturday! Looking forward to partnering with God’s heart in proclaiming the testimony of Jesus on Saturday, whatever that sounds like to each person. And I look forward to bringing in light in such a dark place.
So if you’re reading this and it’s not Saturday yet, pray for us! This is what it’s all about. Prayer works and even as I’m writing this I am connecting the prayers I prayed this morning with what happened. It’s a tough place to break into, but God is a God of breakthrough and this is His heart. Seeing these people reached and become everything He intended for them to be is His heart! So yeah, my eyes were opened and my heart is still messed up....with God’s heart, and I feel alive so it’s good.
Coming back from my holiday in Hawaii was quite hard. Reality hit, as did the realisation that although I did ask God a lot about what He has for me for the time ahead, the only thing He really said was to trust Him and rest in His peace. I mean, they are important truths and things I should do, but not really the answer I was looking for. Still, He is God and I am not, so I guess resting in His peace is what I need to do.
The week after coming back I headed down to the HOPE House of Prayer, the Hope City prayer room. It is stunning! It is a beautiful prayer room. I think the best part about it is the natural brick wall that makes for a backdrop for the stage. The floors are a brown glaze and walking back and forth on them reminds me that we are in the inner city and that I can literally be prayer walking the inner city when I walk on them.
There are so many impressions that I could share about how this prayer room looks and feels like (that I was able to prayer lead a Worship With the Word set and growing in confidence as I on the microphone), but what I was really wanting to do, was share my heart about this morning. I got a real reality check this morning and it messed my heart up...in a good way, I think.
We started the 10am intercession set and got going praying for the inner city and our outreaches that are coming up this weekend. I actually prayer, twice, which is a huge deal for me as I get so nervous speaking into the microphone. As I prayed I got such a heart for the young people in the city, the young men who are escaping into drugs when they need to encounter Jesus who will be their refuge. It was good to pray and good to know people were agreeing with me and knowing that God moves at the sound of my prayers. Many prayed and it was a powerful time of intercession and impacting the city in that way.
Then we put action to our prayers. We jumped in the shuttle and a few cars and drove down to 35th and Prospect, probably one of the roughest parts of the city, to distribute flyers about our event on Saturday where we want to impact the city through giving free food, haircuts and having music and testimonies. It’s going to be a great time! I teamed up with 3 others and we set off to cover our little area. About a minute after we’d started walking a man on a guy stopped us and he was not in a good mood. After a few minutes it was clear that he wasn’t really trying to make friends with us to say the least. It got a bit hairy for a few minutes and I wasn’t quite sure what would happen next, but eventually he cycled off. We prayed for protection over ourselves, and I know for me it was a real reminder and eye-opener to the area we are trying to reach and a quick introduction to the hardness that is in the people there.
I am looking forward to Saturday! Looking forward to partnering with God’s heart in proclaiming the testimony of Jesus on Saturday, whatever that sounds like to each person. And I look forward to bringing in light in such a dark place.
So if you’re reading this and it’s not Saturday yet, pray for us! This is what it’s all about. Prayer works and even as I’m writing this I am connecting the prayers I prayed this morning with what happened. It’s a tough place to break into, but God is a God of breakthrough and this is His heart. Seeing these people reached and become everything He intended for them to be is His heart! So yeah, my eyes were opened and my heart is still messed up....with God’s heart, and I feel alive so it’s good.