The
Lord was with us throughout the week and His Spirit was felt very strongly right
from the start. Many people from the Corps have been affected, challenged and
inspired. The Spirit has dealt with each of us separately and according to our
needs and gifts. Many comments were made such as:
‘What an amazing feeling.’
‘I feel a major buzz of excitement.’
‘God is in this place.’
‘A power house from which our church will grow.’
‘His presence is noticeable.’
‘I’ve grabbed every hour I could.’
Starting at 8.00pm on Friday 1st March without any fuss or ceremony, the first
of the Corps quietly entered the Prayer Room. This set the tone for the rest of
the week with the Spirit moving quietly among the Corps, gently persuading more
and more to enter the peace of the Prayer Room and to communicate with Him.
Prayers written on the Prayer Wall and in the Prayer Journal have had a profound
effect on all those who have read them. Many have testified to having been moved
to tears on reading the openness of others.
Many prayers have already been answered.
Following the Spirit’s prompting, themes of prayer appeared. These themes can be
grouped into ‘Listen’, ‘Passion for souls and mission’, ‘Bring the Corps closer
together’, and ‘Emotional healing’.
Here are some examples of prayer entries from the Prayer Journal:
‘This 24-7 week will bring about actions and not just words.’
‘The gifts given to us this week need to be carried out of the room and to the
places of real need.’
‘May we be led by the Spirit to seek actions that will be in line with what God
wants us to do and not just what we are comfortable with.’
‘I pray God takes this Corps out of its comfort zone.’
‘Help us as a body of people to move on, to go into the future with a greater
understanding of your will for us all.’
‘For the first time in quite a while, I feel the Lord working in my life.’
‘My heart has just been well and truly opened.’
‘All the things I have been worrying about have left my mind.’
‘So often I pray but so rarely I listen, but tonight I felt Your presence and
heard Your voice.’
The Prayer Room took over GP4, the room normally used by the Primary on Sunday
and other groups during the week. At the beginning of the week when we had no
takers for the early mornings, volunteers were more than willing to come in at
3.00am! These were the only times that we had difficulty filling. Many did more
than this and the overwhelming response by the middle of the week was that there
were no spare slots left.
Prayer for the prodigals of the Corps was a major part of the week. Many, many
names were stuck onto the cross, which became covered with a mass of yellow
post-it notes. This challenged one member of the Corps to ask what would happen
if we all took a note of a name on that cross and made that prodigal our prayer
partner.
The 13+ group spent the whole of Saturday night at the Hall. A rota had been
drawn up to cover 8.00pm Saturday to 9.00am Sunday asking each one with a friend
to spend an hour in the Prayer Room. They all readily went into the Prayer Room
at the allotted time and most spent one and a half to two hours there. The
evening started with Evening Prayers attended by 29 young people lead by Lee
Nicholls from Blackheath Corps.
During the Sunday Morning meeting the Primary and the Sunday School occupied the
Prayer Room; each one of the children expressing their praise and love for God
naturally and freely.
On Monday many of those attending CAMEO spent some time in the Prayer Room.
All musical sections committed themselves to spending part of their normal
weekly practice in the Prayer Room; the YP Band ending its practice with all the
band, helpers and parents meeting in the room for prayers.
To bring the week to a close, well over 100 people gathered for a Prayer
Concert. Special features included the placing on the altar of the Prayer
Request box and the Prayer Journal. The multi-media presented photographic
images taken throughout the week and provided a reminder of the atmosphere of
the room. In particular, images of the Prayer Wall were shown and images of the
Cross complete with the names of the Prodigals. Music was provided by all the
musical sections, moving testimonies were spoken, and many prayers were offered.
A special part of the Concert for many was the opportunity to wash their hands
to symbolise a new start.
For the future, the Corps is fortunate to have a spare room that has been turned
into a permanent Prayer Room. Many of the features of the original have been
mirrored in this new room, for example, a Prayer Wall (this time on white
boards) candles, a cross, books and music.
The challenge, as always, is not to let the devil creep in and take away what we
have all gained from this week. We need to accept what God has said to us, to
move on, and put into practice the things we have experienced and learnt. We
have each received a special revelation from God and it is up to us to put that
revelation into practice. We must not wait for others to do the work for us and
equally we must encourage others to fulfil their part of the vision.
Lord, you have given each of us a mission; give each of us the wisdom, power and
strength to undertake it. And Lord, let us not discourage others from the path
you have set before them.
