
As the week of prayer began, this Scripture's promise, on the tent wall, of "spring rains" seemed like a little more like a challenge to surmount. Soaked socks, curling paper and streaking drips of fluorescent pink marker filled the first couple days. Yet this soaking seemed to be a part of what He's called us to do—soaking in His presence. And by Wednesday afternoon, we got more of a sense of what He has brought forth through soaking as we testified during our citywide 24-7 prayer team meeting at the prayer tent.
The meeting started off rather wonderfully.
We had thought we would quietly gather with the team during a prayer slot for some talk and prayer. But when we got there the tent was bustling with six folks praying who had simply dropped by. Nana, who has been helping to shepherd the worship and prayer movement on Calvin's campus, was at the keyboard. His songs eventually gave way to "Build us a House" on the CD player while other students were face down in the grass floor of the tent worshipping. Another student was interceding at the table with the prayer prompts for all of the different local fellowships partnering with the Calvin students. In the midst of all this Kingdom coincidence, I simply moved all of the camp chairs and folding stools outside the tent (grinning and fake grumbling about how inconvenient it was to have all these people just showing up for prayer) so the team could tell stories from what they've seen this week and give thanks to the Lord.
And were there stories . . .
At the start of the week, Tim and David had setup the camping tent for our overnight team to sleep nearby and provide easy access to another person for the people praying on the nightwatch. Knowing the weather forecast, Tim shared his anxieties with Mary about the rain fly. Believing that the Lord takes care of the sparrow as well, Mary asked the Lord for resilience and dryness for the overnight tent. And it has been solid and dry—all week. And each of us who have slept in it thank God for His protection.
In hearing this, Trudy shared that last year, a student had prophesied about future 24-7 prayer events reading from Isaiah 4: 5-6. "Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain." And so we thanked God for both an watertight overnight tent as well as a prayer refuge from the rain.
The week in the public space of Calvin Commons' has allowed the Holy Spirit to arrange so many divine appointments. We heard about a mother who had brought her high school junior to Fridays at Calvin for prospective college students, dropping by the tent during her daughter's orientation session. She was able to receive prayer ministry and rejoined her daughter for lunch.
Nightly worship has been a powerful place to meet the Lord. James wisely booked a prayer slot after his worship slot, anticipating that the Lord might call His children together for more than an hour. As James led worship, the Holy Spirit fell upon the group and they were directed particularly to intercede on behalf of the men on campus praying for healing and maturing and realization of their identities as sons of the Father. At one point a young man so moved, stepped out of the tent to scream to the campus, "Wake up O sleepers!" and soon after more folks joined the time of worship and prayer.
We continue to for a spirit of sonship (for men and women, boys and girls) for the folks participating, for the campus and for the city. We want all the fullness that comes with being a son; the inheritance, the legacy, the commitment to our Father's business, the favored spot. That is a promise for each of us; and just like I have become comfortable with being the bride of Christ, so my sisters should become comfortable with being sons (thanks to Ben Pasley for that).
Brad, a 24-7 veteran, came to his prayer slot a little surprised to find 3 folks already in the tent. Whereas an hour or two for Brad in the prayer garage has felt a little like a mini-monastic retreat, here he felt like he was jumping into something in motion as pairs of women came for twenty minutes and left for class and others seemed to take their places in succession. He sat down next to a young man who started, in rapid fire cadence, speaking with the Father. Normally, Brad said, he might touch someone on the arm and ask can I pray for you. Here it felt like he needed to simply get running alongside his new and anonymous brother in Christ.
This Kingdom flow and intersection seemed to be a dominant theme. We are in the movement of something much larger and much more fully orchestrated than we imagined. The last story that Tim shared seemed to confirm this. Two women from Calvin had met in the Commons for the first time on the opening night of Risen. In the course of their conversation, they realized that they were both struggling with the same burden, that at the time seemed rather formidable. Encouraged by their shared burden, they were still stumped as to what to do. At just that point, the Holy Spirit nudged their memories that a 24-7 Prayer Tent had opened on the Commons lawn that night. "We should go to the prayer tent."
And they did. And as they arrived, the person praying was reading a passage (our secular friends would say coincidentally) about this same burden. The young women came into the tent and said we need prayer for this burden. Rather surprised, the woman replied, "The Lord was just speaking to me about this burden in His word."
Tim came into the prayer tent before getting ready for his sleeping shift in the overnight tent and met the two women coming out with praise on their lips for a God—the ultimate cocktail party host—who has arranged meeting after meeting throughout this week. And we too join with the cloud of many witnesses and say Hallelujah.
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We wrap up with a closing worship and prayer session from 7-9p tonight. And we will now begin reflecting and dreaming some more about citywide 24-7 prayer. We're struck that public spaces and drop-ins opportunity add exciting dimensions to 24-7. We're also thinking that bringing together the different generations on a college campus is a powerful Kingdom intersection for blessing and for encouraging. We will be praying into how this might unfold in the upcoming months.
Out of a season on campuses, we imagine planting a tent with a particular mission focus in a place like Life International or some other key Kingdom outpost in the city.
For now we're holding loosely and will be praying for God's leading. If you have any words of knowledge or wisdom for us, we would certainly appreciate them in the comments below. If you'd like to join us in praying for God's direction for the future of citywide 24-7 prayer, let us know below too. We look forward to what He will reveal. And as we learn more of His plan, we walk in an enduring assurance.
He will come to us, like the spring rains that water the earth.
::tony::